Part 8.3 - Details regarding the Maṇḍapa (Pavilion)

[Full title: Features of houses for the four classes (caturgṛha-vidhāna) (3) The Pavilion (maṇḍapa)]

A pavilion is an open structure of a building that provides shelter. It is a kind of space or tent open to all sides. A pavilion creates an open, airy space within the house. According to the P. K Acharya maṇḍapa denotes various forms such as—‘a detached building, a pavilion, an open hall, an arbor, a tower, a temple’^[1].

Maya states that—

prāsādābhimukhe puṇyakṣetre rārāmake shūbhe |
grāmādivastumadhye ca caturdikṣu vidikṣvapi ||
vāhyābhyantarato vā’ppi gṛhāṇāṃ madhame mukhe | (Mayamata 27.2-3)

[“There are in front of shrines, in places of pilgrimage and of retreat, and they are in pleasant spots; in settlements such as village (they are placed) in the middle and at the cardinal and intermediate points; in houses they may be inside or outside, in the centre or in front.”]^[2]

The text Mānasāra recorded almost same data—

devālayeṣu sarveṣu saṃmukhe vahumaṇḍapaṃ |
puṇyakṣetre tathārāme grāmādau vātumadhyame ||
caturdikṣu vidikṣu yāppi vāhyābhyantarato'thavā |
narāṇāṃ gṛhamadhey ca saṃmukhe maṇḍapaṃ tu vā || (Mānasāra 34.17-18)

[“Pavilions should be built in holy places, in pleasure garden, in the centre of villages and such other architectural objects (e.g. towns), on the four main and intermediate quarters, within or outside (the compound); in compound of the human dwellings or in front of them.”]^[3]

Different types of maṇḍapas are arranged based on the requirements of the four castes. For instance, a plan comprising sixteen square pavilions should be designed for gods, brāhmins, and kings.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

P.K. Acharya, A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture, series.1. p. 468

[2]:

B. Dagens, Mayamata, vol. 2. P. 573

[3]:

P.K. Acharya, Mānasāra, series No. 4. P-340.