3. Pañcaprākāra (Five types of Prākāras)

The prākāras that are built as defined above are often concentric in nature. Their number may range from one to seven. But from the texts of the Southern School of architecture we can say that the number of prākāras is fixed to five. The Śaivāgamas are also of the same view.

The Kāmikāgama (I. 71. 63-4ab) enlists the five prākāras as the:

1. antarmaṇḍala,
2. antarhāra,
3. madhyahāra,
4. maryādā and
5. mahāmaryādā

Starting from the centre outwards:

antarmaṇḍa lamādyaṃ syādantarhārā dvitīyakā |
tṛtīyā madhyahārā syān maryādākhyā caturthakā ||
mahāmaryādikākhyā ca pañcamī parikīrtitā |

The Mānasāra and the Śilparatna, though mention the same number of prākāras, differ, while naming the last two prākāras. For, the Mānasāra^[1] assigns the term “prākāra” specifically to the fourth prākāra and says that the chapter of the text deals elaborately on the features of the fourth enclosure alone. The Śilparatna^[2], assigns the terms bāhyahāra and maryādā to the fourth and fifth prākāras respectively.

(i). Measurements for the Pañcaprākāras

The Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra gives three types of measurements, viz.,

1. Hāra māna^[3] used here to determine the measurement for the inter-distance between prākāras,
2. Harmya māna used here to find the perimeter of them and
3. Hasta māna used here to calculate the height of the prākāras.

(a) Hāra māna:

Kāśyapa says that the inter-space of the first prākāra called antar-maṇḍala must be one-third or one-fourth of its length. The next prākāra, antarhāra must measure twice the inter-space of the first one.

The madhyahāra prākāra must be thrice the first; the madhyamaryādā or the fourth prākāra must be four times the first and the mahāmaryāda prākāra must be five times the inter-distance seen in the first prākāra (Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra, XLIII. 2-4):

prāsādasya viśālārthaṃ guṇabhāgaikameva vā |
caturbhāgaikabhāgaṃ vā antarmaṇḍalavistṛtam ||
antarhāraviśālaṃ tu tadbāhye dviguṇaṃ hi tat |
madhyahāraviśālaṃ tu bāhyāntaṃ maṇḍalatrayam ||
madhyādestu viśālaṃ ca bāhye tvādicaturguṇam |
mahāmaryādivistāra ārdraiḥ pañcaguṇo bhavet ||

Further he adds that, the inter-space of the prākāras must be measured from the foot of the Prāsāda (the main temple) or from its centre. The width between the first and second prākāra must be taken into account. Same way the distance between second and third, third and fourth and the fourth and fifth are noted respectively for the five prākāras (Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra, XLIII. 5-6):

prāsādacaraṇādvipra homādvā prathamasya tu |
prathamāt dvitīyanīvraṃ tu dvitīyāttṛtīyanīvrakam ||
tṛtīyāccaturthaṃ niṣkrāntaṃ tasmānnīvraṃ ca pañcamam |
prākāraṃ pratiniṣkrāntaṃ tannīvraṃ kuḍyasīmakam ||

The width of the prākāra is said to extend (nīpra or nīvra) till the wall of the prākāra. This extension is till the middle of the wall or till the exterior side of the wall.

It may also be taken as the distance between two walls bounding a prākāra^[4] (Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra. XLIII. 7):

kuḍyamadhyāvasānaṃ vā kuḍyabāhyamathāpi vā |
athavā śeṣaviprāṇāṃ nīvraṃ homādvidhīyate ||

Thus the measurements of the inter-space between each prākāra is explained and this space enclosed by the walls is the actual prākāra.

(b) Harmya māna:

After enlisting the measure for the space between each prākāras, the author now states the difference in the heights of the floors of the prākāras. He states that, the height of the first prākāra must be equal to the height of the Garbhagṛha or the prakṛti or it should be three aṅgulas lower than it.

In a similar manner the second to fifth prākāras will also be lowered by three aṅgulas each (XLIII. 8):

prathamaṃ prakṛtestulyaṃ tasmādguṇāṅgulaṃ natam |
dvitīyādyaṃ tu pañcāntaṃ tadvadeva nataṃ kramāt ||^[5]

The Kāmikāgama (I. 71. 45cd) also states that the outer prākāra must be lower than the inner prākāra:

antassālāṅkaṇaṃ nimnaṃ bāhyasālāṅkaṇaṃ bhavet ||

Kaśyapa further emphasises that the above mentioned measures must be according to the harmya māna. The significance of the above statement is that whenever a plot is selected for a temple to be built, the Sthapati has to fix the basic unit of measure he is going to use to construct the central structure or the garbhagṛha (harmya). After fixing that basic unit, he will have to use the same unit of measure for the other structures. The various mānas or measures like kiṣku hasta, etc. have been laid down by the Śaivāgamas (Kāmikāgama, I. 16. 11-24) and these are the various basic measures from which a Sthapati would select one based on the type of structure he is going to construct^[6].

(c) Hasta māna:

The perimeter of the prākāras is then explained in detail.

Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra (XLIII. 9-12) says that the perimeter of the antarmaṇḍala is of three types (i.e.), 3 hastas, 5 hastas and 7 hastas. Similarly the antarhāra is also of three types with 9, 11 and 13 hastas; the madhyahāra has three variants, viz., 15, 17 and 19 hastas; the madhyamaryādā is of the perimeter 21, 23 and 25 hastas and finally the mahāmaryāda is designed with the perimeters of 27, 29 and 31 hastas (in accordance with the inter-space between the prākāras):

kalpyaṃ vai harmyamānena hastamānamathocyate |
tripañcasaptahastena ca prathamaṃ trividhaṃ bhavet ||
navaikādaśahastaṃ ca trayodaśaṃ dvitīyakam |
tripañcasaptadaśahastamekonaviṃśatiḥ ||
madhyahāraṃ tridhā proktaṃ maryādāstu tataḥ śṛṇu |
ekaviṃśa-trayoviṃśa-pañcaviṃśakaraṃ bhavet ||
saptaviṃśa-navaviṃśa-ekatriṃśatkareṇa tu |
mahāmaryādivistāramevaṃ trividhamucyate ||

Using the above measures, Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra states that the prākāras of the Ābhāsa and Vikalpa types of temples can be constructed (XLIII. 13ab):

evamābhāsaharmyāṇāṃ vikalpānāṃ ca kalpayet |

Moreover, for every prākāra starting from the first prākāra, if their perimeter ranges from 7 hastas to 35 hastas in same way as stated before (adding 2 hastas each), then, we get three types of measures for each sāla or prākāra. These 15 measures (7-9-11; 13-15-17; 19-21-23; 25-27-29; 31-33-35) must be used to construct Chanda type of temples (XLIII. 13cd-4):

saptahastaṃ samārabhya pañcatriṃśāvasānakam ||
pratyekaṃ prathamādīnāṃ sālānāṃ tritrimānakam |
tripañcasaṃkhyayā proktaṃ harmyāṇāṃ chandasaṃjñake ||

If the measures of 9 hastas to 37 hastas are assumed as the perimeter of the pañcaprākāras (adding 2 hastas each for three measures each); these 15 measures help in constructing the Jāti type of temple prākāras (XLIII. 15):

navahastaṃ samārabhya saptatriṃśāvasānakam |
prāgvadeva sālasaṃkhyāḥ syurharmyāṇāṃ jātisaṃjñitāḥ ||

The Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra also says that these four types–Ābhāsa, Vikalpa, Chanda and Jāti–of pañca-prākāras can also be constructed using the Harmya māna as explained before (XLIII. 16-7):

prāguktaharmyamānaiśca sālāṃ jātyantasaṃmatām |
pañcaprākāramevaṃ hi ... ... ... ||
.................. 
yatra yadvihitaṃ sālaṃ harmyamānena tu lakṣayet ||

(ii). Mukhāyāma Māna

The mukhāyāma or the measure of the frontage of the prākāra is discussed here. An expert in architecture would design a good frontage for the prākāra. This structure must be designed in such a way that it measures equal or increased by one-fourth or half or three-fourth or same measure or twice or thrice or four times or five times the height of the base.

The mukhāyāma must be built over and higher than the base of the prākāra (XLIII. 18-9):

tasyāmukhe mukhāyāmaṃ kalpayetkalpavittamaḥ |
bījātpādaṃ tu vārdhaṃ vā tripādaṃ tatsamaṃ tu vā ||
dviguṇaṃ triguṇaṃ vā'tha catuḥpañcaguṇaṃ tu vā |
kalpayettu mukhāyāmaṃ bījamūrdhvaṃ dvijottama ||

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

XXXI. 7: prākāraṃ taccaturthaṃ ca kathitaṃ tanmayādikam |
tataḥ pañcamasālā ca mahāmaryādamīritam ||

[2]:

XL. 2-3ab: tatrāntarmaṇḍalaṃ tvādyamantarhārā dvitīyakam |
tṛtīyaṃ madhyahārā syād bāhyahārā caturthakam ||
maryādā pañcamaṃ proktaṃ śālānāṃ śilpavittamaiḥ |... ||

[3]:

Though the term Hāra is used by the Āgamas and the Śilpa texts to represent the projecting components of a vimāna or gopura, here the author uses it as a synonym of prākāra.

[4]:

Cf. Kāmikāgama, I. 71. 28:
bhittyantarālamānaṃ vā bhittibāhyam athāpi vā |
bhittimadhyaṃ tu vā kuryāt prākārāṇāṃ pramāṇakam ||

[5]:

Cf. Ajitāgama, 1967, p. 75, 5fn., gives a varied reading:
prathamaṃ prakṛtestulyaṃ talaṃ tasmādguṇāṅgulaṃ |
nataṃ dvitīyakaṃ pañcāt tadvadeva nataṃ kramāt ||

[6]:

Cf. Ajitāgama, XII; Kāraṇāgama, VII.