My thoughts on Ancient Architecture: Konark Sun Temple

Konark Sun temple is famous for its exquisite and intricate stone carvings that cover every inch of the temple.

The name “Konark” loosely derived from Sanskrit “Kona” and “Arka” which means Angle or Corner and Ray or Light. It is built by Eastern Ganga dynasty king “Sri Sri Narasimhadeva I” over victory from Northern Provence. It was built in 1255 CE, more than 750 years old monument. It is constructed with a design of a massive chariot with 24 wheels which represents 24 hours of a day and 7 horses pulling the chariot represents 7 days of a week (some people also say it represents 7 colors of light). It is constructed with Black Granite and Black Pogoda. It is located in current state of Odisa, India.

It is said that it took 16 years to complete the temple. The temple has mainly 4 parts

1. Main Sanctum (Vimana),
2. Prayer Hall (Jagamohana),
3. Dining Hall (Boga Mandapam) and
4. Dance Hall (Natya Mandiram)

Accurate Sundial

The most interesting fact about the temple is constructed in such a way that the rising sun rays first fall on the entrance and gradually flows as per the sun’s direction. Out of 24 wheels of the chariot, four can be used as a sundials. To till day people uses this wheels to tell time accurately. The dial shows the time in anti-clock wise direction. It is so accurate that people can say time with minutes. The sundial has 8 major spokes and 8 minor spokes. The time between each spoke is 3 hours and time between each minor spoke is 90 minutes. All minor spokes are located exactly in the middle of major spokes. At the rim of the wheel, there are small beads between all major and minor spokes. There are totally 30 beads between each spoke major and minor, which cracks down to 3 minutes to each bead. The eight spokes in each wheel have a statue of a women that represents ideal posters of woman's day to day activities.

Image Credits

Undoubtedly, it is the result of great engineering skills of the region. Also I wonder how they managed co-ordination between Engineers, Astronomers and Sculptors to create massive construction in a time where there are no computers, I mean how they have calculated and maintained their work safe for 16 years.

Current Day Konark

As every beginning has ending, the Sun Temple at Konark had tough times when the rulers from northern India invaded Kalinganagar. The Sun Temple at Konark was badly damaged in the attack. It is also said that It is said that priests has moved the Main Shrine to Puri at Puri Jagannath Temple. Nature took over the destruction from there. Over the centuries, sand covered the building and salty breezes gradually destroyed the stone. The Temple buried under a sand until 20th century, when restoration of temple began.

Image Credits

Konark Sun temple is declared as UNISCO World Heritage site in 1984 and featured as one of seven wonders of India.

I have written this article with some of my personal experiences by visit to the temple and reading a book ** The Sun Temple of Konark - Anil Dey