Mulavar () or Mula-murti is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

term referring to the main

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, or a

murti In the Hinduism, Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a Hindu deities, deity or Hindu saints, saint used during ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing d ...

(

cult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a Cultural artifact, human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit or Daimon, daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, incl ...

) in a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

Location

The central deity, ''mulavar'', is located near the centre of temples, than the images that surround them, and are precisely located at the points corresponding to the energies they represent on the temple plan's power diagram. During the ''Kumbabhishekam'' or the coronation event, the temple is renovated, while the mulavar image is moved to a temporary location. The practice is called ''Balalayam'', during which a temporary image is housed in the sanctum.

Sanctum

Garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...

(lit. womb chamber) is a Sanskrit word referring to the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple, where resides the

(idol or icon) of the primary

of the temple. The sanctum is located at the centre of the temple, and its only opening mostly faces east. Only the ''

pujari Pūjari is a designation given to a Hindu temple priest who performs pūja. The word comes from the Sanskrit word "पूजा" meaning worship. They are responsible for performing temple rituals, including ''pūjā'' and ''aarti''. ''Pujari'' ...

'' (priests) are allowed to enter the sanctum. The mulavar is usually made of stone images in most South Indian temples. In some temples, it is made of limestone or wood. In Shiva temples, the mulavar vigraha is usually a

lingam A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...

(an iconic form), while in all other temples, the sculpted image of the respective deities are sported with their weapons in different positions based on the legend associated with the temple. In large temples, more than one image is housed inside the sanctum. Some of the temples like the ones in the 108 Divya Desams, the 12 Jyotirlingas, the Panchabhoota temples, the 51

Shakti Peethas The Shakta pithas, also called Shakti pithas or Sati pithas (, , ''seats of Shakti''), are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of Ad ...

are all believed to be self-manifested and made out of mostly black stone.

Religious practices

The temple priests perform the '' puja'' (prayer rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed five times a day; Ushathkalam at 6:00 a.m., Kalasanthi at 9:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 1:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., and Ardha Jamam at 9:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: ''abhisheka'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering), and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for the presiding deities in the temple. The worship is held amidst music with '' nadasvaram'' (a pipe instrument) and '' tavil'' (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

(sacred text) read by priests, and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ' and ', fortnightly rituals like '' pradosham,'' and monthly festivals like ''

amavasya Amāvásyā () is the lunar phase of the new moon in Sanskrit. Indian calendars use 30 lunar phases, called tithi in India. The dark moon tithi is when the Moon is within 12 degrees of the angular distance between the Sun and Moon before conj ...

'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', '' pournami'' (full moon day), and ''sathurthi'' when ablution and special poojas are performed on the mulavar. The ablution on the mulavar deity is performed in a sequence with various material like milk, curd, honey, and sugar. These are meant to indicate five elemental aspects of earth and with the ablution, prayers are sought to please the five natural elements.

References

External links

{{Worship in Hinduism Hindu temple architecture Sanskrit words and phrases Hindu iconography