Sun Temple of Konark is renowned throughout the world for its stone sculptures. The temple was designed in the shape of a huge chariot dr...
Sun Temple of Konark is renowned throughout the
world for its stone sculptures. The temple was designed in the shape of a
huge chariot drawn by 7 mighty spirited horses on 12 pairs (total 24
wheels) of gorgeously decorated wheels at its base. The size of the
wheel is of 9 feet 9 inches in diameter and each one of them having 8
wider spokes and 8 thinner spokes.Out of these 24 wheels 6 are in either
side of the main temple, 4 wheels are on each side of the Mukhasala and
2 wheels on each side of steps at eastern front. The huge wheels of the
Konark Temple are one of the major attractions for visitors.
Various theories have been advocated regarding the significance of Konark wheel. According to some, the 7 horses represent the days of the week and the 12 pairs of wheels represent the 12 months of the year and the 24 wheels signifies 24 hours of a day and the 8 major spokes signifies prahars (three hour period) of a day. According to others, the wheels of the chariot have been interpreted as the 'Wheel of Life'. They portray the cycle of creation, preservation and achievement of realisation. These 12 pairs of wheels may also possibly represent the 12 zodiac signs. Some also believe that the Wheel of Konark is the same as the Dharmachakra of the Buddhists - The Wheel of Karma, The Wheel of the Law. If you hire a guide during your visit Konark Temple then they will explain you similar theories.
The size and architecture of the 24 wheels is same but each one of them has been differently carved all over. The thicker ones are all carved with circular medallions at their centres on the widest part of the face. The axels of the wheels project by about one foot from the surface, having similar decorations at their ends. The rims are carved with designs of foliages with various birds and animals, whereas the medallions in the spokes are carved with the figures of women in various luxurious poses, mostly of erotic nature.
I visited Konark temple several times. During my last visit, I hired anexperienced guide who explained me that the Konark wheels are used as Sun dials in ancient times to know the time of the day. He also explained me that out of these 24 wheels, 2 wheels will show you the time accurately from sun rise to sun set. When I asked about other 22 wheels, he told me that he is not sure about them but he will definitely explain me the technique to calculate the time using these 2 wheels. He took me to one of the wheel and put his finger at centre of the axel and I along with other tourists was surprised that the finger's shadow showed the precise time of the day. It's difficult to explain the technique in writing so I created following images based on his explanation.
The Konark wheel has 8 wider spokes and 8 thinner spokes. The distance between twowider spokes is of 3 hours (180 minutes). The thinner spoke between two wider spokes is of 1.5 hours (90 minutes). There are 30 beads between one wider spoke to the next thinner spoke and each bead represents 3 minutes. The Sun dial shows time in anti-clockwise and the top centre wider spoke represents 12 o' clock midnight.
The wheels of Odisha’s Konark Sun temple are actually sundials which can be used to calculate time accurately to a minute including day and night. Let’s take a look at the accuracy of the Sundial at Konark Sun temple built in 1250 AD. People still use it today to tell time.
As you can see, the sundial is pretty accurate and people are amazed by it. Let’s take a closer look and see how it works. The sundial has 8 major spokes that divide 24 hours into 8 equal parts, which means that the time between two major spokes is 3 hours. There are 8 minor spokes as well. Each minor spoke runs exactly in the middle of 2 major spokes. This means that the minor spoke divides the 3 hours in half, so the time between a major spoke and a minor spoke is an hour and half or 90 minutes.
Now, at the edge of the wheel, you can see a lot of beads. If you observe carefully, you can see that there are 30 beads between a minor and a major spoke. So, the 90 minutes are further divided by 30 beads. This means that each bead carries a value of 3 minutes. The beads are large enough, so you can also see if the shadow falls in the center of the bead or on one of the ends of the bead. This way we can further calculate time accurately to the minute.
