Konark Sun Temple

UNESCO dates the temple to the reign of Narasimha Deva I (1238–1264 CE) of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, and Wikipedia gives about 1250 CE for its construction. According to UNESCO, tradition holds that it took twelve years and 1,200 artisans to build, and a well-known legend tells of the master builder Bisu Moharana and his son, who is said to have completed the crowning of the temple. Odisha Tourism names the chief architect as Sibei Samantaray; these accounts belong to tradition rather than to recorded history.

European sailors called the temple the 'Black Pagoda', and Wikipedia notes that it served, along with the Jagannath temple at Puri, as a landmark for ships in the Bay of Bengal. The cause of its decline is disputed. The main tower over the sanctum fell in the 19th century, and the Aruna stambha, a pillar that once stood in front of the temple, now stands before the Jagannath temple at Puri.

To stabilise the surviving assembly hall, the British filled its interior with sand and sealed its entrances between 1900 and 1903, according to Outlook Traveller. Studies later found that the sand had settled by about 17 feet, putting stress on the inner walls, and the ASI has begun work to remove it in stages. UNESCO notes that the monument is protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, with prohibited and regulated building zones around it.

Architecture and sacred features

UNESCO describes several distinct parts: the main sanctuary (vimana or deul), whose high tower no longer stands; the jagamohana or audience hall, with its pyramidal mass, which dominates the ruins; and the unroofed dance hall (nata mandira) on a high platform to the east. Subsidiary structures lie within a rectangular enclosure wall with gates. Twelve carved wheels, each about 3 m across, line each of the north and south sides of the platform.

The plinth between the wheels is covered with reliefs of lions, musicians, dancers and couples, and Wikipedia describes scenes of everyday life such as hunting, processions and household activities, as well as figures of musicians on the roof terraces of the jagamohana. The temple was built mainly of khondalite, with chlorite for door frames and some sculptures and laterite in the core of the platform. UNESCO lists cyclones, salt-laden wind, sand-blasting and the corrosion of iron cramps among the threats to the structure. Fallen sculptures are displayed at an ASI museum near the site.