Raise over the sanctum a tower whose faces curve inward towards the top (rekha), divided into storeys (bhumis) that are marked on the corners by small ribbed discs (bhumi-amalakas).
Amalaka and kalasha
Crown the shikhara with a great ribbed stone disc, the amalaka, on a short neck, and set over it the kalasha, a water-pot finial.
The amalaka takes its name and shape from the fruit of the āmalaka tree, and its ribbed rim is also read as a lotus or a sun disc. Structurally it is a heavy capstone that locks the corbelled courses of the tower; symbolically it marks the point where the axis of the temple passes into the sky. The kalasha above holds the waters of life. In the south, the equivalent member is the stupi on the domed crown.
Related rules
Multiply the shikhara: attach smaller spires (urushringas) against its faces, and smaller ones again against those, so that the tower becomes a cluster of peaks.
Classify the temple by the shape of its crown: square is nāgara, octagonal drāviḍa, round (or apsidal) vesara.
Cite this page Chris Paton, “Amalaka and kalasha”, The Textbook of Architecture, https://textbookofarchitecture.com/rule/amalaka-kalasha. Text, drawings and models licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.