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{{pagebanner|WV banner Konark Sun temple.jpg|unesco=yes}}
'''Konark''' or '''Konarak''' (Odia: 6କଣାର୍କ
==Understand==
[[Image:Konark Sub Temple Front view.jpg |thumb|350px|Partial view of Konark Sun Temple]]
Konark is also known as Konaditya. The name
The entire territory lies in the tropics and hence is subject to high temperatures.
===Legend of Konark Temple===▼
Legend has it that Samba, the king of Krishna and Jambavati entered the bathing chamber of Krishna's wives, and was cursed by Krishna with leprosy. It was decreed that he would be relieved of the curse by worshipping the Sun God on the sea coast north-east of Puri.
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Due to its magnetic effects, vessels passing through the Konark sea were drawn to it, resulting in heavy damage. Other legends state that magnetic effects of the lodestone disturbed ships' compasses so that they did not function correctly. To save their shipping, the Portuguese voyagers took away the lodestone, which was acting as the central stone and keeping all the stones, and the iron columns used to hold them walls together, of the temple wall in balance. Due to its displacement, the temple walls lost their balance and eventually fell down. But there is no record of this occurrence in any historical records, nor is there any record of the existence of such a powerful lodestone at Konark.
===Architecture of
The Sun Temple is the culmination of Odishan temple architecture and one of the most stunning monuments of religious architecture in the world. The massive structure, now in ruins, sits in solitary splendour surrounded by drifting sand. Today it is located two kilometers from the sea, but originally the ocean came almost up to its base. Until fairly recent times, in fact, the temple was close enough to the shore to be used as a navigational point by European sailors, who referred to it as the 'Black Pagoda'.
The Konark Sun Temple belongs to the Central Indian style of Temple architecture, though it does not have tall shikharas of the later temples of Odisha and Central India.
==Talk==
==Get in==
Konark is one of the most prominent cities of Odisha. It is a very famous tourist destination, especially for those who are traveling from eastern or southern part of India. The convenient way to get to Konark is drive either from [[Puri]] (33 km) or [[Bhubaneswar]] (65 km). The best time to visit Konark is from October to March.
===By
The
===By train===
The railway stations nearest to Konark are
===By
The National and State Highways link Konark with
Hiring a taxi is the best way of travel between Puri and Konark. There are good number of transport buses as well as private coaches plying from both the cities. State buses are also available to Konark from Bhubaneswar's Bus Stand, Vani Vihar and Kalpana Chhak. Travel by bus is however much, much cheaper compared to renting a car. Although cramped and rather uncomfortable, these buses offer a unique experience of daily life in Odisha for less than
==Get around==
{{Mapframe|19.88782|86.09478|zoom=12}}
Auto
There are regular buses and
Official guided tours leave from the Panthaniwas (Odisha Tourism) in Bhubaneswar (
==See==
The main attraction of the place is the Konark Sun Temple, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. The temple is situated in the Konark village to the north of Puri in the coastal region of the Bay of Bengal. It has extensive stone carvings on the walls, many of them highly erotic. Though the temple is under ruin due to heavy erosion its
===Konark Sun Temple===
[[Image:Konark Surya Temple.jpg |thumb|350px|View of the Jagamohan and the ruined shikhara of the
* {{see
The '''Sun Temple''' [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]], built in the 13th century in the honor of the sun-god Surya, is in ruins. The entire temple was designed in the shape of a colossal chariot with 24 wheels about three meters high and pulled by seven horses, carrying the sun god, Surya, across the heavens. Surya has been a popular deity in India since the Vedic period.▼
| name=Konark Sun Temple | alt= | url=http://konark.nic.in/ | email=
| address= | lat=19.887444 | long=86.094596 | directions=
▲[[Image:Konark Surya Temple.jpg |thumb|350px|View of the Jagamohan and the ruined shikhara of the Surya Temple]]
| phone= | tollfree=
| hours= | price=
| wikidata=Q752091
| lastedit=2023-09-19
▲
}}
*The
*The entire temple was planned in such a way that it is fitted with twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated stone wheels. The horses were conceived in such a way that the Sun God (Surya)
* The major entrance in the temple is place on the east side and it faces the sea. This entrance is located in the façade of ''bhogamandapa'' which is also known as the Hall of Offerings. The sculptures of dancers as well as musicians is engraved on the walls of this hall, hence the hall was later used for the traditional dance recital.
