The Essential Titus Burckhardt conceived as so many directions comprised in the totality of space, or as so many “facets” of a regular polygon, their symmetry betraying the unity of their common principle. That is why the Vâstu-Purusha-mandala is also the seal of Virâj, the cosmic intelligence issuing from the supreme Purusha.13 An effective transformation of the cosmic cycles, or more precisely of the celestial movements, into crystalline form is also found in the symbolism of the sacred city. The mandala par excellence containing 64 squares is compared with the unconquerable city of the gods (Ayodhyâ) which is described in the Râmayâna as a square with eight compartments on each side. This city holds in its center the abode of God (Brahmapura), just as the plan of the temple contains the Brahmâsthana. In Christianity also, the changeless and celestial synthesis of the cosmos is symbolized as a city, the Heavenly Jerusalem; its bounds are held up by twelve pillars and are square, and in its center dwells the Divine Lamb.14 According to the Fathers of the Church, the Heavenly Jerusalem is the prototype of the Christian temple.15 The mandala of 8 x 8 squares corresponds to a chess-board. The game of chess, which comes from India, where it is played by the noble and warrior castes, is an application of the symbolism inherent in the Vâstu-Purusha-mandala (see “Chess as the Symbol of Rulership” on p. 168). We have seen that the construction of a temple is the expression of a cosmology. It carries as well an “alchemical” significance, in so far as it is the support of an inward realization in the artist himself. 13. The directions of space correspond very naturally to the Divine Aspects or Qualities, for they are the result of the polarization with respect to a given center of a space that as such is limitless and undifferentiated. The center chosen then corresponds to the “germ” of the world. It may be observed in passing that the “magic square”, which serves to “coagulate” subtle forces for the performance of a predetermined operation, is a distant derivative of the Vâstu-Purusha-mandala. 14. Attention must be called in passing to the astonishing phonetic and semantic analogy between, on the one hand, agnus and ignis, and on the other, ignis and Agni; and in addition, to the analogy between the English word “ram” and the Ram, whose name in Hindu symbolism is a sacred word corresponding to fire, and is represented as a ram. 15. The altar then corresponds to the center of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the center occupied by the Lamb. The terrestrial symbol of Purusha, the Vâstu-Purushamandala, is at the same time the plan of the temple, of the city, and of the palace in which a consecrated king lives. It also defines the place of the throne, around which are represented, in certain cases, the 32 gods (Padadevatâs), acolytes of Indra, who denote the 4 x 8 directions of space.
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