Why there are no temples discovered in Indus Valley and Sarasvati Valley?
If what has been written in the Puranas about Hindu Gods is true why is it that the Temples dedicated to Gods are not found in these ancient sites?
This is the gist of comments I have been receiving on the Temples of India and the history of Sanatana Dharma.
A Sample.
‘Then why does the harappan people worship only mother goddess and peepal tree.Why didnt they construct any temples.’
I shall reply on Mother Goddess and Peepal Tree in another Post.
The Vedas do not sanction group or community worship.
It does not believe in institutionalizing Religion.
Religion , according to the Vedas is intensely personal.
It does not believe in numbers game for the Religion.
And In Hinduism there is no such thing called Super Natural.
Every thing is natural.
Any thing we call us super natural by the others is only Natural, being a part of Nature and the most the Puranas would go about in describing them is ‘wonderful,astonishing”, ‘Aascharyam’ ,that’s all.
Every thing was taken as Natural.
So every thing including the exploits of Rama and Krishna were taken as part of exhibition of valour and though people considered Rama and Krishna as super Heroes even during their times, no body was in awe of them and people, even ordinary one at that, would challenge them.
Take the instance of a washer-man commenting on Rama’s acceptance of Sita after she was brought back from Lanka!
They were treated as humans while they lived though revered.
And since people of that era were able to acquire powers by penance the ability to travel t will to various planes of existence and other powers which we call now as super natural today, they were not over awed by the exploits of these Gods.
What they have been taught is that any one can attain these powers by character, penance and above all realizing The Self.
These extra qualities acquired are but impediments to the ultimate Goal of Realizing the Self.
The Vedas are for self-realization and as such calls for personal upliftment.
So they did not build any temples for the Gods.
But the Gods were propitiated by Yajnyas and Homas.
Hence there is no evidence of temples in Harappa, SaraswathiValley.
Some references are found about Temples for Mother Goddess.
I am researching into this and shall share the information.
And there is no sanction about building temples in the Vedas, no word about temples at all.
The construction of Temples came later, inspired by the Agamas, which are post-Vedic.
However the oldest temple in the world , on record to-day, is found in Tamil Nadu.
‘The Subrahmanya Temple at Saluvankuppam, Tamil Nadu, is a shrine dedicated to the Hindu deity Murugan. Archaeologists believe that the shrine, unearthed in 2005, consists of two layers: a brick temple constructed during the Sangam period (the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD) and a granite Pallava temple dating from the 8th century AD and constructed on top of the brick shrine. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team which conducted the excavation believe that brick temple could be the oldest of its kind to be discovered in Tamil Nadu. However, noted Indian archaeologist R. Nagaswamy is critical of this claim owing to lack of references to the shrine in the popular literature of the period.’
For more Read here.
The temple of Angkor vat and Changu Narayan temple came later
‘The Agamas are non-vedic in origin [4] and have been dated either as post-vedic texts or as pre-vedic compositions. In theMalay language the word Agama literally means ‘religion’. Agama traditions have been the sources of Yoga and Self Realization concepts in the Indian subcontinent, including Kundalini Yoga and encompass traditions of asceticism. Tantrism includes within its fold Buddhist and Jaina tantras suggesting that Hindu, Jaina and Buddhist tantrism developed separately after arising from common sources of Tantric elements. The Agamic tradition, in general, has been dated to the pre-Mauryan period as references to the tradition are found in later vedic literature of Atharvaveda.’
‘The pagoda style temple has several masterpieces of 5th and 12th century Nepalese art. According to legends Changu Narayan temple existed as early as 325 A.D. in the time of Licchavi King Hari Datta Verma and it is one of Nepal’s richest structures historically as well as artistically. In the grounds there is a stone pillar inscription of great importance recording the military exploits of King Man Deva who reigned from 496 A.D. to 524 A.D. The first epigraphic evidence of Nepalese history found in the temple premises during the reign of the Licchavi King Mandeva dating back to 464 A.D. shows that Changu had already been established as a sacred site in the 3rd century A.D. It is the earliest inscription known in Nepal. The temple was restored during the lifetime of Ganga Rani, consort of Siva Simha Malla who reigned from 1585 to 1614.’
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According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea. According to the 13th century Chinese travelerDaguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect.
The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 – c. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king’s state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as “Varah Vishnu-lok” after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king’s death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.[6] In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.
Citation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80gama_%28Hinduism%29
http://www.quora.com/Which-is-the-oldest-Hindu-temple-which-still-exists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
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