Konark temple
The Konark Sun Temple is a stunning 13th-century temple located in Konark, in the Odisha state of India. It’s one of the most iconic examples of Indian temple architecture and is dedicated to Surya, the Hindu Sun God.
Konark, Puri District, Odisha, India
(About 35 km northeast of Puri and 65 km from Bhubaneswar)
The temple is designed in the shape of a gigantic chariot, representing the chariot of the Sun God. It has:
- 12 pairs of wheels (total 24), symbolizing the 24 hours of the day
- 7 horses, representing the days of the week and the 7 colors of light
- Each wheel is a sundial, and time can be calculated from their shadows.
Historical Significance
Served both as a temple and a navigational landmark for sailors (known as the Black Pagoda)
The main Sanctum Sanctorum (Vimana), once 70 meters high, has now mostly collapsed.
Still, the Jagamohana (assembly hall) and Nata Mandir (dance hall) structures remain.
Konark night pic
Though originally a place of worship, today Konark is more than just a temple—it’s also a cultural hub, especially in the evening hours.
1. Konark Light and Sound Show
Time: Usually after sunset, around 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM (check locally for exact times).
Languages: Odia, Hindi, and English.
Experience: The show uses lights, narration, and music to tell the story of the temple, its builders, and the Sun God.
Visuals: The majestic carvings are lit up in dramatic colors—highlighting the art and architectural details that are hard to catch in the day.
The ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) has installed beautiful lighting around the temple.
The lighting emphasizes key structures—like the wheels, horses, and sculptures—so you can see the temple’s grandeur even after dark.
You can’t go inside the complex at night, but you can enjoy the view from .
Damage and ruins.
The temple was in ruins before its restoration. Speculation continues as to the cause of the destruction of the temple. Early theories stated that the temple was never completed and collapsed during construction. This is contradicted by textual evidence and evidence from inscriptions. The Kenduli copper plate inscription of 1384 CE from the reign of Narasimha IV seems to indicate that the temple was not only completed but was an active site of worship. Another inscription states that various deities in the temple were consecrated, also suggesting that construction of the temple had been completed.[52] A non-Hindu textual source, the Akbar-era text dated to the 16th century, mentions the Konark temple,[40] describing it as a prosperous site with a temple that made visitors “astonished at its sight”, with no mention of ruins Kalapahad, a Muslim convert general of the 16th century, is believed to have attacked this temple around 1568.[55][56] Two hundred years later, during the reign of the Marathas in Odisha in the 18th century, a Maratha holy man found the temple abandoned and covered in overgrowth. The Marathas relocated the temple’s Aruna stambha (pillar with Aruna the charioteer seated atop it) to the Lion’s Gate entrance of the Jagannath Temple in Puri.
Texts from the 19th century do mention ruins, which means the temple was damaged either intentionally or through natural causes sometime between 1556 and 1800Â CE. After the Sun Temple ceased to attract the faithful, Konark became deserted, left to disappear in dense forests for years.
According to Thomas Donaldson, evidence suggests that the damage and the temple’s ruined condition can be dated to between the late 16th century and the early 17th century from the records of various surveys and repairs found in early 17th-century texts. These also record that the temple remained a site of worship in the early 17th century. These records do not state whether the ruins were being used by devotees to gather and worship, or part of the damaged temple was still in use for some other purpose.