Legend of Konark Temple ||  Legend of Samba  ||  Building of Temple  ||  Other sights at Konark       General information

           A ruined temple in the headquarters subdivision situated 21 miles north-east of Puri town in 19° 53’ N. and 86° 6' E. The temple is also known as the Blank Pagoda, a name given to it by captains of coasting vessels, for whom it formed a prominent landmark. It was dedicated to sun-god (Arka), and the tract in which it lies is called in Sanskrit the Arka or Padma Kshettra. In this tract, the chief holy sites were, according to the Kapila-samhita (a guide-book composed probably in the 14^th century), the sun-temple, the Maitreya woods, the paols called Mangala and Salmali-bhanda, the sea, the god Rameswar, the tree Arka-bata, and the river Chandrabhaga.

All these sacred sites have now disappeared, and can not be traced except the first and the last, and the eternal sea. The sea is about a mile and a half to the south-east of the temple, while the Chandrabhaga is now an insignificant stream, about half a mole to the north. Its mouth is closed by a sand-bar, through which, however, the tidal water forces its way during the rains. At present, it drains only the neighboring tract; but depressions exist indicating that it was once a branch of the Prachi and flows nearer to the temple. Like that river, it has evidently suffered by the diversion of the water of the Katjuri into other channels, and by the silting up of its bed owing to the drifts of sands blown by the south-easterly winds. Its name, it may be added, is borrowed from that of the larger river in the Punjab, with which the sun-god is connected in the Samba-Purana   

The temple compound was surrounded by a wall, and the principal gateway was to the east. The wall, which was oblong in shape, seems to have been 885 feet from east to west and 535 feet from north to south, and was apparently 7 to 8 feet thick and 25 feet high. It was surrounded by battlements, some of which now lie scattered about. Two long platforms have been laid open in the north-eastern corner of the courtyard, which was apparently used for bathing the images. But a more interestingly discovery which has followed the excavation of sand is that of a fine hall with elaborate carvings in front of the porch.

Its roof is gone, but a high basement and the body wall remain. The hall has four doors, one on each side, with two windows on the right and the left of each door. The inside is plain and devoid of ornament, but has four massive richly carved pillars which supported the roof. The carvings are of the same type as those on the outside walls of the hall, but not obscene. The four sides of the square pillars have been divided into two galleries, each consisting of a row of five ornamental pilasters adorned with figures of animals, musicians and dancing-girls.

The hall outside is covered with carvings of gods, celestial courtesans, humans figures, musicians, etc a few being suggestively but not directly obscene. Some call the hall a bhoga-mandapa, others a nata mandapa and it may be one of the six temples mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari as having been before the entrance .A little to the west of the hall rises a flight of broad steps, now broken leading to the eastern doorway of the porch. The steps are 9 feet broad, and have side walls carved outside on each side with four horses and two wheels of 16 spokes, thus representing the flight of steps as a chariot on four wheels drawn by eight horses.

The wheels are minutely carved, and the spaces between the wheels and horses have pilasters showing griffins, human faced nagas, heavenly dancing-girls, musicians, human figures, etc. They stand on a pavement crowded with elephants in various attitudes. At the foot of flights of steps, to the east, south and north are now placed the guarding animals, two rampant lions over crouching elephants, two elephants crushing demons, and two horses trampling down enemies. The execution of the lions is conventional, but that of the elephants and horses is spirited.
 

 Legend of Konark Temple ||  Legend of Samba  ||  Building of Temple  ||  Other sights at Konark       General information