The temple, mandir, stone temple, indian temple, hindu temple, pilgrim, religious plac: INDIAN HINDU TEMPLE - THE SUN TEMPLE ORISSA

The sun Temple of Orissa is Located on the shoreline,little over 3 km from the sea, the temple takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka)., the Sun God, and is heavily decorated with stone carving. The Temple is located in natural surroundings, abounding with casuarina plantations and other types of trees such as mahogany, rosewood, eel which grow on sandy soil. The area of the Surya Mandir devoid of people, covered with dense forest, filled with sand, overrun by wild animals and became the abode of pirates. It is said that even the locals feared to go to Konark in broad daylight.

The Sun Temple of Orissa is devoted Hindu Lord Surya. The Sun Temple, built in the thirteenth century, was conceived as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God, with twelve pairs of exquisitely ornamented wheels pulled by seven horses.

Temple Of India - Konark Surya Temple

About The Sun Temple marvel

This fantastic effort in human perseverance took 1200 workers about 12 years to complete and that the ’’Dadhinauti’’ (Peak) of the main temple had to be installed by the 12 year old son Dharmapada Moharana of the Chief Architect Bishu Moharana. The said peak being a 52 ton magnet. This magnet was the reason the entire edifice endured the harsh conditions (being on the sea front) for centuries without being affected. The main pratima (idol) was believed to be floating in the air because of the unique arrangements of the main magnets and other series of magnets. The placement of the temple had been aligned in a way that the first rays of the Sun falling on the coast would pass thru the Nata Mandir and would reflect from the diamond placed at the center of this idol in the Main Sanctum. This phenomena would last for a couple of minutes during the early morning. These magnets were later removed by the Britishers for acquiring the magnetic stone

The Sun Temple of Orissa Uniqueness of the temple lies in the fact that between every two stone pieces there lies an iron plate. The temples higher floors have been reinforced using massive iron beams in the structure.

Concerning The Sun Temple (Surya mandir) Of Orissa

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