The Konark Sun Temple is one of the biggest examples of art and sculptures. The art of this temple fascinates the mind of tourists and Indians. It is the temple of 13th century and visit to Odisha is not countable if you have not visited the example of marvellous art. There are some amazing and interesting facts that everyone must know about this temple:
1) Origin of the Temple
The name of the temple, Konark comes after combining two words “Kona” which means corner and Ark is sun, and adding the two wordsmeans, comes is sun’s corner.The place where one will get the blessings of Sun.
2) Artistic Splendour and Efficiency
The temple came in to existence during the reign of King Narsimhadeva I, the best ruler of Ganga Empire who belongs to the Eastern Dynasty. The construction took 12 years and he has employed 12,000 artisans in this work.
3) UNESCO declared World’s best Heritage
Due to the unique and inspirational beauty of the Konark Sun Temple, The UNESCO has declared thistemple as the World’s best heritage in the world.The main significance of this temple is that it is built in the first ray of the sun comes on the large idol of sun which is kept inside the main complex of the temple. One can easily predict the time by seeing the rays falling on the wheels.
4) Devoted to Lord Surya
The Konark Sun Temple is situated at the north-eastern corner of Jagannath Dham Puri. It is also called as Chakra-ksehtra. There are various name of Konark one is Arka-shetra or Padma-kshetra. Not only this, The Sun God Arka is popular known as Biranchi Narayan.
5) Black Pagoda: The
Konark Sun temple was built at the mouth of Chandrabhaga River, which was there in the past but now it has dried up. The temple is on small distance of from the beach. It’s called Black Pagoda because of its dark colour and it was used as a navigation attraction by the ancient sailors to Odisha.
6) Kalinga Structural Style
The Konark Sun Temple follows the style of Kalinga architectural style; it includes the giant shape chariot. It has the carrier of Surya, the Sun God, including twelve pairs of wheels which are pulled by seven horses.The key attraction of the temple is twelve pair of wheels, they are actually sundials. They are located at the base of the Konark Sun Temple and the best quality is that one can calculate time accurately with the help of wheels. The spokes of the wheel makes perfect sundial. Although the wheel looks like normal but can easily calculates the time. The time can be analysed by simply seeing the shadows generated by the spoke’s wheels. The Konark Sun temple has ample of stone carvings which are the best example of sculptures. Every single piece of the Konark Sun Temple is covered with various statues including deities, dancers, and scenes of life at court etc. which are very much appealing for the visitors.
7) The Magnificence Structure
The inclination of the Konark Sun Temple is towards east and that’s why the first rays come on its main entrance. The massive magnet was placed at the temple top and each two stones of the temple were inserted by iron plates. The main God Sun suspended in the air with the support of huge magnet. The stupendous arrangements of two huge magnets were made in the Konark Sun Temple. One is attached at the peak and other is fixed at the basement of Sun.
8) Orientation on the Shore
At the centre of idol of The Konark Sun Temple, a diamond is attached. Every day, the sun’s rays reach the Nata Mandir from the cost and get reflected from the attached diamond. In 1627, Raja of Khurda took the Sun Idol from Konark to Jagannath Temple.
9) Collapse of the Sun Temple
The exact collapse date is not known but some people question the weak construction.
10) Architectural Significance of Mortality
There are various monuments which teach us something or other, but the Konark Sun Temple has many hidden lessons. The huge stone lion on both sides of the entrance shows pride. The crushing of elephant by the lion was the significance of money. In this lion represents pride and elephant represents money. The problems faced by human beings easily. Under each elephant, one can see human being, which symbolises how pride and money can destroy a human being. The whole Konark Sun temple gives us the lesson of mortality. The monument inspires and makes everyone to think about the philosophy of life.
Santosh Kumar is a Professional SEO and Blogger, With the help of this blog he is trying to share top 10 lists, facts, entertainment news from India and all around the world.