Ahmedabad railway station to get ‘Modhera temple’ facelift: Amit Shah

Subject : History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

The Ahmedabad Railway Station at Kalupur in Ahmedabad City will be developed on the theme of Modhera Sun Temple in the next five years, Union Home & Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced Sunday.

Modhera Sun Temple,Gujarat

It is located in Mehsana, neighbouring Ahmedabad district.
It was built after 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty.
No worship is offered now and is protected monument maintained by Archaeological Survey of India.
The temple complex has three components: Gudhamandapa, the shrine hall; Sabhamandapa, the assembly hall and Kunda, the reservoir.
The halls have intricately carved exterior and pillars. The reservoir has steps to reach the bottom and numerous small shrines.

Konark Sun temple, Odisha

It is a 13th-century CE sun temple at Konark about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast from Puri on the coastline of Odisha, India.
The temple is attributed to king Narasingha deva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty about 1250 CE.
Dedicated to the Hindu sun god Surya, what remains of the temple complex has the appearance of a 100-foot (30 m) high chariot with immense wheels and horses, all carved from stone.
Once over 200 feet (61 m) high, much of the temple is now in ruins, in particular the large shikara tower over the sanctuary; at one time this rose much higher than the mandapa that remains.
It is a classic illustration of the Odisha style of Architecture or Kalinga Architecture .
This temple was called the “Black Pagoda” in European sailor accounts as early as 1676 because its great tower appeared black.
Similarly, the Jagannath Temple in Puri was called the “White Pagoda
Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984, it remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February

Martand Sun temple, Kashmir

The Martand Sun Temple is a Kashmiri Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (the chief solar deity in Hinduism) and built during the 8th century CE.
Martand is another Sanskrit name for the Hindu Sun-god. Now in ruins, the temple is located five miles from Anantnag in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Temple was built by the third ruler of the Karkota Dynasty, LalitadityaMuktapida, in the 8th century CE
The temple was completely destroyed on the orders of Muslim ruler Sikandar Butshikan in the early 15th century, with demolition lasting a year.

Suryanarayana Swamy temple, Arasavalli (Andhra Pradesh)

Arasavalli Sun Temple is a 7th-century AD Sun Temple at Arasavalli in Andhra Pradesh, India
It is believed that the temple was built by king Devendra Varma, ruler of the Kalinga Dynasty.
This temple is considered as one of the oldest sun temples in India. The Temple was dedicated to the Hindu sun god Surya.
Over the years the sun temple has been an important landmark for many of the festivals celebrated in the town. Including the important festival Rathasaptami. The temple is very much recognized as a resemblance of magnificence and beauty

Brahmanya Dev Temple, Unao (Madhya Pradesh)

The Balaji, a famous and rare sun temple with its own unique architecture, is situated in a small town of Unao in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh.
The Balaji temple was built in the pre-historic time by the king of Datia.
The Sun God is the main deity of this temple.
The Sun God stands on a brick platform covered with black plates. Twenty-one triangles, representing the 21 phases of the Sun are engraved in the shrin
Here, special worship is offered on Sundays. Local belief is that worshippers find relief from skin ailments at this temple.

SuryanaarKovil, Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu)

SuryanarKovil (also called Suryanar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Hindu Sun-God, located in SuryanarKovil, a village near the South Indian town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India.
The presiding deity is Suriyanar, the Sun and his consorts Ushadevi and Pratyusha Devi.
The temple also has separate shrines for the other eight planetary deities. The temple is considered one of the nine Navagraha temples in Tamil Nadu.
The present masonry structure was built during the reign of KulottungaCholadeva (AD 1060-1118) in the 11th century with later additions from the Vijayanagar period.
Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram, the gateway tower and a granite wall enclosing all the shrines of the temple.

Dakshinaarka Temple, Gaya (Bihar)

It is said to be built by King Prataparuda of Warangal in 13th century The deity is made in granite and the idol wears Persian attire like waist girdle, boots and a jacket. It has a Surya Kund (water reservoir) nearby.

Navalakha Temple, Ghumli (Gujarat)

Navlakha Temple at Ghumli was built by Jethwa rulers in 11th century dedicated to Sun god, Surya and is oldest sun temple of Gujarat.
It has the largest base (Uagati) of the temples in Gujarat, measuring 45.72 x 30.48 m. Facing East, it had a beautiful entrance arch or Kirti Toran, that is now lost.
The Navlakha Temple built at a cost of Nine Lacs hence the name Navlakha.
The temple is built in Solanki style of architecture and Maru-Gurjara style of architecture have the three entwining tusks of elephants as its trademark and is considered to be high noon of Solanki style of architect.