Stone disk on the top of a Hindu temple's main tower
Double amalaka at the top of the Devi Jagadambi Temple at KhajurahoProminent 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.
^"Khajuraho Architecture". Personal.carthage.edu. 2006-01-12. Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2012-08-09.; Kramrisch, 348-356
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...
Amalaka Ekadashi or Amalaki Ekadashi (Sanskrit: आमलकी एकादशी, romanized: Āmalakī Ekādaśī) is a Hindu holy day, celebrated on the 11th day (ekadashi) of...
the first myrobalan trees. The Amalaka Ekadashi is a Hindu occasion dedicated to Vishnu, venerating the myrobalan. Amalaka at the top of the Lingaraj temple...
moulding resembles Temple 47. The tower is capped with a cogged disc (amalaka) and above it is a hypethral linga. The walls of this temple feature niches...
straight-sided shikhara tower over 55 metres (180 feet) high, with an amalaka near the top. The current structure dates from the Gupta Empire, in the...
dome, whose exterior diameter measures 80 feet (24 m), is crowned by an amalaka. Originally, it was crowned by a chhatri. The tomb was originally painted...
austere, but impressive; like a Hindu temple, it is topped with a small amalaka and a round finial like a kalasha. Unlike the buildings mentioned previously...
plan, and the walls are variegated by ressaults (called rathas or pagas). Amalaka (also called mastaka), a stone disk with ridges on the rim, is placed over...
named Hastāmalaka (one with the amalaka fruit in his hand) since the knowledge of the Self was natural to him like an Amalaka fruit in one's hand. Adi Shankara...
described in the Charaka Samhita, that use Bibhitaki. Description of Fourth Amalaka Rasaayan, which includes Bibhitaki as one of the fruits: By this treatment...
vertical spires with diminishing miniature shikharas capped with a flat amalaka. The walls are decorated with geometrical patterns but are devoid of images...
Carl Linnaeus in 1753 through Latinising its original Sanskrit name आमलक (āmalaka), to which the species have since been planted as ornamentals in various...
state. However, after the partial collapse of the Jagannath Temple (in the Amalaka part of the temple) on 14 June 1990, people became apprehensive and considered...
veranda has eight pillars of two types. One has an octagonal base with amalaka and lotus capital. The other lacks a distinctly shaped base, features an...
omphalos, helmet, tegurium, kubba, kalube, maphalia, vihdra, parasol, amalaka tree, cosmic egg, and heavenly bowl. While the modern terms are purely...
curvilinear profile of squares diminishing as they rise towards the sky. The amalaka and kalasha of the northern style, however, are damaged and not in place...
parterres are all in bloom, and the soft cool green of the mango, jaman, amalaka, and nim trees has not yet been spoiled by the hot, dusty winds of the...
Kosambi. Charles Allen writes that Ashoka built this Monastery and that the Amalaka stupa outside the monastery was built to commemorate his death.[citation...
"over benches and back rest and topped by an inverted ghata, compressed amalaka in between two square plates, inverted stepped pyramid and finally crowned...
Sheesham, Tahli and Indian Rosewood) -- Dalbergia sissoo Indian gooseberry (Amalaka in Sanskrit, amla in Hindi, आवळा (āwaLā) in Marathi, Amlaki in Bengali...
Type Location Builder Comment 80 t ~66 m (Vimana) Brihadisvara Temple Amalaka block Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India Chola Empire (1010 AD) Block of granite...
nyagrodha, ten tamarind trees, the group of three, viz., kapittha, bilva, and amalaka, and five mango trees, one never visits hell. Sacred groves are scattered...
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