Modhera Sun Temple

IGNCA dates the temple to about 1026–27 CE, during the reign of the Chaulukya king Bhima I (c. 1022–1063 CE). Modhera lies about 24 km south of Anahilapataka (Patan), the Chaulukya capital.

The temple was badly damaged in later centuries. IGNCA's account quotes an older description saying that invaders defaced the figure sculpture and blew up the upper part of the shrine, destroying its tower (shikhara). The shrine has stood without its tower ever since.

The ASI lists the 'Sun temple, Surya Kund with adjoining other temples and loose sculptures' at Modhera among the centrally protected monuments of Gujarat. On 20 December 2022, The Hindu reported that the temple had been added to UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage Sites, along with Vadnagar town in Gujarat and the Unakoti sculptures in Tripura.

Architecture and sacred features

According to IGNCA, the main temple stands on a raised base and consists of the sanctum (garbhagriha) and an enclosed hall (gudhamandapa), with a circumambulatory passage around the sanctum. Inside, it measures about 51 feet 9 inches by 25 feet 8 inches, the sanctum taking roughly half. Niches inside the hall hold images of Surya, and the pillars and lintels carry scenes from the Ramayana. In front stands a separate assembly hall (sabhamandapa), locally called Sita Chavadi, carved with scenes from the Mahabharata; beyond it two pillars of a ceremonial arch (torana) remain, though the arch itself is lost.

Steps lead from the torana down to the Surya Kund, a rectangular tank IGNCA gives as about 176 feet by 120 feet, with terraces and flights of steps reaching the water. Small shrines around it hold images such as Vishnu reclining on the serpent, Trivikrama and the goddess Shitala. The temple faces east; the description quoted by IGNCA says the rising sun at the equinoxes was meant to pass through the doorways and reach the image in the sanctum.