The Konark Sun Temple:
The Sun temple is situated in the small town of Konark, which is situated in
the Puri district of Odisha. This marvel of architecture is dedicated to Lord Sun.
And resembling his carriage, the temple has been built in the shape of a chariot,
which has twelve wheels and is shown as being dragged by the seven horses.
the Puri district of Odisha. This marvel of architecture is dedicated to Lord Sun.
And resembling his carriage, the temple has been built in the shape of a chariot,
which has twelve wheels and is shown as being dragged by the seven horses.
The temple is believed to be constructed in the 13th century by a king
called Narasimhadeva. Like with most things in India, this temple too
has connections with a few legends. As per one of the legends,
God Krishna cursed, one of his own sons with leprosy. To seek penance,
Samba worshiped Lord Sun (Surya) for a period of twelve years.
Pleased with his devotion, Surya healed him. Samba made the Sun temple
in return to express his gratitude.
called Narasimhadeva. Like with most things in India, this temple too
has connections with a few legends. As per one of the legends,
God Krishna cursed, one of his own sons with leprosy. To seek penance,
Samba worshiped Lord Sun (Surya) for a period of twelve years.
Pleased with his devotion, Surya healed him. Samba made the Sun temple
in return to express his gratitude.
The mesmerizing beauty of the place was best summed up
by the Rabindranath Tagore through these words:
‘Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man.’
by the Rabindranath Tagore through these words:
‘Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man.’
N.Savitha
Fall of the Konark Sun Temple:
ReplyDeleteMany theories explain the fall of the temple in their own way.
As per one theory, part of the Konark temple collapsed because of its incomplete structure. The Konark Sum Temple was not completed because of the early death of the king Langula Narasimha Dev who initiated the construction of the temple.
Next is the theory of lodestone (piece of the mineral magnetite that is naturally magnetized) located at the top of the temple. The lodestone’s placement caused a huge damage to the temple as many vessels passing through the Konark Sea were attracted towards it. Also, this magnet used to disturb the compass of almost all the ships in the sea. So, to remove the cause of the trouble, Portuguese voyagers stole the lodestone. The displacement of the lodestone led to total imbalance and so the Konark temple fell down. But there is no historical record either of this event or presence of such a great lodestone at Konark.
As per another very popular theory, the temple was destroyed by Kalapahad (Kalapahad was the title given to a Muslim governor Sultan Sulaiman Karrani of Bengal) who invaded Orissa in 1508. He had also destroyed many other Hindu temples in Orissa along with the Konark Sun Temple. In 1568, Muslims started ruling Orissa and destroyed many Hindu temples. J N Chandra Kala.
The monument was also called the Black Pagoda'(Kaala Pagoda) by the European sailors. In contrast, the Jagannath Temple in Puri was called the White Pagoda. Both temples served as important landmarks for the sailors. Konark Sun Temple used Iron beams for its structure.-deepa
ReplyDeleteARCHITECTURE :
ReplyDeleteThe temple was originally built at the mouth of river chandrabaga, but the water line has receded since then. The temple has been built in the form of a gaint ornamented chariot of the sun God , surya.It has twelve pairs of elaborately carved stone wheels.The temple follows the traditional style of kalinga architecture. The konark temple is also known for its erotic sculptures of maithunas.
A collection of fallen sculptures can be seen in konark architectural museum which is maintained by the architectural survey of India
PADMAPRIYA I