Sun temple – Black Pagoda

Sun Temple is located in Konark and has become the most widely visited place in Orissa. Sun Temple is also famous as 'Black Pagoda' because it is made up of black granite. The temple mainly focused on Sun God and was build like a chariot to him with wheels on every side of the temple. It is place where Sun God was worshiped. Although, some parts of the temple have devastated, but nevertheless the elegance from the temple is preserved. Konark remains as active port and many ships came to the place. It was landmark to Europeans who started calling the temple as Black Pagoda. Sun Temple is acknowledged as a wonder among other temples and it has been the inspiration for many poets and writers. Many articles and books related the background and architecture happen to be written.

It is believed that Sun Temple is the spot where Samba one of the son of Lord Krishna worshiped Sun God for being freed from the curse of his father. Also believed that Samba was proud about his beauty and usually made fun of the great sage, Narad Muni. Narad Muni planned to take revenge from Samba. He once forced Samba to visit the lake where his step mothers were taking bath. Lord Krishna saw this  unacceptable act by his son. Enraged, he cursed his son with Leprosy. When Lord Krishna observed that his son was gimmick by Sage Narada, he asked Samba to worship Sun God, who was the healer of diseases. Samba worshiped Lord Surya near the sea coast. He overall spent 12 many years of repentance worshiping the Sun God. After prolonged time, Lord Surya God appeared and asked Samba to take a holy dip in Konark. After taking dip in Konark, he was eased of Leprosy, so he planned to built a temple focused on Sun God in the same place where Lord Surya appeared.

Sun Temple is truly a kind of Vahana (vehicle) style because it has the shape of chariot. There are many such temples in India, but none are compared to the excellence of Sun Temple. You can find 12 wheels molded on both sides of the platform. Each wheels are as much as 10 feet tall. The spokes of the wheels are sundials promising the precise duration of your day. To fulfill the chariot, you will find artifacts of 7 galloping horses in the entrance of the temple. These seven large size horses really are main attraction of the temple. You can also see the intricate carvings which have been done on the walls. You will find images of men, women, God, Goddesses, warriors and scenes of daily life. It is believed that the temple was not build the way it was predicated. However, many says that it had been build exactly the way it had been planned.