Modhera Sun Temple of Gujarat
Gujarat is a western Indian state. Gujarat is also home to many magnificent historic places, monuments, and temples. Today I’m going to tell you about one of my favorite picnic places in Gujarat, the famous Modhera Sun Temple. It’s located about 100 km from Ahmedabad. This ancient historic place is in the village of Modhera located on the bank of river Pushpavati. This temple of God Sun is also famous worldwide and it’s evidence of amazing artwork and is the glory of Gujarat. This ancient historical site is a famous picnic spot for tourists and Gujaratis.
History of Modhera Sun Temple of Gujarat
In This Article
The world-famous Sun Temple of Modhera is situated on the banks of river Pushpavati in Modhera village of Mehsana district. It’s about 100 kilometers away from Ahmedabad. It’s believed that this temple was built by Emperor Bhimdev Solanki I. This is also confirmed by the inscription made on the wall of the temple. It was the same time when Somnath and its surrounding areas were attacked and taken possession of by the foreign invader Mahmud Ghazni.
Under the influence of Ghazni’s invasion, Solankis had lost their power and luxury. The Ahilya Patan, the then capital of the Solanki Empire, also lost its glory. To restore their lost glory, the Solankis and the traders together contributed to the construction of the magnificent temples.
Solanki was a Suryavanshi and a ruler of the royal Chalukya dynasty. He worshipped The God Sun as his ancestors. So, he decided to build a magnificent temple of his divine deity Lord Sun, in 1026 AD. Thus, the Sun Temple of Modhera came into existence. The temple is built approximately 23.5 north latitude where the Tropic of Cancer crosses this place.
Mythological Facts about the Sun temple of Modhera
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ram asked his Guru Vashishtha to tell him a place where he could purify his soul after killing Ravana. He wanted to do this to get rid of the sin of killing a Brahman. Though Ravana was a demon, he was a Brahmin by birth. Then Guru Vashishtha advised Shriram to go to Dharmaranya which is today known as Modhera. Shriram did yagna ( ritual offerings in the holy fire) here where today the Sun Temple is situated.
Modhera Sun Temple – The Finest sample of Architecture and Artwork
Surya Kund
The Sun Temple of Modhera is a unique example of architecture and artwork and is constructed in an Iranian style. Limestone is not used in the construction of this whole temple. The temple has two parts the sanctum and the hall. There are a total of 52 small and tall carved pillars in the temple. Various images of gods and goddesses are housed on the pillars of the temple.
Pillars
Apart from this, various events of Ramayana and Mahabharata have been also shown with the finest carvings and artwork. The construction of the temple is in such a way that the first sunray falls in the sanctum of the temple. Next, to the temple, there is a Kund ( small reservoir of water) which is famous as Suryakund or Ramkund.
Image Courtesy: Flickr by Apurv Kiri
This Sun Temple of Modhera is also famous as Khajuraho of Gujarat. Its because there are so many artifacts carved on the stones of the temple just like the Khajuraho temple.
The Sun Temple is now under the supervision of the Archeology Department. Recently there has been a lot of improvement made in the maintenance of this temple and converting it into the best tourism site. The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat also organizes Modhera Dance Festival annually in the third week of January. The main aim of this event is to encourage and present the original classical dance forms.
No worship is done in this sun temple now. It’s because, during the invasion, the temple was damaged by Alauddin Khilji. He also broke the statues of the temple. He had also looted the treasury and the golden statue of Lord Sun from the temple.
How to reach this Historic Place
You can reach this famous sun temple by air or railway if you are outside Gujarat. The nearest airport and railway station is at Ahmedabad which is around 100 km away from the Sun temple. Once you reach Ahmedabad, Bus and Cab services are available for Modhera.
The Modhera Sun temple is a must place to visit for history and architecture lovers. Don’t visit this place during Summer as it’s very hot there. Visit in Winter or Monsoon to enjoy the beauty of this place.
