history

1. ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People October 2009
34
HISTORY
Sun Temple at Modhera:
An Ode in Stone
Khurram Ashraf and Zeba Nisar
F
or centuries, Sun has been wor-
shipped as a major deity in India.
The Vedic scriptures of the Hin-
du religion refer sun, as the source of
energy, vitality and life which controls
the course of our life. Our concepts
of life, time and death, good and evil,
happiness and misery stem from this
primeval source of divine effulgence.
Many temples in India are exclusively
dedicated to Sun: Martand temple in
Kashmir, Katarmal in Almora, Osia in
Rajasthan, Konark in Orissa and Mod-
hera in Gujarat.
The Modhera sun temple is situated
on the banks of the river Pushpavati,
30 kms from Mehesana and 125 kms
from Ahmedabad in northern Gujarat.
According to the ‘Skanda Purana’ and
‘Brahma Purana’, Modhera is an ancient
township, known as Dharmaranya (lit-
erally meaning, the forest of righteous-
ness). It is believed that Lord Rama per-
formed here a yajna (sacrifice) himself
An exploration into the
planning of Sun temple,
Modhera — an epitome
of north Indian
architectural style
Model of Modhera Sun temple, Gujarat

2. October 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 35
of the sin of having killed a Brahmin
- Ravana, the king of Lanka. Rama built
“Modherak” which subsequently came
to be known as “Modhera”. It became a
pilgrimage centre for hordes of people
who thronged to the place to pay hom-
age to Sun.
The SunTemple, Modhera (Gujarat)
was built in 1026 AD by King Bhimdev
of the Solanki dynasty. Solankis were
considered to be Suryavanshis, or de-
scendants of ‘Sun god’. This temple
not only reflects the architectural
abilities of the Solanki dynasty, which
built it but also, speaks highly of the
devotional zeal of the ruling dynasty
at the time. As in the Sun Temple at
Konark, this temple was so designed
that the rays of the Sun would fall on
the image of Surya at the time of the
equinoxes. Whatever remains of this
temple is grand; the shikharas are no-
tably absent but the Toranas in the
frontal halls, and the intricate carvings
on the exterior speak of the splendor
of this shrine, which still is a home to
the Modhera dance festival.
SUN TEMPLE - NORTH
INDIAN STYLE OF TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE
The basic structure of temples in India
is a room or the Garbhagriha (sanctum
sanctorum) where the idol of the main
deity is kept. The temple is approached
by a flight of steps and is often built on
a platform. A porch covers the entrance
to the temple and is supported by
carved pillars. A prominent roof called
the Shikhara surmounts the top of the
Garbhagriha and dominates the sur-
roundings. The temple at Modhera has
a hall within it known as the mandap, a
feature common to some large temples
of North India.
Temple architecture in India is
broadly divided into the northern and
southern styles. The form and shape of
the Shikhara and the distinctiveness of
its decoration have led to this classifi-
cation. The Shikhara of the temples in
south India tends to be made up of dis-
tinct horizontal levels that diminish to
form a pyramid. Each level is decorated
with miniature temple rooftops.
The shikhara of the temples in
north and central India, in contrast, re-
sembles an upturned cone that is deco-
rated with miniature conical shikharas.
Though the Sun Temple at Modhera
belongs to the north Indian style of
temple architecture, it has some dis-
tinct features of its own. The structure
of the main temple cannot be reached
directly because the main temple and
the Gateway or Torana are separated
by a pillared mandap. There is a large
water tank in front of the Torana, which
leads to the temple and is a distinct
feature of this temple.
SUN TEMPLE MODHERA
– its components
The imposing Sun Temple stands in
the middle of a large compound of the
small town of Modhera. This temple
was constructed at a time when the
cult of Sun worship held its sway in
many parts of India in the early me-
dieval period. Various Hindu rulers, in
their acts of obeisance, erected mag-
nificent structures.
Model of Modhera Sun Temple, Gujarat

3. ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People October 2009
36
The Sun Temple at Modhera is
divided into three main sections.
1. Surya Kund, which is an intricately
carved, stepped tank named after
Sun God Surya
2. Sabha Mandap, which is a hall
used for religious gatherings and
conferences.
3. Guda Mandap, i.e. sanctum
sanctorum, which once housed the
idol of Sun God.
SURYA KUND
Most well designed sun temples have a
tank, for it reflects a belief as old as the
Rig Veda that the divine sun emerged
from the Cosmic Waters. The Surya-kun-
da also known as Rama-kunda is a fas-
cinating massive rectangular stepped
tank, located in front of the toran, which
leads one to the temple. It measures
176 feet north to south, by 120 feet east
to west. It was used to store pure water.
Devotees on their way to offer prayers
to the Sun God stopped here for cer-
emonial ablutions and would proceed
for worship towards the temple only
after cleansing themselves here. Small,
Site Plan of Sun Temple at Modhera, Gujarat
Surya Kund, Sun temple at Modhera in Gujarat