*On the western side of the temple lies the sanctuary tower which is now nothing but a clutter of various sandstone slabs which are kept one over another. This impressive construction is believed to have had a pyramidical roof commonly known as
*The roof of jagamohana has around 3 tiers and many statues are placed over them. The statues are either of dancers or the musicians. The platform at the base also has a sculpture of Lord Shiva as Nataraja and performing the dance. The interior of the terrace is nowadays barren up.
*The stairs that take you up towards the Statute of Surya are located beyond the terrace. The statue of the Sun god is carved out a huge green colored chlorite stone. It is supposed to be the most beautiful work of art present in Konark. However, the entrance door to the Jaganmohan is closed due to the frequent fall of debris and stones from the ceiling.
The
*The eastern gateway which is the main entrance to the temple compound, is decorated with Gajasimha (Lion upon an elephant) images, with outward faces, installed on two high stone-benches on either side of the passage.
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*The nata mandir in front of the Jagamohana is exquisitely carved with the images of dancers, flora and foliage, men in armor, and creatively eroticism.
*There are three images of the Sun God (formerly four) at the top, facing each direction to catch the rays of the sun at dawn, noon and sunset.
*The figures of elephants which had originally stood on the side walls of the flights of steps at the northern and
*The Melakkadambur Shiva temple, built in the form of a chariot during the age of Kulottunga Chola I (
*There is a small museum outside the temple compound run by Archaeological Survey of India, which stores the sculpture from the temple ruins. It remains open
*To the south west of the Sun temple there is the temple of the Goddess Ramachandi. There are, however, differing opinions about the presiding deity of this temple. It has been surmised by some that this was the temple of Mayadevi, wife of Surya (Sun god) while others opine that it was the earlier Sun temple in which Sun was being worshiped.
*It is ''strongly''
===Other attractions===
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{{infobox|Ramchandi Folk Tales|There are a number of popular stories involving Ramachandi as the chief goddess of the Konark kshetra and most probably Ramachandi was the presiding deity of this temple. There is also a popular story about why Ramachandi left Konark after the Muslim Suleman Kalapahad destroyed the Sun temple.
It is
* {{see
* '''Chandrabhaga Sea Beach''' - 3 km east of the famous Sun temple of Konark and 30 km from Puri, Chandrabhaga is rich in its marine resources. A light house, close by Chandrabhaga is an added histronic to the splendour of the place. A climb to its top truly takes you to a world of utopia. A natural deer park is recent additions to the riches of Chandrabhaga. There is an ancient Matha believed to be the Ashram of Chandrabhaga's father and two small temples. The sight has aesthetic and importance.▼
| name=Chandrabhaga Beach | alt= | url= | email=
* '''Kakatpur''' - 30 km from Konark is a small village on the Puri-Astaranga road on the bank of river Prachi. This temple is famous for Goddess Mangala. The Kakatpur Mangala temple has a close relation with Lord Jagannath temple of puri during the Navakalebara (Renovation of the Deities) festival. The most popular festival of Goddess Mangala is 'Jhamu Yatra'. It occurs on the first Tuesday of the Secred month Vaisakh (April 14 to May 15) every year.▼
| address= | lat=19.854521 | long=86.074573 | directions=3 km E of the Sun Temple
* '''Kuruma''' - 8 km the south-east of the sun temple of Konark is a popular Buddhist site. The site was built between 9th - 10th centuries AD. The monastery, now abandoned, containing an excavated statue of Buddha seated cross legged with right hand in Bhumisparsa mudra while the left hand placed over his left knee. The image also wears a beautiful crown and a beautifully carved necklace.▼
| phone= | tollfree=
* '''Pipili''' - 23 km from Konark, the small village of Pipli has a very wide and distinctive selection of handicrafts. It is a small village. On the main road at Pipili there are many shops selling Applique work products, tourist visiting Puri buy these products from Pipili.▼
| hours= | price=
| wikidata=Q24952226
