KONARK Tourism, KONARK Travel Guide, KONARK Tourist Places
About Konark
Konark is a small town in the Puri district of Orissa, lying at 65 Km from Bhubaneswar. Konark town is famous for the 13th century Sun temple built in from oxidizing and weathered ferruginous sandstone by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. Konark Sun temple is a World Heritage Site that takes the form of a chariot of Surya, the Sun God, and is heavily decorated with stone carvings. The Sun temple takes the form of a chariot drawn by seven horses and twelve pairs of decorated wheels. The entrance of the temple is guided by two lions who are crushing elephants with elephants lying on humans.
History of Konark
There is a legend associated with the Sun temple that it was built by King Narasimha Deo-I of the Ganga dynasty as a representative of the political supremacy of its dynasty. However, after a long time being spent in the construction of the temple, king Narasimha gave a deadline to the architects. It was then that the son of the head architect, Dharampada, did a great job in providing a solution to finish the work within time and sacrificed his life to bring peace and harmony to the community.