Secrets associated with the Sun Temple of Konark

- Gochar-Agochar-Devesh Mehta

- Konark Sun Temple is built of red sandstone and black granite stones. It was built by the then feudal lord Narsinghdev of the Ganga dynasty

The Sun Temple in Konark, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a unique archeological site. Konark Sun Temple is located in the city of Konark, 3 km northeast of Jagannath Puri in the Indian state of Orissa. Mythological events are associated with this temple. This temple was dedicated to Suryadev which was called 'Viranchi-Narayan' by the locals which is why this area was called Ark Kshetra. The word 'extract' in Sanskrit means sun. The word Konark is derived from the words angle and extract.

According to the Puranas, Lord Krishna's son Samba, born to his wife Jabwanti, contracted leprosy due to his curse. To prevent this, Samba Mitravan came to the Konark region at the confluence of the Chandrabhaga river. There for twelve years Surya did hard penance to please Narayan. Lord Surya Narayan was pleased with this and appeared and cured his leprosy. Suryadev is said to be the killer of all diseases.

At the same time Sambe decided to build a magnificent temple of the Sun God at this place. Sambe bathed in the Chandrabhaga river soon after his leprosy was cured. At that time he found a rare idol of the sun god from the river. Which the Sun God revealed from His own form. The sculptor Vishwakarma built a wonderful, supernaturally influential temple in Mitravan and installed a spontaneously manifested idol of this sun god.

The present-day Konark Sun Temple is built of red sandstone and black granite. It was built in 17-18 AD. BC was built by the then feudal lord Narsinghdev of the Ganga dynasty. Built in the Kalinga style, the temple is set up with the sun god seated on a chariot. The whole temple site was wonderfully constructed with seven horses pulling twelve pairs of wheels. But unfortunately only one horse out of seven survives. The twelve wheels (chakras) indicate the twelve months of the year and each wheel is made up of eight aras which indicate the eight prahars of the day, providing a unique beauty to the base of the temple. This Sun Temple is a masterpiece of ancient Indian architecture.

One of them is a figure carved on a stone. The poetry of Kamini, which is a carving, art and stone song, has a human charm. India's great Nobel Prize-winning poet, Rabindranath Tagore, praised the art of the Sun Temple, saying, "This is a place where the language of stone begins to look like a human dwarf." When the sun rises early in the morning, the rays of the sun that fall on the earth fall on the gems inlaid on the idol of the sun god in such a way that the whole sanctum sanctorum is illuminated by light.

There are three beautiful idols of the Sun God in the Sun Temple and the place of all three is very thoughtfully kept. The rising sun can be seen from one place. The afternoon sun can be seen from the second place and the evening sun can be seen from the third place. According to many legends, a magnetic stone was placed on the summit of the Sun Temple, which caused the ships passing through the sea of ​​Konark to be pulled towards it, causing great damage to them. Because of that magnetic stone, the directional compasses of ships did not show the right direction. Because of this, the Muslim sailors lifted the stone to save their ships.

This stone was acting as the central stone for the temple so that all the stones of the temple walls remained in balance. Its removal disturbed the balance of the temple walls and caused it to collapse. According to the history of Orissa, Invaded here in 1908 and destroyed the statues of many other Hindu temples along with the Sun Temple in Konark. It was not easy to break down the 20-2 feet high walls of the Konark temple so he somehow managed to shake the Dadhinauti (arch stone) so the temple started falling down slowly.

When the temple began to collapse due to several such invasions and natural calamities, in 1901, the then Governor John Woodburn built walls around the four gates of the Jagmohan Mandap and completely covered it with sand. So that it remains safe. This work took him three years.

Many people who visit the temple do not know that the main part of the temple, the Jagmohan Mandap, is closed. When the Muslim army looted there in the fifteenth century, the priests of the Sun Temple took the main idol from there and preserved it. The temple was really destroyed. Then slowly the sand began to accumulate over the temple and it was covered under the sand. Restoration work was done during the British rule in the 20th century and it was rediscovered at that time.

There is a Natmandir at the entrance of Konark temple. This is the place where the dancers of the temple used to dance to please the sun god. There are wonderful carvings of flower-wells and geometric patterns in many places in the Nut Temple. At the same time, in this temple, figures of human, god, Gandharva, Kinnar etc. are shown in Andrik mudras. The postures of these beautiful sculptural figures are erotic and are based on the Kama Sutra. In Indian culture, Dharma-Artha-Kama and Moksha are also important places in the four purusharthas.

Throughout the Sun Temple, thousands of sculptures are filled with images of gods, goddesses, gandharvas, kinnars, humans, musicians, loving couples, images of the royal court, hunting and war. Between them are depicted animals and birds (about two thousand elephants roaming the base of the main temple alone). The architecture of this temple is a harmonious confluence of splendor and human devotion. Every inch of the temple is filled with sculptures expressing unique beauty and incomparable splendor.

The Konark temple also had buildings that served as an observatory. The secrets of the universe were written in secret sign language. The mysteries are also believed to have disappeared as a large part of the temple was destroyed. There is also a belief about the Sun Temple in Konark that gods and goddesses also visit here. In the past, the dancers who used to dance in the court of the kings who used to come to the Nat temple to please the sun god, come here as ghosts and dance from late evening till midnight.

Many people hear the sound of anklets worn on their feet. Some even see ghost dancers dancing. There is a legend that gods, yakshas, ​​gandharvas and nymphs also come here frequently. The Sun Temple of Konark reveals many divine secrets. Since Suryadev is an antidote and Samba's skin disease has been removed in this temple area, devotees come here to cure his disease and worship the sun.