About

The Sun Temple at Konark is a 13th-century temple situated in Konark, Odisha. It was built by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty around 1250 CE. The Sun Temple is in the shape of a gigantic chariot with carved stone wheel, pillars and walls and is led by six enormously carved horses. The temple is said to have been originally built at the mouth of river Chandrabhaga but the waterline receded since then. The temple was known as the Black Pagoda by European sea-farers, contrasting it with the White Pagoda which was the Puri Jagannath Temple to the south. These two temples were used for navigating the east coast. The temple is built in the traditional style of Kalinga Architecture, with a jagamohana (assembly hall), natamandira (festival hall), bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings), and the vimana (the sanctum sanctorum). Some parts of the vimana were still upright as late as the 19th century, but vandalism and neglect have led to further destruction since then. The part that is still standing is the jagamohana, with its pyramidal roof, very similar to the jagamohana of the Lingaraj Temple. Some walls and columns of the natamandira (festival hall), bhoga-mandapa can also be seen, along with the lower part of the wall of the main vimana. The 24 wheels of the charriot are a distinctive feature of the Sun Temple. These wheels have eight major and eight minor spokes each, along with a beaded rim. It is said that the wheels can be used as sundials to tell the time with a high degree of accuracy. The chariot is drawn by seven horses - named after the seven meters of Sanskrit prosody: Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnih, Jagati, Trishtubha, Anushtubha, and Pankti. While the height of the surviving jagamohana is 39 meters, it has been estimated that the height of the vimana was approximately 68.58m The sun temple was made from three types of stone. Chlorite was used for the door lintel and frames as well as some sculptures. Laterite was used for the core of the platform and staircases near the foundation. Khondalite was used for other parts of the temple.