Perpetuity bounded by time: Konark sun temple part- 2

This post is follow up from previous one:-Perpetuity bounded by time: Konark sun temple part-1.

The name Konârka is derived from the Sanskrit word Kona (meaning angle) and word Arka (meaning sun) in reference to the temple which was dedicated to the Sun god Surya.

View of temple.

Strangely though it is called temple but prayers were never being offered there, since the time it was built in 1250 AD.
It also symbolizes the passage of time, from childhood to young age to old age. There are many stone carvings on the wall to emphasis it. Hindu Religion always laid much stress on this theory.  There are three main gates to lead into this temple guarded by lions, horses and elephants. All of them are symbolic to power and valor. Now at present much of them are lost to salty breeze that eroded the stones. It remained buried under a huge mound of sand until the 20 th century, when restoration begun under British. 

In the days of its grandeur, the main idol of Sun God used to remain suspended in the air with the help of the huge magnet at the peak and another magnet fixed at the basement.

There was a diamond in the center of the idol which reflected the rays of sun that passed. In 1627, the then Raja of Khurda took the Sun idol from Konark to the Jagannath temple in Puri. The Sun temple belongs to the Kalingan school of Indian temple architecture. The alignment of the Sun Temple is along the East-West direction. The inner sanctum or vimana used to be surmounted by a tower or shikara but it was razed in the 19th century. The audience hall or jagamohana still stands and comprises majority of the ruins. The roof of the dance hall or natmandir has fallen off. It stands at the eastern end of the ruins on a raised platform.

lion mounting elephant, riding on human head.
The guide told us to show that ego should be curbed strongly when entering a temple

The wheel of time.

Sun God in the afternoon.

Konark is also home to an annual dance festival called Konark Dance Festival, held every December, devoted to classical Indian dance forms, including the traditional classical dance of Odisha, Odissi.

I think I can never get over by this over whelming temple, absolutely stupendous.
I feel the necessity to upload small video from you tube.




Pics from web and video from you tube.
Thanks for posting them.

Perpetuity bounded by time: Konark sun temple part- 1.

View of Konark temple.

TIME FROZEN IN TIME

That is Konark temple for me. Absolutely spell bounding, majestic, personal and yet so aloof, I am still having goosebumps, when thinking of it. Konark sun temple, dedicated to Sun God, is a marvelous piece of unmatched Architectural feat. It was made all those centuries ago and still standing tall in the lush green, manicured gardens of the state of Odisha formerly known as (Orissa). The temple was granted World Heritage Site status by the UNESCO in 1984. 

Perpetuity means eternity. and that is what those artisans had done centuries ago to capture the endless cycle of life in this temple.

 The temple was originally built at the mouth of the river Chandrabhaga, but the waterline has receded since then. The temple has been built in the form of a giant ornamented chariot of the Sun god, Surya. It has twelve pairs of elaborately carved stone wheels which are 3 meters wide and is pulled by a set of seven horses (4 on the right and 3 on the left).The temple follows the traditional style of Kalinga architecture. It is carefully oriented towards the east so that the first rays of sunrise strikes the principal entrance. The temple is built from Khondalite rocks.

Two smaller ruined temples have been discovered nearby. One of them is called the Mayadevi Temple and is located southwest from the entrance of the main temple. It is presumed to have been dedicated to Mayadevi, one of the Sun god's wives. It has been dated to the late 11th century, earlier than the main temple. The other one belongs to some unknown Vaishnava deity. Sculptures of Balarama, Varaha and Trivikrama have been found at the site, indicating it to be a Vaishnavite temple. Both temples have their primary idols missing.

According to local folklore, Narasimhadeva I (eastern ganga Dynsty) had hired a chief architect called Bisu Maharana to build the temple. After a period of twelve years, a workforce of twelve hundred almost finished the construction. But, they failed to mount the crown stone. The impatient king ordered the temple to be finished in three days or the artisans be put to death. At the time, Bisu Maharana's twelve-year-old son, Dharmapada arrived at the site. Bisu Maharana had never seen his son, as he had left his village when his wife was still pregnant. Dharmapada successfully proposed a solution to mount the crown stone. But, the artisans were still apprehensive that the king will be displeased to learn that a boy succeeded where his best artisans failed. Dharmapada climbed onto the temple and leaped into the water to save his father and his co-workers. According to local legend, – stated by a guide, the solution offered by Dharmapada was to place a strong magnetic rod in the dome at the top, which attracted the iron ore laden rocks and kept them stable. 

There is another popular legend, Samba, the son of Krishna, was cursed with leprosy. He was advised by the sage, Kataka, to worship the sun god to cure his aliment. Samba underwent penance for 12 years in Mitravana near the shores of Chandrabhaga. Both the original Konark temple and the Multan temple have been attributed to Samba.sculptures.

 I have no idea, which story or legend is true, all I have is second hand knowledge given by scriptures and the endless text material posted on wikipedia and government sites dedicated to konark temple. My knowledge about it, is limited to my experience as a visitor, who is still awe stuck by this marvelous piece of human craftsmanship and human endearment, who tolled their dreams,their hardships to make this mammoth monument alive, out of which most of it is still standing proud, as if paying homage to all those people lost in time and saluting them, for conceiving the idea and to making it happen and true.   

The Temple complex

Main Temple

Temple 1. is the main temple complex

As described above, the entire temple was conceived as a huge and colossal chariot drawn by seven horses (three on the northern side and four on the southern side) over twelve pairs of stone wheels. The twelve wheels may symbolize the twelve months of the year. 

Below the platform and the bada is noticed an upana, which is a ledge-like projection and treated with decorations in friezes. The friezes are decorated with various themes, and the most recurring one is the elephant. The elephant motif is in various attitudes – elephants in defile, uprooting trees and branches, consuming the uprooted ones, feeding the younger ones, giving birth, fondling the younger ones and mates, etc. The next motif which dominates the upana is the military marches and processions. The procession consists of elephants, cavalry and infantry. The hunting of animals is also another theme that is depicted in the upana portion. Very often the king himself is shown hunting a boar or a deer and rarely a lion. The other themes that can be noticed are of the caravan scenes, pulling of a long rope by athletes, armed prince on a horseback, etc. The depiction of giraffe on the south side of the upana is an interesting and noteworthy one. 

Wheels of chariot of Sun god.

A guide telling tourist how to know the time from the shadow of sun..

I am sure I won't be able to do justice unless I will show all the many more important temples in its vicinity. I will be covering them in my second post.

It is good if you take some guide with you as he will aptly explain you details. They are easily available in the area. 

* in the end my gratitude all those craftsmen, who tried to capture Sun god, epitome of time into this timeless monument, and giving us the rare feat to cherish.

Goodbye friends till the second post on this subject.
 Konark lies on the sea shore of state of Odisha. Bhubaneswar its capitol is well connected with road, rail and air,  We took flight from Delhi airport to Bhubaneswar and from there we drove down to Puri and from there it is around 60 km by road.

The konark temple pic posted above is captured by Rekha Singh

And other pics from web and most of referential material from wiki.