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99 kms from Ahmedabad,
the 11th century Sun temple of Modhera
is easily one of the finest examples
of devotional in western India.
Built by the Solanki Rajput kings,
the aid of donations from the people,
the temple features carved torana
arches mounted on kirti stambhas
(pillars of victory) as the entrances,
a large rectangular stepped with
108 smaller shrines, an exquisite
52 pillared portico, beautiful domed
central portion and a sanctum sanctoruim
designed so that the sun light fell
on the bejewelled statue of the
God, specially at sunrise during
the equinox. The exterior of temple
is carved with traditional erotic
scenes, rivalling at Konark and
Khajurao, and depictions of various
Gods and, while inside are friezes
of the Mahabharata and portrayed
on the pillars. The temple is framed
by a well garden, and sits on the
banks of river Pushpawati.
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Sun temple illuminated at night
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The golden period of architecture
in Gujarat came during the rule
of the Solanki dynasty, with
some splendid architectural
wonders coming up during the
9th-12th century. Forts at Dabhoi
and Jhinjwada, the Hindu temples
of Modhera, Somnath(earlier
incarnation), Ghumli, Gope,
Bileshwar, Kera and Shamlaji,
the Jain temples of Girnar,Kumbhariyaji,Mt
Abu and Taranga, and attractive
places for harvesting water-Brahma
kund at Sihore, Sahasralings
talao at Patan, Munsar tank
at Viramgam, the stepwells of
Patan and Ghumli-came up during
this golden era. The most important
of this period is Modhera, the
Sun temple built in 1026 AD
by Bhimadeva of the Solanki
Rajput clan which ruled the
whole of what is now known as
Gujarat and neighbouring parts
of Rajputana and Malwa from
the 8th to the 13th century,
before losing to their relatives
the
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Waghelas
and later submitting entirely to Muslim
rule.The work of building the temple
was commissioned to the Silavat stone
masons, who did not make any designs
on paper but followed certain hereditary
principals of architecture and astronomy,
and using simple carving tools, they
had an amazing ability to make the
hardest stone take on the quality
of delicate wood carving, as amply
demonstrated in the marble temples
of Dilwara and the sandstone mansions
of Jaisalmer. Their crafts were well
guarded secrets, passed on only from
father to son, and being secular by
nature, they also worked on some of
the fabulous Indo-Saracenic mosques
of the Ahmed Shahi sultanate in Ahmedabad,
combining Islamic architecture with
plenty of Hinduistic ornamantation |
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The Sun temple is not very large
or as imposing as may be supposed
by those who have seen other
Hindu temples in India, but
even from a distance it is obvious
that it is covered by intricate
carvings of Gods, Goddesses,
men, women and animals in numbers
out of all proportion to its
actual size, and is a true gem
in the architectural annals
of India. The whole is outclassed
by the incredible rectangular
step tank or Surya kund, a majestic
100 sq meter rectangular pond,
with interesting shrines, said
to total 108 in all, the auspicious
number of flowers on a garlandLarger
shrines to Vishnu, Ganesha and
the Natraja incarnation of Shiva
in Tandav stand on 3 sides of
the Surya Kund, with the Sabha
mandap of the principal temple
soaring on the fourth side,
to remind you that this is the
domain of the Sun God.
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Classical
dances backdropped by temple |
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