News: Recently, Singapore’s President visited the world heritage site of Sun Temple at Konark.
About Konark Sun Temple
- The temple was built by King Narasimha Deva I of the Ganga Dynasty in the 13th century as a tribute to the Sun God.
- It represents the architectural brilliance of the Kalinga temple architecture.
- The Sun Temple was constructed in the sea to give the appearance of the Sun God rising from the water at dawn.
- The temple was referred to as Black Pagoda by the European sailors due to the perception of the temple’s roof being dark.
- It comprises several distinct and well-organized spatial units like jahamogana (audience hall), Natya Mandap (dance hall), Bhoga Mandap (dining hall).
- The original temple had a vimana that fell in 1837.
- The temple was fashioned like the Sun God’s chariot, which was drawn by seven horses and had twenty-four carved wheels.
- The wheels are designed in a way that one can gauge the time of the day by looking at the shadow cast on the spoke of the wheels by the sun.
- The 24-spoke Konark wheel has also been incorporated into India’s national flag.
- The wheel’s circular motion represents time (Kalachakra) as well as development and ongoing change in the cosmos.
- The temple was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
