Hi, sharing technical or non-technical stuffs doesn’t make a blog interesting. In that case while researching for a new topic, I decided to share about “KONARK SUN TEMPLE.” How many have heard about this temple before? If yes just read below to get additional info about it or if no just read the blog to know basics about it. Either way this blog make you feel attached and keeps you engaged on it.
The sun temple was built using black granite on behalf of God Surya (Sun) in 13th century by King “Narasimhadeva I” who ruled Eastern Ganga Dynasty from 1238 to 1250 CE (Common Era). The construction work of the temple was carried out by Samba, son of Lord Krishna. He carried out this work because his leprosy was got cured by God Surya.
Konark was built in the mid-town of Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the Bay of Bengal which is 60 kilometers away from Bhubaneswar. Konark temple is also called as Black Pagoda.
Konark temple has complex appearance of 200 feet (61 m) high and resemble in the form of chariot which is 100 foot (30 m) high. The chariot has huge wheels and horses carved from stone.
ETYMOLOGY OF KONARK
The term Konark was derived from the combination of two Sanskrit words Kona (corner or angle) and Arka (sun).
INTERESTING FACTS OF KONARK
The temple was originally built at the mouth of the river Chandrabhaga (river dried up as per now). It has twelve pairs of wheels which is 3 meters wide and pulled by set of seven horses (where 4 horses lies on the right and 3 on the left).
The twelve wheels represent months of a year. The shadow of the wheel falls on the base of the temple which helps in calculating exact time of the day. The spokes of the wheel form sundial (clock).
Each wheel has 8 spokes each spoke represent “Prahar” where first four spokes represents day and other four represents night.
Seven horses in chariot of the temple sculpture represents seven days in a week.
Konark temple is considered as the UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its antique architecture.
Two lions are seen at the either sides of the temple entrance which represents power. These two lions are crushing the elephants where elephants represents wealth. Beneath each elephants a human is crushed. This complete portray shows a major problem faced by an individual in his life-time.
The idol of the temple floats in air due to arrangement of magnet and iron plates. A heavy magnet is placed at the top of the temple.
The sculpture of Konark consists of deities; dancers; and scenes of life court etc.
Famous quotes about Konark by Rabindranath Tagore: Language of stone is superior to language of human.
But as per the study Konark temple was closed down by British in 1903 by covering it with sand. Still the temple was restored by UNESCO site in 1984 and meant to be best pilgrimage for Hindus. People gather here every year of February month to celebrate “Chandrabhaga Mela.” This was the famous festival celebrated by Odisha people. This was celebrated on seventh day of the month magha (11th month of Hindu calendar).
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