Introduction
Konark sun temple is dedicated to the Sun (Surya) god and situated in eastern state of Odisha .The facts of Konark sun temple wheel is just going to amaze you which we will discuss in the below article .
This temple was made by Narasimha Deva I Of the Ganga Dynasty in the 13th (1250) century. This Temple entered into UNESCO World Heritage in 1984 . Konark Temple is also known as black Pagoda due to its darkened color .
When we try to figure out the meaning of Konark , then we find that “ Kona” means corner and ark means “Surya” . And when we sum up these two meanings then it gives a beautiful meaning of “corner of Surya” . This Temple is established in the Kalinga style of architecture .
It has been said that the temple was raised near the ocean but in the long duration of 800 years , the distance became wider and wider . A river named Chandrabhaga also existed at a distance of 2 km from the temple in North which is extinct now .
Konark temple architect
- The first ray of the sun falls on the entrance gate of Konark Temple .
- There is a magnificent sculpture on the entrance gate of Konark Temple in which a lion ,elephant and a man have been shown .
- The Lion shown on the top whereas the elephant in the middle and a man at the bottom. This whole represents the condition of a common man Who gets trapped into Pride and wealth .
- The main temple Has been Fallen down but whatever has been left is enough to make it a dynamic Temple .
- The whole temple is designed in a particular shape of a huge Chariot which has 24 wheels and is drawn by seven spiritual horses .
- When you talk to the locals they will tell you surprising things about these horses. They used to say that 7 horses represents the seven colors of the rainbow and as we know that sunlight has seven colors and whenever you see the picture of the sun God then you will find him with these seven horses Who is pulling the Chariot on which the Sun god is standing .
Secrets of 24 wheels in Konark sun temple
The temple complex , all carved from stone, has the appearance of a chariot with immense wheels and horses and was declared UNESCO heritage site
- These 24 wheels represent the 12 months of a year or 24 hours of a day . These 24 wheels are the primary attraction for visitors . The size of the wheel is 9 feet and 9 inches in diameter.
- The wheel consists of 8 wider spokes and each wider spoke is of 3 hours of distance which represents 8*3 as 24
- And as we know that one day consists of 24 hours. between these two wider spokes , there is a thinner spoke which divides the wider spoke into parts and each part is of one and half hour (90 minutes) which gives us a complete 3 hours . Between wider spoke and thinner spoke, there are 30 beads and each bead is of 3 minutes .
- This depiction of timing in the wheel is sundial from which you can find accurate timing. you don’t need to watch to see the time In this Temple. The wheel is enough to tell you . The sundial shows timing in an anticlockwise direction.
- There is also carving of women doing their daily routine and also wearing heels.
- Men and women playing with musical instruments are also carved on the walls of the temple .
- There are also some carving which represents the sexual intercourse . This is also a part of education which is necessary for adults .When you go into The depth of carving you will be surprised to know the science behind these carvings .
- There are three images of Sun god of konark sun temple stating the three direction Of the temple To simply catch the rays of the Sun at dawn , noon and sunset .
The main temple which enshrined The presiding deity has fallen off . The reason behind collapsing the main temple is the extracting of the 52 Tones of magnet from the top of the temple which was considered to be the base structure of the whole main temple .
Due to the effects of 52 tonnes of magnet the Surya God statue was always floating in the air . The two blocks of the main temple are fixed with iron plates and the whole structure was based on 52 tons of magnet .
Rabindranath Tagore has set a tremendous line for this konark sun Temple :-
“Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man”
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