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The magnificent shrine
built by Ganga king Narisimha Deva - I in 1278, is
the crowning glory of Orissan temple architecture.
According to Rabindranath Tagore -' here the
language of stone surpasses the language of man' .
The massive structure was designed as a celestial
chariot of the Sun god, with twelve pairs of
exquisitely carved wheels, drawn by seven horses.
The 24 wheels are said to represent the fortnights
of the year; the eight spokes in each wheel, the
ancient divison of the day and night into eight
equal parts and the seven horses, are the seven days
of the week. The temple was originally set on the
beach and the sea waves almost touched its base, but
now the elegant ruins of the temple are located
amidst drifting sand, about 2 kms. from the sea. It
is said that 1200 architects toiled for 12 years to
create this magnificent structure. The 227 feet high
main sikhara (tower) which is now collapsed, was
visible from far out at sea and the shrine was known
as the 'Black Pagoda' by sailors, in contrast to the
whitewashed Jagannath temple at Puri. At the base of
the collapsed tower were three subsidiary shrines,
which had steps leading to the Surya images. The
main sanctum is in ruins but the natamandira (hall
of dance), which remains in front of the temple and
Audience Hall are intact. Of the 22 subsidiary
temples which once stood within the enclosure, only
two have survived - the Vaishnava and the Mayadevi
Temple. At either side of the main temple are
colossal figures of royal elephants and horses. The
ornately carved temple also depicts aspects of life
during 13th century and is famous for the erotic
art. |
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It is the famous for
handicrafts known as "Applique work". Beautiful
bedspreads, cushion covers, bags, wall hangings,
umbrellas etc. are prepared using this art work.
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This
small sea-side town was an important ancient port and is now
world renowned for the majestic Sun Temple -a World Heritage
Site of UNESCO and a charming beach. 