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8 haps primitive in form and structure, served all the purposes of temples, and were doubtless the prototypes of those which were in later times built, on a great and costly scale, of permanent materials. In them the officiating priest, the householder, or Kshatriya chieftain, passed days, sometimes even a year, performing the prescribed rites.

Now, when the king or chieftain, assisted by his purōhita, or chaplain, presided over the tribal sacrifices as the son of Sūrya, the Sun-god, it is more than probable that the sacrificial hut constructed for him was of a special form easily distinguished by the crowd of the "impure," who were not allowed to enter the consecrated ground, that it was crowned by the royal or tribal ensign, and marked with the symbols of the Sun-god.

Furthermore, as the lighting of fires was an essential part of the Vedic ritual, it may be assumed that the sacrificial chamber was constructed so that the fire might burn effectively, and with the least inconvenience to the sacrificer—i.e., it must have had some kind of chimney with appropriate vent-holes for the smoke. All these conditions are fulfilled perfectly by the sikhara of the Hindu temple. The tall spire over the shrine, pierced by the sun-windows, which now are only ornamental since the shrine is no longer a fire-chamber, would have served admirably the purpose of a chimney. It forms a conspicuous landmark; it is crowned by the same insignia of royalty as Asoka's imperial standards—the amalaka, or pericarp of the blue lotus, which is the flower of Vishnu-Sūrya, the Preserver of the Universe, and specially the patron deity of a Kshatriya king. In the earliest known examples the curvilinear faces of the sikhara are always decorated with Sun-emblems. The name vimāna, the