History, Importance, Architecture, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Sun Temple, Konark, The World Heritage Site, Odisha
The Sun Temple Konark is solely dedicated to Surya Dev, located at 35 km from Puri and 65 km from Bhubaneswar in state of Odisha, India. Konark Sun temple declared as world heritage site by UNESCO in 1984 and one of the most renowned temple of India. The temple was built in 1250 by King Narasimhadeva I of the Ganga Dynasty with red sandstone and black granite. It is also famous as Black Pagoda in sailors because it looks like black tower and help them to navigate their ships into the shore. Sun Temple is part of Golden Tri angle of Odisha which includes Puri, Bhubaneswar and Konark.
The speciality of this magnificent temple is impressive Kalinga architecture, the temple’s gigantic chariot is very high around 100 foot with the immense wheels and having the exquisitely decorated horses carved in stones of the temple where two rows of 12 wheels on each side of the Konark sun temple is designed. These wheels represent the 24 hours in a day and also the 12 months. The seven horses are symbolize the seven days of the week.
As per Hindu iconography Surya is represented as rising in the east and travelling rapidly across the sky in a chariot drawn by seven horses. The seven horses are named after the seven meters of Sanskrit prosody (Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnih, Jagati, Trishtubha, Anushtubha and Pankti). The chariots twelve pairs of wheels corresponds to the twelve months of the Hindu calendar, each month paired into two cycles. The stone temple was made from three types of stone. Chlorite- used for the doors and the frames, Laterite – core of the platform and the staircase and Khondalite – used for the other parts of the temple. Devotee and Tourists can also visit stunning Konark beach where they can enjoy sands, sea water, Sunrise and Sunset. Archaeological Museum is another key attraction for everyone to visit which consists of 260 relics and various sculptures and images of deities.
The temple follows the traditional style of Kalinga architecture. It is oriented towards the east so that the first rays of the sunrise strikes the main entrance. There is also a temple called Mayadevi Temple located to the west of the Sun Konark Temple in the same complex. It is dedicated to Maya Devi the wife of the Lord Surya. The chambers of the temple also have idols of Surya with Vishnu, Vayu and Agni.
Entry Fee – Rs 40 for Indians and Rs 600 for foreigners
How to reach Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha
Konark is very famous tourist destination situated in the Puri district. There are a lot of private rides which take you to the temple from Puri or Bhubaneshwar. Konark Bus Stand is just at a distance of 6 kms from the Sun Temple. The nearest Railway Station is Puri Railway Station at a distance of 30 kms from Konark. The nearest Air Connectivity is in Bhubaneshwar which is 65 kms from the Sun Temple.
