Konark Sun Temple

An architecture marvel of eastern India and a symbol of India’s heritage Konark sun temple commonly known as Konark is situated in the eastern state of Orissa Connaught is located at an approximate distance of 65 kilometre from Bhubaneshwar and 35 kilometres from puri Konark houses a massive temple dedicated to the sun god

The word Konark is a combination of two words Kona and arc Kona means corner and arc means sun so when combines it becomes sun of the corner there are three images of the sun god at three different sides of the temple position in the proper direction to catch the rays of the sun at the morning noon and evening great poet Rabindranath wrote of Konark here the language of stone surpasses the language of men sun temple of Konark built in the middle of 13th century is a massive conception of artistic magnificence and engineering dexterity king Narsimha Devan the great ruler of ganga dynasty had built this temple with the help of 1200 artisans within a period of 12 years since the ruler used to worship the sun the temple was considered as a chariot for the sun god Konark temple was designed in the form of a gorgeously decorated chariot mounted on 24 wheels each about 10 feet in diameter and drawn by seven mighty horses seven days of the week are said to be the representation of seven horses

The wheel of the chariot has an entrusting fact behind their formation each wheel has a set of eight spokes and these spokes serve as sundials the shadow made by these Sundays give exact time of the day on the entrance one can see two huge lions that appear to be guarding the temple to reach the main shrine a flight of steps are required to be taken on climbing the stairs two life-size statues of

horses are visible on both sides inside the temple walls imprinted with intricate carvings sculptures and bass leaves can enthral the aesthetic sense of any beholder the main sanctum represents

the regal stride of the lord Surya the actual idol of sun god was removed from here and had been positioned in the Jagannath temple 

Despite the decay over the centuries the beauty of this monument is still amazing if you are seriously interested in architecture and sculpture then you must

visit this world-famous monument the Konark is the third link of Orissa’s garden triangle the first link is the Jagannath puri and second link is Bhubaneshwar capital city of Orissa UNESCO have declared the sun temple of Konark a world heritage site in 1984.

The Konark dance festival organized here every year is a great attractions for the tourists this was one of the wonders of India