Amalaka

Double amalaka at the top of the Devi Jagadambi Temple at Khajuraho
Prominent amalakas at the Siddheshwar Mukteshwar Group Temple, Bhubaneswar

An amalaka (Sanskrit: आमलक), is a segmented or notched stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim, that sits on the top of a Hindu temple's shikhara or main tower. According to one interpretation, the amalaka represents a lotus, and thus the symbolic seat for the deity below. Another interpretation is that it symbolizes the sun, and is thus the gateway to the heavenly world.[1]

The name and, according to some sources the shape, of the amalaka comes from the fruit of Phyllanthus emblica (or Mirobalanus embilica),[2] the Indian gooseberry, or myrobolan fig tree. This is called āmalaki in Sanskrit, and the fruit has a slightly segmented shape, though this is much less marked than in the architectural shape.[3]

The amalaka itself is crowned with a kalasam or finial,[4] from which a temple banner is often hung.

  1. ^ "Khajuraho Architecture". Personal.carthage.edu. 2006-01-12. Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2012-08-09.; Kramrisch, 348-356
  2. ^ Harle, 54; Kramrisch, 356
  3. ^ Kramrisch, 354-355
  4. ^ Kramrisch, 350, 355