Tamas : one of the three
Guna. For Shri Aurobindo, tamas is the force of unconsciousness and
inerty, qualitatively expressed by darkness, inability and inaction. Tamas is the germ of inertia and lack of intelligence,
the negation of sattwa and râjas, which dissolves all things they have created and maintained
Torana : a portico at the entrance of a
buddhist stûpa enclosure (like in Sanchi), or in a temple.
Wood or bronze torana, above the temple doorgates, are profusely ornated in Nepalese temples of the Kathmandu valley.
See also the stone torana which forms an elegant arch, in front of the Mukteshvara temple (Bhubaneshwar, Orissa).
Another meaning for torana is tissue tapestries from Gujarat and Rajasthan, in the form of an arch, embroidered of
religious motives, animals and birds,
