Temple of Sûrya (Konârak)

History

The legend

Furious, the god punishes his son by inoculating leprosy to him. Later, Sâmba provides him the proof that it had been handled, but it was too late so that Krishna can withdraw its curse. The young man turned then to Sûrya, the god who cures all the evils, those of the skin particularly, moved towards the coast and discovered in the north of Puri an image of the god sitting on a flower of lotus. He was installed on the spot and made a twelve years penitence at the conclusion which he was cured. In thanks, it set up a temple, the first on the site of Konârak.

It seems that this legend is the local transposition of an original form proceeding on banks of the river Chandrabhaga , today the Chenab, an affluent of the Indus, with the Panjâb. The legendary facts in fact would have proceeded with Mûlasamburu , current the Multân with the Pakistan, where one finds also a temple of Sûrya. When the site of Konârak had become an important center of veneration of Sûrya, the legend was relocated here to legitimate the place.

Sculptures

Temple 1 is covered with statues in its totality, without this explosion baroque not harming the overall effect. The sculptures line up in 5 categories:

divinities, in particular, three statues of Sûrya,
traditional the Apsara S or nymphs celestial,
scenes of the daily life, comprising the alasakanya , traditional figures of women to the mirror, the musicians and dancers, the scenes of love going until most explicit from the sexual relationship, the scenes of the life of the râja, in and out of the palate, in a great number of different circumstances, scenes of procession, war,
animals, always largely used for their decorative value in the Indian statuary, most current being elephants, lions and horses. The relationship with the portraiturés animals indicates reports/ratios of affection, heritage of the Buddhist period . One finds also camels, stags, monkeys, tigers, buffaloes, sheep but also more curiously a scene assembling a giraffe, the sign seems it of a relation with African kingdoms. The temple, which with the shape of a carriage, is drawn by horses from big size.
decorative reasons often drawn from the flora or geometrical, architectural elements.

The attentive study of the sculptures shows a variation in their quality which implies that, among the hundreds of artists who worked here, there were pupils, apprentices who dealt with the minor parts and of the Masters were reserved the most important parts, so much by the size than by their site in the complex.

The complex of the temple

The temples are directed in the East-West direction, the direction of the solar race. The Shikara and the jagamohan of the principal temple appear a carriage, drawn by horses and assembled on 24 wheels.

The principal platform

The Shikara or deul , according to its local denomination, and the jagamohan are drawn up on a platform of some 4 meters height and of which all side surfaces are carved. Contrary to the gun of Orissa, the architects separated the nata-mandapa , the house of the dance, and placed it on its own platform.

Carved decorations offer a large variety of topics, descriptions of scenes of the daily life rich in lesson, as that of a temple which gathers in the same place of the representations of a Lingam and a Jagannâtha, a proof of the religious Tolérance of the local leaders, or like that of the presentation of a giraffe, perhaps by African emissary, with the râja assembled on an elephant. A plank of geese or flower with four petals crowns the faces, surmounting another plank representing an army moving, a line of elephants, etc

One also finds on the faces of the platform a whole of 24 wheels, high three meters and finely carved. Very realistic, their fixing on the axle is represented perfectly, they comprise 8 rays decorated each one in its center with a scene of the daily life, a divinity, erotic, all different.

The will shikara

The will sikhara was to measure around 70 meters in height when it was finished. When James Fergusson visits the site in 1837, it makes a sketch showing that there existed still a significant part of an edge of the sanctuary.

It comprises three niches where three representations of green chlorite Sûrya are placed Assez similar, they vary by subtle differences in decoration and ornamentations. The god is fitted boots, which points out its origin Perse, it is vêtu of a court Dhoti and carries many jewels as well as a crown. In his feet the royal giver and on the left his priest are illustrated on the right. He overhangs his three meters fifty height an attachment of seven horses representing the days of the week, and of the subsidiary deities surround it.

The jagamohan

The jagamohan is the structure best preserved complex. The building measures 36 meter on side. The room which was filled and sealed in 1904 by the British to ensure his perenniality released a square free space of 20 side meters with a maximum height of 30 meters, one of greatest internal volumes of Hindu architecture, a true feat of ingenuity.

