Jagati (temple)

Architecture of Khajuraho temples with the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple built on a jagati

Symmetrical architecture on a jagati at Somanathapura

A Jagati is a raised surface, platform or terrace upon which some buddhist or hindu temples are built

The concerned temples are the isolated temples which look like a small mountain, such as the temples of Khajuraho. Not the temples enclosed in walls.

The jagati lies on a base named Adhiṣṭhāna which strengthens the height feeling. The sides of the adhishthana are often ornated with sculptures.

The jagati allows also circumambulation, i.e. the walking of devotees around the shrine. In some large temples, this circumambulation is also possible inside the temple along a wall around the shrine named Pradakshina