Vedas are four
Rig,
Yajur,
Sama and Atharva.
In addition to this there are six more,Vedanga,Limbs of the Vedas.
They are,
Siksha,Vyakarana,Chandas,Niruktha, Jyothisha and Kalpa.
None of these relate to Temple construction.
This is in tune with the Vedic approach of Reality being Abstract .
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Each Veda has Anugrahamani on this subject.
To explain the meaning of the Vedas there is a special Group called Niruktham.
There are six sub texts of the Vedas called Vedangas.
They are Siksha,Vyakarana,Chandas,NirukthamJyothisham and kalpa.
https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/ramanan50.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/veda-sutras-vedangas-details/amp/
However,the Puranas and Smritis refer to temple construction.
It may be noted that the Smritis do not have the same authority as Vedas.
Smritis are traditions being followed.
In case of conflict between Veda and Smritis,Vedas are the deciding authority.
One may find references to Temple building in Puranas.
Also how to construct divine images.
Agni Purana describes methods of constructing Shiva Lingam.
Puranas are ancient history and as such they are facts and they are not the final authority.
However they are sign posts for Righteous Living
So the concept of Temples is not a part of Vedas.
This ,as mentioned in my earlier article,is a later Concept.
And this concept seems to have been of Dravidian origin.
The earliest temple of Murugan is found in Saluvarkuppam, Pondicherry,India.
It is dated around Fourth century BC.
The Guruvayur temple of Lord Krishna was built by a Chola king.
‘The Temple is constructed B.C 3000(Around 5000 years oldest Temple) According to legends, the deity worshipped here is more than 5000 years old. But there are no historical records to establish it. In the 14th century, “Kokasandesam” (a Tamil literary work), references to a place called Kuruvayur are made. As early as the 16th century (fifty years after Narayaniyamwas composed) many references to Kuruvayur are seen’
And the temples of South India seem to be more ancient and are of different architecture.
Shiva worship in Tamil seems to have preceded the Vedas.
(This is a contentious issue as it is difficult to say which language , Sanskrit or Tamil,is more ancient.)
Thiruvananthapuram ,Abode of Shiva is 3.94 Billion years old.
Tirupati is 2100 Million Years old.
The worship of Vedic deities are found in ancient Tamil literature.
The Tamils classified Land into five Regions.
Kurinji,Mountaneous Region,God Murugan,
Marutham, Paddy fields,Indra.
Mullai,Forest land, Vishnu,Maayon,
Neydhal,Seashore,God Varuna and Paalai,Desert,God Kotravai,Durga.
One finds these in the oldest Tamil work available, Tholkappiyam,A book on Tamil Grammar.
So the concept of Personal God’s are present both in Sanskrit and Tamil
Curiously,Shiva is not mentioned in Tholkappiyam as God of a specific land area!
This point made me arrive at the hypothesis that Shiva was a human being and that He was the First to Realize Brahman through Vaasi Yoga!
Temple description abounds in Tamil literature.
Silappadikaram,one of the Five Tamil Epics mentions this.
Temple for Kotravai and Indra.
Now Poompuhar remains are dated to be 11000 Years ago!
Now on the find of the material being dated 11000 Years sets the Tamil History and the Sanatana Dharma back at least by 20,000 years.
But the Tamil Sangams are dated at
“that the first two of which were held in cities since “taken by the sea”, and the third of which was held during the 5th century BC in the present-day city of Madurai.'(wiki).
Silappadikaram has been dated to likely belong to the beginning of Common era.
References of temples in Silappadikaram.
They also stop at a temple where “Aiyai, goddess of hunters” is being worshiped.
When leaving the city of Puhar, Kannagi and Kovalan pass by “the great Vishnu temple”, “seven Buddhist Viharas”, and “wandering Jain monks” (26) all within close proximity to each other showing the obvious acceptance of multiplicity. At the time of Kannagi and Kovalan “Brahmanism (Hinduism), Jainism, and Buddhism – were at the time harmoniously coexisting in the south” (Adigal VIII).http://www.mahavidya.ca/2010/06/07/the-silappadikaram/
Description: This is one of the 2 Shivastalams in the ancient Chola seashore capital of of Poompuhaar, a popular tourist destination, the other one beingTiruchaaikkadu.. Pallavaneeswaram is the 10th in the series of Tevara Stalangal on the northern banks of the river Kaveri in the Chola region of Tamilnadu. Temples in existence in Puhaar have been mentioned in the ancient Tamil work, Silappadikaaram. This is a shrine at the confluence of the Kaveri with the ocean. Poompuhaar was once a hoary port of the Cholas and is now a tourist attraction. The remnants of Puhar are seen under the ocean. Kovalan and Kannaki of Silappatikaram are said to have been born here.The Temple: This is a small temple with a 5 tiered Rajagopuram and a single prakaram. A Pallava king’s association with the temple lends the name.
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