Konark: The Sun Temple
A little over a mile from the Bay of Bengal stand the remains of a 13^th century temple build by King Narasimhadeva of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. While the temple is in the traditional Orissan style — it has a dancing hall (nata-mandapa) which precedes the pyramidally topped assembly hall (jagamohana) and ribbed spire (deul) built on a shared plinth — it has three distinctive characteristics:
 • Its immense size;
 • Its dedication to Surya, the sun god; and
 • Its decorative program.
The deul, which was used as a navigational aid until its complete collapse by 1868, is estimated to have been 200 feet high. The only similarly sized temples in Orissa are the 11^th century Lingaraj and Jagannath temples in Bhubaneswar and Puri. What remains today is the, now roofless, nata-mandapa, the mostly intact 130 foot high jagamohana (shown in the photograph), and some of the lower portions of the deul.

For a description of the decorative program see the next image.

Photo taken: January 29, 2008

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