{{infobox|Goddess Mangala and Nabakalebar|During the renovation of deities of Puri new idols were created for Lord Jagannath, Balaram, and Subhadra. The new idols are created from a sacred wood known as 'Daru Brahma' in the local language. Nobody knows from where to find the sacred wood to create the new idols, so as per tradition the priests of Lord Jagannath temple come to Kakatpur Mangala to pray the Goddess to help them to find the sacred wood. The priests seelp in front of the Goddess with their face down and then Goddess Mangala come in their dream and tell the exact location of the three sacred trees for the three deities. This custom continues to be performed without any deviation.}}▼
| lastedit=2023-09-19
▲
}}
* {{see
| name=Kuruma | alt= | url= | email=
| address= | lat= | long= | directions=8 km SE of the Sun Temple
| phone= | tollfree=
| hours= | price=
| wikidata=
| lastedit=2023-09-19
▲
}}
▲{{infobox|Goddess Mangala and Nabakalebar|During the renovation of deities of Puri, new idols were created for Lord Jagannath, Balaram, and Subhadra. The new idols are created from a sacred wood known as 'Daru Brahma' in the local language. Nobody knows from where to find the sacred wood to create the new idols, so as per tradition the priests of Lord Jagannath temple come to Kakatpur Mangala to pray the Goddess to help them to find the sacred wood. The priests
[[File:Kuruma 1.jpg|thumb|250 px|Excavated Buddhist site of Kuruma, near Konark Sun Temple]]
* {{see
* '''Ramchandi Temple''' - 7 km en route to Konark on the marine road from Puri. Ramachandi is popularly believed the presiding deity of Konark. From the architectural point of view, the temple of Ramachandi is not important but from the religious point of view, it is one of the famous Sakta pithas of Puri. The beach is often crowded by local students as a romantic escapade or families picknicking at the weekend. The main temple along with its Mukhasala had been built on one platform 3'.2" (96.5 cm) high. On the three sides of the temple walls i.e. south, west and north there were three figures of Sun god as side Gods. Now one can see these side gods in north and southern side, whereas the figures on the western side have been displaced and are said to have been preserved in the National Museum at New Delhi. This image is said to have some sculptural specialisation and is regarded to be one of the beautiful images of the Sun god. Though smaller in size, the side-gods of this temple are of similar type in all respect with the side-gods in the Sun temple. The side images of the northern side are in somewhat good condition while the image in the southern side has no head and broken hands.▼
| name=Ramachandi Temple | alt= | url= | email=
| address= | lat=19.85453 | long=86.05934 | directions=7 km from the Sun Temple
| phone= | tollfree=
| hours= | price=
| wikidata=Q7288686
| lastedit=2023-09-19
▲
}}
===Concerns over safety===
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Legends describe a lodestone (magnet) on the top of the Sun temple. Due to its magnetic effects, vessels passing through the Konark sea were drawn to it, resulting in heavy damage. Other legends state that magnetic effects of the lodestone disturbed ships' compasses so that they did not function correctly. To save their shipping, the Portuguese voyagers took away the lodestone, which was acting as the central stone and keeping all the stones, and the iron columns used to hold them walls together, of the temple wall in balance. Due to its displacement, the temple walls lost their balance and eventually fell down. But there is no record of this occurrence in any historical records, nor is there any record of the existence of such a powerful lodestone at Konark Temple.
But the Konark Surakhya Samiti (save Konark committee) said that falling stones from the 13th-century monument had turned “into a regular feature”. Chunks of masonry have fallen off at regular intervals.
One reason why no major steps are being taken by the ASI officials is for fear it might lead to the total collapse of the crumbling temple.
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* {{do
| name=Light & Sound Show | alt= | url= | email=
| address=
| phone= | tollfree= | fax=
| hours=8PM-8:40PM (
| lastedit=2018-09-17
| content=A
}}
====Chandrabhaga Mela====
Chandrabhaga Mela, in February, is the most popular festival
This is the most popular and colourful festival of the place when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit Konark to observe the festival. In fact this is the second biggest festival in Odisha, after the Car Festival of Puri.
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Check out the Patta paintings and the appliqué work of Pipli or the brilliantly embroidered umbrellas that make a fascinating buy. If you are planning to buy souvenirs then the best option would be the government emporiums which stock fabrics and handicrafts items from across the state of Odisha.
Local marketers or shops sells seashells and conches which are good and cheap
* {{see
| name=Pipili | alt= | url= | email=
| address= | lat= | long= | directions=23 km from the Sun Temple
| phone= | tollfree=
| hours= | price=
| wikidata=
| lastedit=2023-09-19
▲
}}
==Eat and drink==
The main market area, near the beach and temple complex has numbers of local dhabas (food joints) serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. Apart from relishing the local delicacies, fried fish prepared in the Bengali style is highly recommended. Other than Indian cuisines, continental and Chinese dishes are also available at an affordable rate.
==Sleep==
There are few decent accommodation options in Konark and the situation is getting better with every passing day. Hotels or lodges in places like Puri and Bhubaneswar offer more choices because they are considered to be more famous travel destinations. But there are a number of decent accommodations in Konark
*{{sleep
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*{{listing | type=sleep
| name=Labanya Lodge | alt= | url=
| address=Konark | lat=19.8840 | long=86.0985 | directions=
| phone=+91 6758-236824 | tollfree
| checkin=noon | checkout=noon | price=₹200 - 750 (early 2015)
| lastedit=2015-07-04
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| address=Konark | lat= | long= | directions=
| phone = +91 6758-236818 | tollfree= | fax=
| hours= | price=₹75 -
| checkin=
| content=
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| address=Konark | lat= | long= | directions=
| phone = +91 6758-236821 | tollfree= | fax=
| hours= | price=₹200 -
| checkin=
| content=
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| address=Konark | lat= | long= | directions=
| phone = +91 6758 -236857 | tollfree= | fax=
| hours= | price=₹150 -
| checkin=
| content=
}}
*{{sleep
| name=Yatrinivas | alt= | url= | email=
| address=P.O.-Konark | lat=19.890959 | long=86.095830 | directions=
| phone=
| checkin=
| content=Only
}}
==Respect==
When entering the temples visitors are required to cover their heads and leave their shoes
▲The entire territory lies in the Topical zone and hence is subject to high temperature. People are hospitable in nature and Hindi and Bengali are understood and some times spoken by the people, besides Oriya. English is generally understood however not spoken frequently.
▲When entering the temples visitors are required to cover their heads and leave their shoes to one of the shoe-stalls. Photography is free however visitors need to pay extra for videography. Terminal guides are available. However tourists may take the assistance of the Tourist Officer, Konark
Guides advise that as there is no longer a god housed at the Sun Temple, visitors are not required to take off shoes and cover their heads.
==Nearby==
* {{listing |type=around
| name=Kakatpur Mangala Temple | alt= | url= | email=
| address= | lat=19.999917 | long=86.194794 | directions=30 km from the Sun Temple
| phone= | tollfree=
| hours= | price=
| wikidata=Q4500835
| lastedit=2023-09-19
▲
}}
==Go next==
*[[Bhubaneswar]] - 65 km away, the ancient city has a long history of 3000 years and is a popular travel hub especially for its temples,
*[[Chilika]] - 35 km away the brackish water lagoon is the world's second largest. It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent. The lake is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals.
*[[Cuttack]] - 68 km away is a commercial center and host to many ancient temples and excavations sites.
*[[Gopalpur|Gopalpur-on-Sea]] - 180 km away is a very quiet and one of the most pristine beaches and a favorite among the sea-goers.
*[[Paradip]] - 85 km away is a town, a seaport which accepts sea traffic via man
*[[Puri]] - 30 km away, is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country and a religious hub
*[[Rourkela]] - 285 km away is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by rivers. Quite an industrial area.
{{isPartOf|Coastal Odisha}}
{{usablecity}}
{{geo|19.9|86.12}}
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