Sun Temple is the common name of a specific Hindu temple dedicated to the sun.
The most well-known sun temple is located at Konarak,
Orissa, on the Bay of Bengal's coast.
The temple was constructed by King Narasimhadeva (r.1238–1264), a member of the Ganga dynasty, and was designed to resemble the sun's chariot.
At the temple's lowest level, it features twelve huge wheels
engraved on the sides, as well as sculptures of many gigantic horses in front.
The lower floors, like those of Khajuraho's temples, are
covered with sensual and sexually graphic sculptures, to which many
interpretations have been given: Some argue that they legitimize carnal
pleasure as a religious route, while others consider them allegorical as
expressing human unity with the divine, and yet others believe they teach that
the craving for pleasure must be overcome in order to achieve the divine.
The temple was erected on a gigantic scale; the central
spire, according to one estimate, would have been over 200 feet tall.
The sandy soil on which the temple plat form was constructed
would not have been able to withstand the weight of such a massive edifice,
hence it's unclear whether this spire was ever finished.
The most significant factor to the temple's decline has been
the same unstable soil.
The jagamohan (assembly hall) is the only remaining building
on the site, which was filled with sand in the nineteenth century to avoid
further collapse.
For further detail, read Roy Craven's Indian Art, published
in 1997.
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