Sun Temple And Its History

Konark sun temple is one of the oldest architectural monuments in India. The word Konark is made up of two Sanskrit words – Kona meaning angle/ corner and Arka meaning Surya. It was built around the 13th century CE, probably around the year 1250. It took 12 years for the king to complete the temple. Khondalite Rock was used to build the entire temple. Konark is almost 35 km from Puri on the coastline of Odisha. The temple was created by King Narasimhadeva of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The temples cover around 2 acres of land. Odisha style of architecture or Kalinga architecture was used to build the temple

The temple is dedicated to the Hindu God SUN " Surya". It has 12 huge wheels and a huge chariot of sun God with 7 horses pulling it, all carved from stones. The wheels represent the 12 months in a year, 7 horses represent the 7 days and a week and every wheel has 24 spokes representing the 24 hours in the day. The temples are considered as one the best representations of the architectural heritage of our country.
Konark sun temple is one of the famous sun temples built in India. The temple was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1984. The temple is now maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. Many remains of the temple are ruined due to natural disasters. But it remains controversial.

It was also believed that the temple had been attacked several times by Muslims in the 15th to 17th centuries. The temple was also called ' the black pagoda' by the European sailors as it looked like a huge black tower and the Jagannath Puri temples were called "white pagoda". It was originally built close to the Chandrabhaga River but over the years the river has changed direction and no longer flows there. The temple is now a very famous tourist spot in Odisha. The best time to visit the sun temple is around winter. As it is on the coastline of Odisha, the location faces a lot of heat and humidity during the other seasons. Tourists are usually preferred to visit from September to March. This is the time when the heat is less and one can enjoy the sculptures and historic monuments in the state.

By: Aaleya Bhattacharya 

Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konark_Sun_Temple