Balaram | Little Rann of Kutch | Lothal | Modhera | Nal Sarovar | Patan | Pawagarh | Shanku’s Water Park | Taranga

The entrance to the temple is  through Torana arches, all but one  of them ruined, crowning  Kirti Stambas(towers of fame), erected by Solanki Rajput kings to commomerate victories in battle, and can be reached by a steep climb from the bottom of the tank if you have descended below to see the shrines or up a few levels of steps from the sides. The Sabha Mandap is a forest of some 52 pillars, each one of them carved in intricate detail and depicting whole volumes of folk tales from the great Hindu epics, Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Friezes portray the eagle, Jatayu, trying to save Sita from demon king Ravana, Lakshman injured by an arrow while Hanumana departs to get herbs from the Himalayas, Lord Rama chasing the golden deer while Rawana makes off with Sita and Bhima killing the elephant Ashwatama in the battle of Kurukshetra. The beautiful corbeled dome has been reconstructed from architectural fragments, some of which can still be seen in the temple compound awaiting restoration for other domes and facades. Though they appear like a jungle, the pillars and entrances have been cleverly spaced out so as to allow varying shades of light and darkness to fall on the carvings. The outer facades of the Sabha Mandap has a string of friezes depicting horned beings, elephants,horses and human beings, and above that is the Mandovara, the area for  an incredible array of artistic expressions seen in the carvings on the wall and tiny sculpted niches, mainly portaying various Gods and Goddesses on their legendary chariots, animal mounts and other vehicles.

Between the Sabha Mandapa and the Sanctum Sanctoruim is a beautiful hall with pillars and arches, whose facade has been renovated and partially redone, and the walls  have 12 niches showing the different aspects of the Sun God in each month. The Sanctum Sanctoruim  was the highlight of the temple before it was plundered by Mahmud Ghazni, designed such that the  rays of the rising and setting sun on the day of equinox, fell on the bejewelled statue built by the Surya Vanshi Solanki Rajputs in honour of their ancestral God.

Few carvings  were allowed to diminish the might of this statue  in the main shrine, but the outer walls  are filled with sculpture of Surya, the Sun God on his 7 horse drawn chariot, Kubera, the God of wealth, Varuna, the Sea God,  Vishnu with his serpent and Durga. In another part of the temple, you can see the depiction of  the various cycles of human life-a mother giving birth to a child, parents bringing up their children,   the life of a family-and a whole kama sutra of traditional erotic sculpture showing various poses of sex, masturbation, oral intercourse and nudity in a style that rivals that of Khajurao and Konark. It was as if the temple builders meant to show that everything outside the temple was material and worldly, inside only.

Kirti Stambh, Modhera

Balaram | Little Rann of Kutch | Lothal | Modhera | Nal Sarovar | Patan | Pawagarh | Shanku’s Water Park | Taranga

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