Konark Sun Temple

코나르크 태양 사원

The Konark Sun Temple stands on the Bay of Bengal coast in Odisha, India, about 35 kilometres northeast of Puri. It was built around 1250 CE by King Narasingha Deva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty and is dedicated to Surya, the Hindu sun god. The whole temple was designed as a giant stone chariot.

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At a glance

Country: India
Location: Konark, Odisha, India
Built: 1250
Type: Religious building

Quick answers

Where is Konark Sun Temple?

Konark Sun Temple is in Konark, Odisha, India.

When was Konark Sun Temple built?

Konark Sun Temple was built in 1250.

Temple built as the chariot of the sun god Surya, with 24 carved stone wheels drawn by seven horses.

The chariot has 24 richly carved wheels, each nearly 3.7 metres across, pulled by seven horses. Sailors in the 1600s called it the Black Pagoda because the tiered tower looked dark from the sea. UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 1984, and an image of it appears on the back of India's 10-rupee note.

The chariot of the sun

In Hindu tradition Surya crosses the sky each day in a chariot pulled by seven horses, each named after a metre of Sanskrit poetry. The temple copies this picture in stone. The twelve pairs of wheels stand for the twelve months of the Hindu calendar, and carvings of musicians, dancers and gods cover the walls. At dawn, seen from inland, the chariot looks as if it rises from the sea carrying the sun.

What survives

The temple was once a whole complex, with a main sanctuary, an assembly hall called the jagamohana, and a dance hall called the Nata mandira. The tall main tower has long since fallen, and the sanctuary is roofless. The assembly hall still rises about 30 metres in three tiers. Builders used three kinds of stone, none found nearby, so the stone must have been carried a long way.

A mystery of ruin

Nobody is sure why the temple fell into ruin. Ideas range from natural damage to deliberate destruction during attacks on Odisha between the 15th and 17th centuries. Parts were later restored by archaeologists of British India, and many sculptures were moved to museums, including the British Museum. Today pilgrims still gather each year around February for the Chandrabhaga Mela.

Fun facts

Its 24 carved stone wheels can be read as sundials.
The name Konark joins Sanskrit words meaning 'corner' and 'the Sun'.
Its twenty-four wheels are nearly 3.7 metres wide.
Sailors called it the Black Pagoda, while the Jagannath Temple in Puri was the White Pagoda.
It appears on the back of the Indian 10-rupee note.