Temples - III

 

Temples – Part III

Continued from Part II and the concluding part

“OK, agreed”, said one of them from the previously discontented group.  “But, how do you justify your statement that temples served the agrarian purpose and acted as refuge for people during natural calamities.” There was sincerity in the speaker’s tone now.

“Good question. I appreciate it”, said the guide. He took the group to a spot to show the pinnacle of the tower above the sanctum sanctorum.  It was a golden coloured pot like structure. “This ‘pot’ contains life seeds of various grains. These seeds are preserved there and every 12 years they are replaced with new, fresh ones. Old scriptures tell us that in case of crop failure these seeds were retrieved from there and distributed among farmers, something like a seed bank. Since we have modern day seed banks and other agro-support systems, this idea has become obsolete but it was done with a purpose in those days.”

“Excellent!” exclaimed the group. “I still have one more question…” said a girl from the group. “How did temples serve as….” “I get your question”, said the guide. “See this structure, how strong and sturdy it is. It has withstood weathering over centuries. It gave refuge to people at the time of flooding and other natural calamities. Those day, of course, the kitchen was used to its fullest capacity to serve food at that time.”

“How was the site for temple construction chosen?” “Soil analysis was conducted to check for the suitability as the structures were planned to be huge.”

Good Bye all!! The guide bid adieu to the group.

The whole group was thoroughly impressed and left the place ruminating the facts that were left in the sands of time for long.

Concluded