The Hindu Temple

Tucked away in remote Indian jungles are little-known masterpieces of Hindu architecture. What these temples mean and how they were used are the subjects of Alain Danielou's introduction to these magnificent Shaivite structures. Lifelong Indologist and translator of the Kama Sutra, Danielou gives us a grand tour of these temples by drawing from accounts in ancient texts. In very short segments, he directs us to the temple plan, the architect, erotic representations, the meanings of life, the sanctuary, and other aspects of the temple and its erotic sculpture and symbols. Originally published in two French titles, The Hindu Temple includes original photographs by Raymond Burnier and others who trekked across India to capture these out-of-the-way temples on film. The photographs, along with a number of exceptional color plates, suffer slightly in quality, but the effect is not lost. The Hindu Temple is a noteworthy introduction to a spirituality that Danielou claims to be the fountainhead of the all religions. Whether or not true, the art and the power live and still inspire today. --Brian BruyaDanielou's masterpiece on the erotic nature of the sacred symbolism of the Hindu temple. * Includes stunning photographs from the major temple complexes of India. * By Alain Danielou, one of the greatest authorities on Hinduism. Ancient Indian architectural treatises state that a temple lacking erotic imagery would be ineffective and maleficent. The erotic statues and representations that cover the outer and inner walls of the Hindu temple serve both a magical and an instructional purpose. Through the power of the yantras--the magical diagrams created by the placement of the erotic imagery--the architect made the temple a faithful reflection of the divine. At the same time this imagery educated the faithful about the fundamental aspects of the Hindu religion, wherein the union of opposites in the sexual act is the perfect image of the creative principle, and erotic enjoyment