Sunrise at Konark.

“I don't want anybody to stand between the individual and existence. No prayers, no priest -- you alone are enough to face the sunrise. You don't need somebody to interpret for you what a beautiful sunrise it is. ”

This is what Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh said about sunrise. I cannot agree more with him on this.

The earliest rays of Sun are believed to hit the shores of Konark, a small village about 65 KM from Bhubaneshwar.

Recently I was in Konark and went to the sea shore to see the sunrise. What a spectacular scene it was!!!

I guess I need not say anything more on this. My pictures will say it  all. . . . . 

  

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Emotions in stone!

I was in Konark last weekend and as anyone can guess ,I visited the Sun Temple. It is another architectural marvel of India. The temple is built for the Sun God, in the form of a chariot drawn by seven horses, symbolism VIBGYOR.

 The architect of this temple has devoted much of his time in sculpturing human emotions in STONE! There are statues depicting various ‘Mudras’ of Bharath Natyam and statues of sexual positions.

The response elicited in our minds when we hear the word Kama Sutra is that it is a treatise on ‘Athletics of Sex’! But definitely it is much beyond this. We will only be trivialising Kama Sutra if we equate it to just ‘sexual positions’! Written by Vatsyayana, anytime between 100 to 400 AD, it talks elaborately about the importance of sex in human lives. What was his intention in writing this or what he wanted to convey by his work is definitely beyond my comprehension! But from the perspective of art and photography, I view this as an outstanding piece of work. I would go a step further and appreciate the sculptor who actually gave shape to what Vatsyayana is saying in his work.

May be it is a Victorian mentality to condemn any depiction of sex. But Hinduism recognizes the role of sexual desires in human lives. That’s why many ancient temples in India have expressed this explicitly in the temple architecture. There is a difference between Nudity, expression of beauty and pornography. What appear in Hindu temples are expressions of genuine beauty and not pornography. 

There are many statues in Konark Sun Temple. The mudras of Bharath Natyam or of any other form of dance, which was prevalent in this part of India during that time, are a collection of architectural beauty.

I must say that the Kings, who were ruling ancient India, had a very different outlook towards life. Their perspective of life is totally different from what it is for the present rulers!  

A closer look at Hinduism will reveal that sex was never a taboo during the ancient period. Some believe these sculptures were meant for sex education and there is nothing unnatural for temples to have them. In fact, the sex sculptures are all seen outside the Hindu temple along with other sculptures depicting materialistic way of life

In Konark too these sculptures are seen along with other statues emphasizing the fact that in those days sex was never treated as taboo and it is a natural process of life like other things!

Sun temple at Konark, is one of the must -see destinations of the world!

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Sun temple

 Hinduism believes that Sun is the source of energy, power and is the sustainer of all life on earth. So it worships Sun as God and calls it Aditya. It is said that reference to this is seen even in the Vedas. The worship of the Sun in India is thus several centuries old.

It is also said that Iran was once a centre of solar worship and that some of the Magha priests of Iran had been brought to India to officiate in ceremonies. 

In India there are several temples erected for the Sun God as the principal deity. It is also believed that Surya, the Sun God offered worship at several of the shrines in Tamilnadu. Many of these shrines have been designed in such a way that the sun's rays illuminate the sanctum (of Shiva) on certain days of the year. Several of the South Indian Temple Tanks also bear the name Surya Theertham or Surya Pushkarini.

 

One of the very important temples of Sun God is the one in Konark, a small village about 65 KM from the state capital of Orissa, Bhubaneshwar. This temple was constructed in the 13^th century and considered to be the grandest of all Sun temples. Oriyan architecture reached its pinnacle in the Sun temple at  Konark.

It is a grand and magnificent temple in the form of sun’s charriot drawn by seven horses marking the seven days of the week. The 24 huge wheels, superbly carved and decorated, mark the hours of the day. 

This temple was envisioned by the Ganga ruler Narasimha Deva but it was not fully completed. The main idol of the Sun God on which the sun’s rays fall in the morning is said to have been removed by some Portuguese navigators. The temple now comprises only of the sabhamandap and the natamandir. The main temple crumbled down many years ago.

Even what is left today, is a testimony to the talent of the architects who lived in India centuries ago. In 1984 UNESCO declared  the Sun Temple a world heritage centre.  Sun temple is one of India’s most famous Brahman sanctuaries.