Ribbed or notched stone disk that is part of the crowning segment in Kalinga and Nagara temple architecture. The amalaka is placed on top of the temple’s superstructure or shikhara, and surmounted by a kalasha or vase finial. It is said to be named after the Indian gooseberry, amala (fruit of the tree Phyllanthus emblica), and symbolises either a lotus — the seat of the temple deity — or a gateway to the heavens.
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