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The Sun Temple @ Konark

2008.04.21

The Sun temple belongs to the Kalinga School of Indian Temples with characteristic curvilinear towers mounted by cupolas.

This is one of the 24 wheels that is still intact. 24 wheels for 24 hours of the day.
Each of them is about 10feet tall!!

The walls are covered with beautiful carvings depicting stories out of royal life. Wind and sand erosion have taken their toll.

Even the base of the temples has lovely carvings. Here is a procession of elephants...

The carvings also depict humans and animals in sexual poses...out of the pages of the KamaSutra?

The Audience Hall has been sealed off. This is to prevent a collapse of the structure. Only 2 out of the original 22 remain today.

The temple is also known as Black Pagoda due to its appearance from a distance...it looks like a black turban...

The Audience Hall survives in its entirely, but only small portions of the Dancing Hall (nata Mandir) and the Dining Hall (Bhoga-Mandap) have survived

This is the remains of the Dining Hall (Bhoga-Mandap) behind the main standing structure.

The main sanctum which enshrined the presiding deity has fallen off.

At the entrance of the temple is a Nata Mandir. This is where the temple dancers used to perform dances in homage to the Sun god.

Legends describe a lodestone on the top of the Sun temple. Due to its magnetic effects, vessels passing through the Konark sea were drawn to it, resulting in heavy damage. Other legends state that magnetic effects of the lodestone disturbed ships' compasses so that they did not function correctly. To save their shipping, the Portugese voyagers took away the lodestone, which was acting as the central stone and keeping all the stones of the temple wall in balance. Due to its displacement, the temple walls lost their balance and eventually fell down. But there is no record of this occurrence in any historical records, nor is there any record of the existence of such a powerful lodestone at Konark.

Konark has passed through the reigns of various Hindu, Muslim and Maratha kings through its history before the British took over and then India got independent.

Sun worship in the Konark temple was ended upon the removal of the image from the temple. This resulted in the end of pilgrimages to Konark. The port at Konark was also closed, due to pirate attacks. Konark was as glorious a city for Sun worship as it was for commercial activities, but after the cessation of these activities, Konark became deserted and was left to develop as a dense forest for years.

Konark is also home to an annual dance festival, held every December, devoted to classical Indian dance forms, including the traditional classical dance of Orissa, Odissi.

The ruins of this temple were excavated in late 19th century.

The magnificent Sun Temple at Konark is the culmination of Orissan temple architecture, and one of the most stunning monuments of religious architecture in the world.Built by the King Narasimhadeva in the 13th century, the entire temple was designed in the shape of a colossal chariot with 7 horses and 24 wheels , carrying the sun god, Surya, across the heavens. This World Heritage site (UNESCO) is the pride of the Oriya people.
Click on the link to read its magnificent and mysterious history.

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