Palani Murugan Temple - Kodimaram
Hindu Agama Shastras compare a Temple to the human body.
Just as an individual soul is enveloped by five košas or sheaths - (Annamova,
Prãnamaya, Manomaya, Vynãnamaya and Ãnandamaya) - the Deity installed in the
Temple (representing the Supreme Spirit) is also enveloped by five prakarams.
Just as our gross body has five sections - head, neck,
chest, legs and feet - a Temple also has five corresponding sections. The
Garbhagriham or sanctum Santorum represents the head; the Sanctum is the Soul
or the Jiva of the body; the Vimana over the Sanctum represents the tip of the
nose. Ardhamandapam in front of the Sanctum represents the neck; Maha Mandapam,
the chest; Prakarams around the Sanctum represents our five senses: the palibida
where nivedhana is offered to the deity represents the naval; the Kodimaram represents the jeevadhara;
and the Gopura, the main gateway of the temple, represents the feet.
The main parts of a temple are:
1. Garbhagriha (Sanctum Sanctorum) containing the image
of God.
2. The Vimana over the Sanctum.
3. Ardhamandapam in front of the Sanctum.
4. Prakarams around the Sanctum.
5. The Gopura, the main gateway of the temple.
Indian temple is only a reflection of the physical form
of the human body. According to the Tirumular "our body is a temple".
According to the Kathopanishad ", this body of ours is a temple of the
Divine."