The sundial shows time in an anti-clockwise fashion. At the top, the major spoke stands for midnight and this spoke stands for 3 A.M and this one for 6 A.M and so on. When I place a finger or a pen at the tail of the animal in the axle, the shadow will fall on the edge of the wheel. Now, I simply note the bead where the shadow falls. Using the math we did before, I can easily tell the current time precisely down to the minute. Imagine how much time and coordination would have happened between the astronomers, engineers and sculptors to create something like this 750 years ago.
The Konark Sun temple has a total of 24 wheels, all accurately carved just like the sundials.
Various theories have been advocated regarding the significance of Konark wheel. According to some, the 7 horses represent the days of the week and the 12 pairs of wheels represent the 12 months of the year and the 24 wheels signifies 24 hours of a day and the 8 major spokes signifies prahars (three hour period) of a day. According to others, the wheels of the chariot have been interpreted as the 'Wheel of Life'. They portray the cycle of creation, preservation and achievement of realisation. These 12 pairs of wheels may also possibly represent the 12 zodiac signs. Some also believe that the Wheel of Konark is the same as the Dharmachakra of the Buddhists - The Wheel of Karma, The Wheel of the Law. If you hire a guide during your visit Konark Temple then they will explain you similar theories.
The size and architecture of the 24 wheels is same but each one of them has been differently carved all over. The thicker ones are all carved with circular medallions at their centres on the widest part of the face. The axels of the wheels project by about one foot from the surface, having similar decorations at their ends. The rims are carved with designs of foliages with various birds and animals, whereas the medallions in the spokes are carved with the figures of women in various luxurious poses, mostly of erotic nature.
I visited Konark temple several times. During my last visit, I hired anexperienced guide who explained me that the Konark wheels are used as Sun dials in ancient times to know the time of the day. He also explained me that out of these 24 wheels, 2 wheels will show you the time accurately from sun rise to sun set. When I asked about other 22 wheels, he told me that he is not sure about them but he will definitely explain me the technique to calculate the time using these 2 wheels. He took me to one of the wheel and put his finger at centre of the axel and I along with other tourists was surprised that the finger's shadow showed the precise time of the day. It's difficult to explain the technique in writing so I created following images based on his explanation.
The Konark wheel has 8 wider spokes and 8 thinner spokes. The distance between twowider spokes is of 3 hours (180 minutes). The thinner spoke between two wider spokes is of 1.5 hours (90 minutes). There are 30 beads between one wider spoke to the next thinner spoke and each bead represents 3 minutes. The Sun dial shows time in anti-clockwise and the top centre wider spoke represents 12 o' clock midnight.
The wheels of Odisha’s Konark Sun temple are actually sundials which can be used to calculate time accurately to a minute including day and night. Let’s take a look at the accuracy of the Sundial at Konark Sun temple built in 1250 AD. People still use it today to tell time.
As you can see, the sundial is pretty accurate and people are amazed by it. Let’s take a closer look and see how it works. The sundial has 8 major spokes that divide 24 hours into 8 equal parts, which means that the time between two major spokes is 3 hours. There are 8 minor spokes as well. Each minor spoke runs exactly in the middle of 2 major spokes. This means that the minor spoke divides the 3 hours in half, so the time between a major spoke and a minor spoke is an hour and half or 90 minutes.
Now, at the edge of the wheel, you can see a lot of beads. If you observe carefully, you can see that there are 30 beads between a minor and a major spoke. So, the 90 minutes are further divided by 30 beads. This means that each bead carries a value of 3 minutes. The beads are large enough, so you can also see if the shadow falls in the center of the bead or on one of the ends of the bead. This way we can further calculate time accurately to the minute.
The sundial shows time in an anti-clockwise fashion. At the top, the major spoke stands for midnight and this spoke stands for 3 A.M and this one for 6 A.M and so on. When I place a finger or a pen at the tail of the animal in the axle, the shadow will fall on the edge of the wheel. Now, I simply note the bead where the shadow falls. Using the math we did before, I can easily tell the current time precisely down to the minute. Imagine how much time and coordination would have happened between the astronomers, engineers and sculptors to create something like this 750 years ago.
The Konark Sun temple has a total of 24 wheels, all accurately carved just like the sundials.
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