A ''mandir kalash'' is a metal or stone spire used to top the domes of Hindu temples. It has been used for the purpose since the eras the

Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

, Guptas and

Mauryas The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

Types

Basically, There are four types of ''mandir kalash'': * ''Singh-Kalash'' (''Singh'': Horn): this is the most commonly used kalash, such as in the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. It is shaped like the horn of a bull. Hence, it is named so. * ''Tri-Kalash'' (''Tri'': Three): This is a group of three long kalash. It is mostly used on

Gopurams A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South I ...

and main gates. Example:

Badrinath Temple Badrinath or Badrinarayana Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. It is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand, India. The temple is also one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu - holy shrines for Vaishnavas - who is ...

. * ''Matka-Kalash'' (''Matka'': Pot): This kalash is shaped like pitchers and earthenware pots. it appears as if pots have been placed on top of one another. Example:

Mumba devi Temple Mumba Devi Mandir is an old temple in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India dedicated to the goddess ', the local incarnation of the Devi (Mother Goddess). The Marathi ' derives from Sanskrit. Mumba Devi is the goddess of the city of Mumbai. The name Mumba ...

. * ''Gol-Kalash'' (''Gol'': Round): This kalash is round and has a very small and fine tip on top. Example:

Jagannath Temple, Puri The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu - one of the Trimurti, trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. Puri is in the state of Odisha, on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was ...

Materials

Kalash are mostly made of metal. Main metals used are

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. In famous temples like Shree Samadhi Mandir, Shirdi and

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...

, noble metals like

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

are used.

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

is rarely used.{{citation needed, date=December 2017 In ancient times, temples carved out of stone had stone kalash. Many temples like

Ellora Caves Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE., Quote: "These 34 m ...

Hampi Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi (town), Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire i ...

and

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is o ...

still have these stone kalash. In South India, Kalash made of wood are common. Also, in small wooden temples used in homes by

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

people, kalash are carved of wood or made of metal.

Gallery

Tri Kalash.jpg, Tri Kalash on a Gopuram in

Meenakshi Temple Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundaraswarar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Matka Kalash.jpg, A

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

Matka Kalash Kailash temple Kalash.jpg, Stone carved kalash, Kailasha Temple,

Badrinath temple kalash.jpg, Tri Kalash,

Siddhivinayak-temple .jpg, Singh Kalash,

Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shri Ganesh. It is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was originally built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on 19 November 1801. It is one of the ri ...

Kalash shirdi temple.jpg, Matka Kalash, Shree Samadhi Mandir,

Shirdi Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately from Ahmednagar and ...

Jagannath-dham.jpg, Gol Kalash,

Ambaji temple kalash.jpg, Wide and Flat Singh Kalash, Abu Ambaji Temple, Gujarat

References

Hindu temple architecture