Murdhesṭakā
By Swami Harshananda
Sometimes transliterated as: Murdhestaka, MurdhesTakA, Murdhestakaa
murdhesṭakā (‘topmost brick’)
Construction of Hindu temples is a highly evolved science. At each step and
stage, some kind of religious observance is performed before proceeding further. Laying of the last and topmost brick (iṣṭakā = brick) is one such, done before starting the work on the finial. This brick is called ‘murdheṣṭakā’. Over this comes the kalaśa or the finial. Aṅkurārpaṇa is the rite performed on this occasion.
See ANKURĀRPANA also.
References
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore
OLD CONTENT
murdhesṭakā (‘topmost brick’) Construction of Hindu temples is a highly evolved science. At each step and stage, some kind of religious observance is performed before proceeding further. Laying of the last and topmost brick (iṣṭakā = brick) is one such, done before starting the work on the finial. This brick is called ‘murdheṣṭakā’. Over this comes the kalaśa or the finial. Aṅkurārpaṇa is the rite performed on this occasion. See ANKURĀRPANA also.