HISTORY OF KONARK SUN TEMPLE.
                     HISTORY OF KONARK 
SUN TEMPLE
KONARK SUN TEMPLE
Konark sun temple is a 13 th century temple at Konark, 
located near the town of Puri in Orissa. It has been 
recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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TEMPLE
The temple is dedicated to Hindu Sun God, Surya. It is 
also called ‘Surya Devalaya’ and symbolizes 
traditional Odisha architecture or Kalinga 
architecture.
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KONARK
The name Konark is derived from Sanskrit, in which 
‘Kona’ means a corner or angle, and ‘Ark’ means the 
Sun. The Arka refers to Hindu Sun God, Surya.
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ARCHITECTURE
The Konark Sun temple was built with stone in the 
form of a giant ornamented chariot. It has 24 
elaborately carved stone wheels pulled by a set of 
seven horses. It was made out of chlorite, khondalite 
and laterite stones.
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SCULPTURES
The walls of the temple are ornamented with reliefs 
and sculptures which include the Hindu deities, 
apsaras, animals, aquatic creatures, birds and 
legendary creatures. There are carvings which portray 
daily life.
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HISTORY
The temple is said to be built by King Narasimhadeva 
I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty in the 13 th century, 
whose planning and construction records were 
preserved in Odiya and Sanskrit texts.
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DAMAGE
The temple was damaged and in ruins and many 
theories are related to its destruction. It is speculated 
that Mughal conqueror Kalpahad destroyed the temple 
but mostly the natural damage theory is believed, 
due to its closeness to the shore and frequent 
monsoon rain in the region.
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PRESERVATION
During the British-era, restoration and preservation 
efforts were done by archaeologists to preserve the 
temple from being further damaged by nature. 
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CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
Konark sun temple is an important place of visit for 
Hindu worshippers and often finds itself mentioned in 
numerous literature texts and represents Odisha’s 
unique architecture.
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