11th January: Konark's Temple of the Sun

Since our expedition to Konark would not start until 2 pm, we had plenty of time to enjoy a lazy morning.  We lingered in bed until hunger prompted us to seek breakfast.  The South Indian place we'd been eyeing up was still closed at 9.30, so our hopes for idli and dosas were temporarily dashed.  To Clem's great relief, however, we eventually found a small restaurant called Harry's Cafe that served us a tasty South India breakfast.

We then took a stroll along Puri's beach. Unsurprisingly the golden sand was littered with detritus, although by Indian standards it was tolerably clean. Down by the sea a large group of Indian tourists was enjoying breakfast on the beach, taking a dip in the Bay of Bengal (fully clothed, as is their wont). The sun was shining and the temperature was close to 20 C, but we did not fancy a swim. Not only was the water unlikely to be clean (at least by the shore), but we had been told that the water was not safe for more than a paddle as the beach fell away quickly and there were strong currents. There were at least lots of lifeguards, wearing their amusingly conical white hats.

Breakfast on the beach (stop the lifeguard on the left)

Fishermen returning from the Bay

Taking a (mostly) fully-clothed dip

Lifeguard with his fantastic conical hat

After a stroll up and down the shoreline, we made our way back to our hotel's internet cafe for some admin. For lunch, we tried out a Chinese place that came highly recommended in the LP, but was not particularly memorable. That should teach us not to stray from the delicious Indian food.

At 2 pm it was time for our trip to the famous Sun Temple at Konark. We were picked up by a taxi outside of our hotel. The 45 minute drive passed along the coast and through verdant countryside. At the entrance to the complex we were met by one of the 29 government-authorised guides, all of whom were named on a large board near the entrance. Our guy was number 9. 

On our way to Konark we stopped off at a place that made statues; we decided it would be difficult to carry

Our guide led us past a clutch of stalls and over to the temple entrance. We paused briefly at a spot from which we could see the whole temple stretched out in all its glory.

The majestic Sun Temple

A slightly obstructed view of the temple

The Sun Temple, whose main section represents the chariot of Surya, god of the sun, was built in the 13th Century AD by an Orissan king in celebration of a victory over the Mughals. Sadly its glory was relatively short-lived: in the 16th Century the raiding Mughals had their revenge, and the ransacked temple fell into disuse and partially collapsed.

As we entered the complex we were greeted by a pair of stone lions tearing into the backs of elephants. They guarded the steps of the main entrance, leading up to the dancing hall that stood before the principal, chariot-shaped building. As we walked around the outside of the dancing hall, our guide pointed out the intricate carvings in the sandstone, most of which writhed with eroticism. His explanation, echoing one of the less plausible theories that we had heard in Nepal, was that these erotic carvings had a didactic purpose, seeking to remedy a decline in the birth rate (which could apparently be attributed to an increase in the popularity of Buddhism).

Temple guardians

Interesting drainage system

We then climbed the steps to the dancing hall. Number 9 explained that the three archways were designed to allow the sun to light up the inner sanctum of the temple in each of the three seasons (yes, three not four).

Archway through which the rising sun used to illuminate the deul

Clem and Surya's chariot

After descending from the dancing hall, we moved over to the main part of the temple, the chariot. Of the seven stone horses pulling the mighty chariot (representing the seven colours of the rainbow, apparently), only one remained. It might not remain too much longer, judging by how casually an Indian tourist ignored our guide's warning and seated his son on the horse, and by how long it took for the security guard to intervene. This is a common problem, our guide told us. Considerable damage has been caused by overly excited Indian tourists.

Kid and his 700-year-old rocking horse

As we walked around the chariot our guide pointed out yet more exquisite carvings, including the 24 stone chariot wheels (each representing one hour of the day). On the way we stopped off at the statues of horses that guard the southern entrance to the temple. We also saw the Mayadevi mandir, a small shrine to the west of the chariot, and a tiny brick temple nearby that was possibly used to test out the design for the main temple.

One of the twenty-four chariot wheels

The two horses guarding the southern entrance

Scaffolding supporting the southern side of the temple

One of the more athletic poses

A scene from the construction of the temple

I think the larger version looks better

We were then led around to the northern side of the temple, past the temple sanctuary (the "deul"), whose towering spire sadly collapsed after the Mughal raid. Here we saw three large images of Surya, the god of the sun, which catch the light at sunrise, midday, and sunset. Proving his earlier complaint, our guide showed us fragments of a sculpture that had been damaged by marauding tourists climbing up the temple. Criminal.

Mounted Surya

Surya positioned to catch the sunset

Carvings were better preserved on the protected northern side of the temple

Finally we climbed up to the chariot's centre-piece, the huge assembly hall, gazing up at the impressive lintel. The assembly hall itself had been filled in to save it from collapse. Here our guide pointed out a group of tourists/pilgrims from Maharashtra, some in traditional dress, who were apparently on their way to Kolkata for a festival at the end of the month and were stopping off at several other holy sites on the way.

Maharashtran team photo

Last view from the north-east

Outside of the main temple complex, we visited the shrine to the nine Hindu planets: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, plus Rahu and Ketu, two celestial demons.

Hindu planets

We then walked back over to our taxi driver, waking him from a nap. He drove us to Chandrabhaga beach, just down the road from Konak, where we hopped out briefly to check out the "sand art festival".