Other · Puri, Odisha
Konark Sun Temple
Surya in his chariot of twelve pairs of wheels and seven horses
NavagrahaHealthGeneral
The temple in short
- Deity
- Surya in his chariot of twelve pairs of wheels and seven horses
- Where
- Puri, Odisha · 19.89N 86.09E
- Usual hours
- Monument hours, 6 am – 8 pm — hours change with festivals and the season; check before travelling. Were these right when you went?
- Grahas
- Suriyan
- Visited for
- The great Surya kshetram of the east; no daily pooja now, but Magha Saptami still brings a sunrise bath at Chandrabhaga. Visited where Suriyan is weak, and for skin and bone complaints.
The sthala purana
Tradition, as it is told at the temple
The sthala purana has it that Samba, a son of Krishna, was cursed with a disease of the skin and told to worship Surya on the Chandrabhaga here, and that he was relieved of it. He is said to have found an image of Surya in the sea and set it up at this place.
What is recorded
Documented history
Konark was built in the thirteenth century under Narasimhadeva I and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It was conceived as Surya’s chariot: the base carries twenty-four great carved wheels and seven horses are drawn up in front.
The main sanctuary tower collapsed long ago and only the jagamohan, the hall in front of it, still stands; its interior was filled with sand and stone under the British to keep it from falling too. There is no worship here now — the presiding image was removed to Puri — so it is visited as a monument.
The wheels are working sundials. The spokes and the rim are laid out so that the shadow of a pin at the hub gives the time, and guides demonstrate it; for a reader who follows a panchangam this is the most interesting thing on the site.
What there is to see
Description
The twenty-four wheels along the plinth are the reason to come, and each is carved differently. The seven horses are ruined but two survive well enough to read.
The jagamohan is closed and cannot be entered. The Nata Mandir stands in front, and three large images of Surya are set in niches on the outer walls, catching the sun at different hours.
The sculpture covers every surface, including the erotic panels the site is often reduced to. The Archaeological Survey museum beside the enclosure holds the fallen pieces.
The temple year
The days it is fullest
Magha Saptami brings the Chandrabhaga Mela: a bath at the old river mouth before dawn and worship of the rising sun, which is the one occasion the site is used as a kshetram rather than a monument.
The Konark Dance Festival is held against the temple in December and is a state cultural event rather than a religious one.
Getting there, and what else it is called
- Also called
- Surya Mandir, the Black Pagoda, Arka Kshetra
- Period
- Thirteenth century, under Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty
- Reaching it
- Konark is about 35 km from Puri along the marine drive and roughly 65 km from Bhubaneswar. There is no railway station; buses and taxis run from both cities.
Where it is
Others within reach
Nearest first, by straight-line distance
Add what you know
Been to this temple? The things that change — whether the hours on this page were right, whether the sannidhi was open, how long the queue was on a Saturday — are exactly what no printed source keeps current, and what the next person travelling here needs.
- Were the hours right when you went?
- Is anything on this page wrong or out of date?
- A photograph of the gopuram, the tank, or the notice board
A contribution carries a name, so a reader knows whose account it came from. That is why it needs an account, and it is the only reason.
Parihaaram is traditional practice, offered for devotion and peace of mind; it is not a guaranteed cure of any condition. Temple hours change with festivals and the season, so check before travelling.