Konark is a medium town in the

Puri district Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...

in the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It lies on the coast by the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

, 65 kilometres from the capital of the state,

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

. It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple, also known as the ''Black Pagoda'', built in black

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

during the reign of Narasinghadeva-I. The temple is a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The temple is now mostly in ruins, and a collection of its sculptures is housed in the Sun Temple Museum, which is run by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

. Konark is also home to an annual dance festival called Konark Dance Festival, devoted to classical Indian dance forms, including the traditional classical dance of Odisha,

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.solar eclipse.

Etymology

The name ''Konârka'' is derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word ''Kona'' (meaning ''angle'') and word ''Arka'' (meaning ''sun'') in reference to the temple which was dedicated to the Sun god Surya.

The Sun Temple

The Sun Temple was built in the 13th century and designed as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God, Surya, with twelve pairs of ornamented wheels pulled by seven horses. Some of the wheels are 3 metres wide. Only six of the seven horse still stand today. The temple fell into disuse after an envoy of Jahangir desecrated the temple in the early 17th century. According to folklore, there was a diamond in the centre of the idol which reflected the sun rays that passed. In 1627, the then Raja of Khurda took the Sun idol from Konark to the Jagannath temple in Puri. The Sun temple belongs to the

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

n school of Indian temple architecture. The alignment of the Sun Temple is along the east–west direction. The inner sanctum or ''vimana'' used to be surmounted by a tower or ''shikara'' but it was razed in the 19th century. The audience hall or ''jagamohana'' still stands and comprises majority of the ruins. The roof of the dance hall or ''natmandir'' has fallen off. It stands at the eastern end of the ruins on a raised platform.

History

In 1559, Mukunda Gajapati came to throne in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literally ...

. He aligned himself as an ally of Akbar and an enemy of the Sultan of Bengal, Sulaiman Khan Karrani. After a few battles, Odisha finally fell. The fall was also aided by the internal turmoil of the state. In 1568, the Konark temple was damaged by the army of Kalapahad, a general of the Sultan. Kalapahad is also said to be responsible for damages to several other temples during the conquest.

Demographics

As of 2011 India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Konark had a population of 16,779. Males constitute 8,654 (52%) of the population and females 8,125 (48%).As of 2001 Census Konark has an average literacy rate of 57%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 64%, and female literacy is 49%. In Konark, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Tourism

Attractions in Konark

* Konark temple: listed as one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, the temples of Konark are the main attractions, providing a glimpse into the finest achievement of a lost masonry style. * Chandrabhaga beach: one of the cleanest and most beautiful beaches in Odisha, it is the place of action for a lot of the legends behind Konark. * Sun Temple Museum: run by the

, the museum houses many of the artefacts from the temple.

Reaching Konark

Konark can be reached via a number of routes: # Reach

either by Flight or Train, and then take a bus or a taxi to Konark (64 km from Bhubaneswar). # Reach

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...

by Train (Puri is well-connected to the rest of India), and then take a bus or a taxi to Konark (34 km from Puri).

Photo gallery

File:Plan-temple-konarak.png, Original structure. Existing structure is in the dark. File:Sun temple - 12.jpg, Image of Lord Surya, riding a horse File:Konark3.jpg, Temple Arts File:Konark4.jpg, Temple Arts File:Konark5.jpg, Temple Arts File:Konark6.jpg, Temple Arts File:Konark7.jpg, Temple Arts Konark Temple at Night

Notes and references

External links

Konark, World Heritage Site, UNESCO

Konark (Official Site), Tourism Department, Government of Odisha
* . {{Authority control Tourism in Odisha Cities and towns in Puri district Hindu holy cities Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Puri district