Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller who came to India in the 7th century CE refers to the Multan temple with a golden deity. It was first sacked by bin Qasim. The devotees rebuilt the temple with a different idol made of wood and covered by red Cordovan leather. The popularity of the temple was such that the Muslim rulers used the idol as a hostage to deter any attempts to reconquer Multan. A Persian chronicler Istakhari noted in 951CE, “when the Indians make war upon them and endeavour to seize the idol, the inhabitants bring it out, pretending that they will break it and burn it. Upon this the Indians retire.” The temple was destroyed and rebuilt a few more times being finally destroyed in the reign of Aurangzeb. The site is now lost.

The picture is that of devotees at Sunrise in Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the mainland. A structure can disappear, but the faith stays.

Source: Flight of Deities & Rebirth of Temples. Meenakshi Jain.

Picture Credit: S. R Ramanujam

The first sections of the Kashi Khanda list 12 adityas in Varanasi. Later chapters give descriptions of two more adityas (Sumantvaditya and Karnaditya), bringing the number of temples and shrines up to fourteen. Each of the original fourteen aditya temples of Varanasi was razed by invaders. However, the adityas remained in the communal memory of the city. Today, the fourteen adityas are marked by a variety of small and unpretentious features such as carved Sun disks, lotus-form stones or images of Surya, which are set into walls, installed in small shrines or the precincts of temples.

The picture is of Lolarka Kunda in Varanasi, which has an image of trembling Sun.

Source: Malville, J. McKim and Singh, Rana P.B. 1995 i. Visual astronomy in the mythology and ritual of India: The Sun temples of Varanasi.

Picture Credit: Rana P.B. Singh

Martand was a famous Sun temple. Legend connects the spring of Martand tirtha with the production of the Sun from a lifeless egg (mrtanda). The temple was destroyed by the Kashmiri king Sikander Shah (1389-1413CE) called Butsikhan (Iconoclast). A British explorer Francis Younghusband, described it as, “the finest structure, typical of Kashmiri architecture at its best, built on the most sublime site occupied by any building in the world, far finer than the site of Parthenon, or of the Taj, or of St Peters, or of the Escurial.”

Source: Flight of Deities & Rebirth of Temples. Meenakshi Jain.

Picture Credit: Varun Shiv Kapur Flickr

Suryanar Kovil is located near the village of Aduthurai, near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. It is also close to the Great Living Chola Temples of the Tanjore region. Suryanar Kovil is a part of a group of nine temples, each dedicated to one of the Nava Grahas. They are popularly visited as the Navagraha circuit. The presiding deity here is Suriyanar, the Sun, present along with his two consorts Ushadevi and Pratyusha Devi. The temple also has subsidiary shrines for the other eight Navagrahas.

Source: Navagraha Temples of the Tanjor Disctrict. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Picture Credit: P Jeganathan Wikicommons

Nirath, in comparison, is an unknown Sun Temple. It is on the banks of Sutlej just before Rampur in Himachal Pradesh. The Sun temple is quaint and about a 1000 years old. The temple is believed to be one of the five established by Parashurama himself. The deity is Surya. There is also a combined image of Shiva-Vishnu carrying Trishul as well as Sankha-Cakra.

Source: Temples of Himachal Pradesh, Eicher

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

The assembly hall is called Jagmohan. The Sun Temple is the pinnacle of Hindu Orissan architecture and is unique in terms of its sculptural innovations and the quality of its carvings. According to textual evidence, it is believed that Narasimha I (who reigned between 1238 and 1264) of the Eastern Ganga dynasty commissioned the temple. The Sun Temple may have been built to celebrate Narasimha’s military victory over Muslim forces in Bengal. The main structure, vimana, of the temple collapsed in the 19th century. It reached a height of 227 feet (69 m). The entrance hall retains its pyramidal roof structure, but it cannot be entered because the entire building was filled with stone and sand in the 19th century to ensure it did not also collapse.

Source: www.britannica.com/place/Konark

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

In Gujarat prevalence of the sun worship is indicated by the number of inscriptions and remains of stone sculptures. The temple at Modhera is the most important of all sun-temples built in the whole of Gujarat.  It enjoys the same significance as other two well known sun-temples in Kashmir (Martand) and Orissa (Konark).  According to the Skanda Purana (3.2.40-67) after defeating Ravana, Lord Rama consulted Muni Vasishta to show him a place of pilgrimage where he could go and purify himself.  The Muni showed him dharmaranya, where Modherak or Modhera is situated. The famous sun temple was constructed in 1026-27 A.D. during the reign of Chalukya King Bhima I (1022-1063 A.D.). Though the temple has suffered extensive damages due to invasions, it still retains its original grandeur. But apart from its material beauty, its designer has succeeded in communicating to it an atmosphere of spiritual grace.  The temple faces the east. The rising sun at the equinoxes filters in a golden cadence through its openings, from door way to corridor, past columned vestibules finally to fall on the image in its innermost chamber.

Source: Dr. Advaitavadini Kaul, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam