Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Sun Temple

Konark

One of the four rare sun temples of India, the Konark was built between 1226 to 1250 A.D. and is attributed to the Eastern Ganga Dynasty ruler Narasimha Deva I. Either built over a win or the birth of his son, Bhanu Deva, this temple acted as a sundial throughout the day. There are four entrances, with horses, elephants, lions and warriors on all four sides. Konark means the corner of the Sun. There are wonderful sculptures of nymphs, dancers, mythology and Kamasutra all over the temple, and the 24 wheels represent 24 hours of the day. Each wheel has large dials representing 3 hours of the day and smaller ones for 1.5 hours. The dots represent every 3 minutes and are accurate to IST even today. The Maya and Chaya temples lie adjacent to the main sanctum, along with the royal kitchen and Bhog Hall. The temple that's built like a chariot was once drawn by 7 horses representing the 7 days of the week. Most of the temple's broken ruins are now in the museum, while the statues of th...