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Hanuman 2018

Back to the Indian subcontinent for two months in Spring 2018.

With Sri Lanka, Mumbai, the Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Amritsar and Delhi on the menu, we had many sweet experiences sprinkled with some sour ones.

Read on to learn how we fared.

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Thinking of our next trip: what about Iceland, Kyrgyzstan or Nepal (again) ? So much to chose from...

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Path: Photos > Modhera Sun Temple
Tags: Hanuman  2018  India

Modhera Sun Temple

 

(vero;2018-Nov-11)

We visited Modhera's Sun Temple as a day trip from Ahmedabad. The temple was built in 1026-1027 and is dedicated to Surya, the Sun God. This website has many pictures of the numerous carvings adorning the temple with some explanations.

Modhera's Sun Temple: it looks like one building but there are actually two. The first one is Sabha Mandap, the entrance and dancing hall (with the man in pink shirt), the second behind it is the main temple with the inner sanctum (with the man in white trousers standing outside). The temple is laid out in an east-west direction so that the sun's rays penetrate through its chambers and strike the centre of the inner sanctum when the sun is at its highest.
Surya Kund. It is a deep stepped water tank over 50 metres long and 20 metres wide facing the east front of the temple, the side of the rising sun. Devotees would head first to the tank and perform some ceremonial cleansing ablutions then proceed to the entrance and dancing hall before entering the main temple to perform puja. There are 108 shrines located along the steps and around the tank, 108 being a symbolic number in Asian religions. Detail of a statuette in one of the shrines around the Kund, probably depicting Durga sitting on her lion. Carving in one of the shrines around the Kund. Carving in one of the shrines around the Kund with an ascetic on the right. Carving in one of the shrines around the Kund. Erotic carving in one of the shrines around the Kund. Carving with a representation of the Sun in one of the shrines around the Kund. Carving in one of the shrines around the Kund. Sabha Mandap, the entrance and dancing hall where religious gatherings were held. This hall is open from all the four sides and has 52 delicately carved pillars. The intricate carvings inside depict scenes from the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The steps at the bottom left of the picture lead to the main western entrance which the devotees would access from the Kund after having performed their ablutions. The two carved pillars on top of the steps were once supporting a Torana, an arched gateway leading into the hall. A better preserved carving. Carving on top of a pillar supporting the ceiling. Frieze adorning the side of the temple. Carvings on an outside panel of the temple. An other frieze on the outside of the temple. Carving of an elephant overrunning warriors. Carving on a pillar inside the entrance and dancing hall. Images of deities adorning the outside walls of the main temple. Many of them are Adityas which are manifestations of the Sun god. One of the Adityas mounted on the seven horses pulling the Sun's chariot. A favourite theme in Hindu temple architecture: statue of a lady removing a thorn from her foot. Frieze of statues adorning the outside walls of the main temple. An other Aditya mounted on seven horses on the right. A torana at the north exit of the entrance hall. Note how every single space of the pillars and ceiling are covered with fine carvings. Intricate carvings adorning the outside walls of the main temple. Details of one of the two carved pillars which were once supporting the Torana, an arched gateway leading from the Kund into the entrance and dancing hall. Some of the 108 shrines along the steps surrounding the Kund.

Go back to Shipyards of Veraval or go on to The Golden and Silver Temples in Amritsar or go up to Photos

$updated from: Photos.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:40 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$