4. October 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 37
miniature shrines dot the steps around
this kund. The tank is profusely covered
with sculpture in relief in wide bands
that run all alongside the length and
breadth. There are 108 of them to coin-
cide with the number considered aus-
picious by the Hindus. Besides these,
there are four larger shrines dedicated
to Lord Vishnu (one of the principle
gods in the Hindu pantheon), Ganesh
(the God of knowledge and prosperity
and son of Lord Shiva), Natraja (Lord
Shiva as the cosmic dancer) and Sitala
Mata (the goddess of the dreaded dis-
ease-smallpox).
SABHA MANDAP
The Sabha mandap is a small inde-
pendent structure, which can be ap-
proached from all four sides. The en-
trance to the temple is through Torana
arches, which have a marvelous quality
of intricate and precision craftsman-
ship, crowning Kirti Stambas(towers of
fame), erected by Solanki Rajput kings
to commemorate their victories in bat-
tle field. This hall of religious gather-
ings is a magnificent pillared hall. The
Sabha Mandap is a forest of some 52
pillars, each one of them carved in in-
tricate detail and depicting whole vol-
Sectional Elevation of Surya Kund
umes of folk tales from the great Hindu
epics, Ramayana and the Mahabhara-
ta. The pillars and entrances have been
cleverly spaced out so as to allow vary-
ing shades of light and darkness to fall
on the carvings. At the centre of the
hall is the walnut shaped ceiling, with
its numerous folds of floral girdles, up-
held by two aisles of pillars arranged
on diagonals of the square plan. Even
at its dimly lit height, the astounding
splendor of stone craft shines brightly.
It is a visual delight to stand under the
23 feet high ceiling.
The architectural plan of this temple
follows the tradition of th e time, which
was having twin halls. So, while the
Plan of
Sabha Mandap
Sabha Mandap

5. ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People October 2009
38
Sabha Mandap was meant for religious
congregations, the main temple or the
Guda Mandap was built to house the
sanctum sanctorum.
GUDA MANDAP
The Guda mandap forms the third sec-
tion of the Sun Temple at Modhera and
is not attached to the sabha mandap.
The guda mandap is placed on a lotus-
base plinth. It has friezes of the Sun
God, other gods and goddesses cover-
ing its walls. Besides the depiction of
various deities, one can also see on the
walls, various aspects of human life like
the cycle of birth and death and some
erotic scenes from the Kama Sutra or
the ancient Indian treatise on love.
It is rectangular in plan, measures
51 feet 9 inches in length and 25 feet
8 inches in breadth. Thus the total
area of about 1275 sq.ft is divided into
nearly two equal halves. The inner half
occupies the Garbhagrha (sanctum
sanctorum) and the front one the Man-
dapa (hall). Between the outer walls
of the sanctum sanctorum and that of
the temple is the pradakshina-marga
or bhrama (the circumambulatory pas-
sage). This passage was roofed with
flat slabs laid across and carved with
rosettes on the undersides and above
this, rose the sikhara.
The sanctum sanctorum, once
housed the magnificent idol of the Sun
God. The guda mandap has been so de-
signed that on solar equinoxes i.e. on
March 21 and September 23, the first
rays of the rising sun fall directly on
and light up the niche of the idol of the
Surya Bhagwan (Sun God) sits. It is said
that the Guda mandap had a tunnel,
which could be used by the members
of the royal family to flee, in case of an
Plan of Guda Mandap
Guda Mandap

6. October 2009 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 39
Ar. Khurram Ashraf, M.Arch. and
Ar. Zeba Nisar, M.Arch. are Lecturers
in Faculty of Architecture, Integral
University, Lucknow.
Photograph: Courtesy the Author.
exhibition of performing arts. It also
has the added charm of being off the
tourist trail, even though every book
on Indian architecture makes a man-
datory reference to it. Even in its own
time it was recognized as something
special, as tradition immediately
began saying the temple was over-
laid in gold leaf, so brightly did the
soft orange sandstone, it is construct-
ed of, blaze in the light of the eye of
the World.
references
Brown Percy, Indian Architecture (Bud-
dhist and Hindu Periods), An article on
Sun-Temple at Modhera (Gujarat) by
Dr. Advaitavadini Kaul.
All illustrations are made by the
students of B.Arch Ist year (Batch:
2005-06), Integral University, Luc-
know. This exercise was done by
them as a part of their measure
drawing curriculum under the guid-
ance of Ar. Khurram Ashraf and Ar.
Zeba Nisar.
Ceiling Plan of Guda Mandap
Guda Mandap
attack. Though the roof over the Garb-
hagriha of this hall has collapsed, the
ruined shell gives an idea of the form
and details of the structure.
Modhera has now the place for
several dance and cultural festivals.
The sun temple and the ambience here
provide a majestic backdrop for the
Carving details of Sabhamandap
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