This is a study of symbolism in traditional Hindu architecture. It is based upon the Shri Minakshi Sundareswar, The Great Temple at Madura, South India, visited by the author in i960. The formal arrangement of this temple is the pivot around -which the examination of the principles of architectural symbolism revolves. The general principles as well as the particular symbolic expressions are elucidated by constant reference to the sacred texts of the Hindu tradition. The key to all this is the

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... ndu doctrine itself, but no attempt could be made to expose its integrality on these pages. However, the introduction and the footnotes contain sufficient references and brief explanations to enable one to follow the theme without undue difficulty even if the subject were unfamiliar. The study develops the meaning of the architectural layout by approaching the temple from the outside and gradually progressing towards its core. During this passage the nature of symbolism is discovered in successively higher degrees until it becomes clear that the temple -in its detail as well as in its entirety -is a meta physical symbol and its construction a metaphysical rite. It expresses by means of silent architectural forms the selfsame doctrine which is recorded verbally in the sacred texts.