The Architectural Data in the Nirvanākalikā of Pādalipta‑Sūri

Padalipta‑Sūri’s eleventh‑century Nīrvaṇakalikā is a Jain pratisṭhā‑tantra concerned with image consecration and temple construction. The article extracts architectural details from this ritual manual to reconstruct an ideal western Indian temple. During door consecration the guardian Yakṣa Śrī and goddess Lakṣmī are placed above the threshold while Kala (Ganga) and Mahākāla (Yamuna) guard the jambs. The text locates the sanctum (garbhagṛha) above the antefix (śukanāsa) and discusses mouldings such as the kumbhaka (pot), jaṅghā (frieze), śikhara (spire), kāṇṭha (neck) and amalasaraka (myrobalan). The manual details crowning elements: a cilaka (peak), a kalaśa finial, a silk banner bearing a bull emblem, bells and a dharma‑cakra; it prescribes that the banner be raised on a bamboo staff whose height is proportionate to the temple dimensions. These prescriptions show how ritual texts codified architectural ornamentation, from the placement of guardians and yakṣas to the proportions of the superstructure. The author notes that the Nīrvaṇakalikā’s terminology parallels Maru‑Gurjara temple treatises and that its instructions bridge the worlds of liturgy and architecture. The article thus reveals the richness of Jain architectural thought and underscores the continuity between ritual manuals and the physical form of western Indian temples. By comparing these guidelines with surviving temples, it highlights the function of texts as transmitters of technical knowledge and as reflections of the ritual imagination that animated the construction of sacred spaces.

Summary reviewed by a volunteer editor.