One of the well known heritage sites in India is Konark. It is popularly known as Konark Sun Temple. Among other tourist attractions of Orissa, it is among the prime ones. Konark is actually a Sun Temple that is dedicated to Sun God. The architectural grandeur of Konark seen with great awe even in modern time. The other name of Konark is Konaditya. This name has been derived from “Kona” which means Corner and “Arka” which means Sun. this meanings give the name of Arkashastra to this Konark Temple. It is situated in the north eastern side of Puri, in Orissa.
The legend of Konark is of Samba, who was the king of Jamvabati. The legend goes like this that Samba once entered the chamber of Krishna's wives, where they were taking bath ans as a result he got a curse of leprosy given by Krishna. He was told that to relieve himself from that curse he would have to worship Sun God on the sea coast of Puri, on its north east side. After reaching Puri, Samba discovered an image of Sun God in Konaditya Kshetra. The idol was found sitting on top of Lotus. After worshiping that idol he got completely cured from that curse.
Konark temple was built on 1278 by Ganga King, Narasimha Deva. It has also got the name of Black Pagoda due to its huge structure. It is one of the largest temples of India. The ruins of this temple were excavated during the end of 19th Century. Garbagriha, which is the tower is missing though the Jagamohana is intact.
The construction work of Konark could not be completed as it was thought that the structure was not string enough to to take the weight of the bis dome, which was supposed to be set on top of the structure. However, there is also a local belief which says that the entire temple was constructed along with the heavy dome on top of the structure, but due to its magnetic structure of the dome, some ships got attracted by the magnet and met with accident and crushed near the shore of sea. In order to destroy the magnetic effect of the dome, it was removed and then destroyed. The image is believed to be taken to Puri.
Lots of people every year visit orissa as it is considered to be one of the popular tourist destination states. Though The Jagannath temple of Puri is the main attraction of the tourists, Konark has its own popularity. The tourists visiting Orissa or Puri rarely miss to visit the place Konark, and the main attraction of Konark is the Sun Temple. You will be astonished by the architectural beauty of this temple. Nowadays, the gated to the temple remains closed and you will have to view from the top to see the place of the Sun God. The sculpture on the walls of the temple are also masterpieces of traditional architectural beauty of India.
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