It comprises three large doors. That in the east and facing the nata-mandapa is the only one which preserved its original aspect with its chambrale composed of 8 finely carved concentric lines. In the west an access to the sanctuary opened. The roof in the shape of pyramid to degrees, is composed of three principal parts separated by kanti , low walls in withdrawal decorated with sculptures. The kalasha , the vase installed at the top of the roof was stolen during the plundering of the temple by Moslems.

The Indian engineers, confronted with a gigantism which reached the limits of their know-how and perhaps conscious of the lack of stability of the ground on which they built, conceived the innovation to include metal ties to maintain coherent the structure. Some are still visible in place, others were found on the ground during clearing. The quality of the work of the Indian metallurgists secured them rust. In that, they make think of the virgin metal pillar of corrosion, old man 15 century old, which one finds on the site of the Qutb Minar in the suburbs of Delhi.

The natamandapa or to natamandir

The nata-mandapa or hall of the dance - sometimes invited to natamandir or temple of the dance - follows a square plan of more than 20 meters on side, without counting the four flights of steps which lead to it. it is on a separated platform, a local innovation. It is also known under the name of bhogha-mandapa or hall of the offerings from its resemblance to that of the Temple of Lingaraja to Bhûbaneshwar

The platform offers a succession of khakhara-mundi , templions miniature carved, typical of decoration orissaise. In the niche that they comprise, one finds of the representations of characters, mainly women or the erotic. The women adopt a large variety of installations, for example one holds a branch above its head for ombrager, another caress a familiar bird, another still dries its hair after the bath, the drops falling into the nozzle from a goose, etc

The ground of the mandapa is reached while crossing one of the four broad openings to which flights of four steps carry out. In the center, one finds four broad pillars laid out in square and richly decorated with sculptures with musicians and Devadasi. The mandapa lost the roof which crowned it.

Additional buildings

One finds on the site two secondary temples. Most important, although modest compared with the gigantism of temple 1, is the temple of the Mâyâ Devî - or temple 2 - thus named according to one of the wives of Sûrya. The archeologists however agree to think, basing themselves on its decoration, which it is probably about a temple dedicated to Sûrya. The image of the god would have been moved during the plundering of the complex by the Moslems.

In 1956, one discovers a new structure - temple 3 - facing the east and located at south-west of temple 2. The archeologist Debala Mitra thinks that the effigy of Vishnu found in 1906 during the cleaning of the débrits which surrounded the temple comes from it, which would make of it a temple dedicated to this god. It is today with the National museum of Delhi.

Work of restoration

The first suggestion of restoration of the temple emanated in 1806 of the Office of the Navy, and with a purely utility aim, the temple being used as reference mark, as one saw higher, with the sailors. In 1838, the Asiatic Society off Bengal called responsibility for the government for it to claim repairs after degradation made by the râja of close Khurda.

Then, until the end of the 19th century, one will be satisfied to release the jungle which had taken again the top and to raise the colossal horses, the elephants and the Gajavidala, traditional statues of an elephant subjugant a lion by positioning them in way erroneous in the complex.

The things are truly taken in hand after the visit of John Woodburn, the lieutenant-governor of the Bengal, in December 1900, which becomes aware of the bad condition of the buildings and the urgency of work to be made. It designs a restoration campaign to save it costs which costs. One then clears the sand which is with the foot of the masonry and discovers the carved platform which supports it and the famous wheels, symbols of the temple. One puts also up to date the bhoga-mandapa and one includes/understands whereas it is not a question only of one building but of a whole complex. The jagamohan is filled and sealed to ensure its cohesion, of the fallen stones are positioned back. Trees are planted to block sand and to protect from the marine wind.

In 1909, one discovers the small temple, known as temple of Mayadevi and the following year the work academies which made it possible to perennialize the structure is completed.

In fact, work on the site really never stopped since, of the gardens were arranged in the complex after sand was completely withdrawn and it stone is chemically treated time with other to guarantee its perenniality.

See too

Presentation of the temple in the Foundation Shepherd
the inscription with the Inheritance of the humanity of UNESCO
Site dedicated to the temple of Konarak

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