KONARK SUN TEMPLE

KONARK SUN TEMPLE

Built in 13th century by King Narasimhadev I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. It is designed in the shape of a collossal chariot with seven horses and twenty four wheels, carrying the sun god.

Legend:  The uniqueness of the temple lies in the fact that between every two stone pieces there lies an iron plate. The temples higher floors have been re-inforced using massive iron beames. This fantastic effort in human preservance took 1200 workers about 12 years to complete and the peak of the main temple had to be installed by the 12 yr son of the chief architect. The bsaid peak being a 52 ton magnet, this magnet was the reason that the entire edifice endured the harsh conditions (being on sea front) for centuries without being affected. The idol of Sun God was believed to be floating in air because of the unique arrangements of the main magnets and other series  of magnets.

The placement of the temple had been aligned in a way that the first rays of the sun falling on the coast would pass through the Nata Mandir and would reflect from the diamond at the centre of this idol in the main sanctum. This phenomena would last for a couple of minutes during the early morning. these magnets were later removed by the Britishers for acquiring the magnetic stone.