Sun Temple, Modhera
The Sun Temple of Modhera is a Hindu temple dedicated to the solar deity Surya located at Modhera village of Mehsana district, Gujarat, India. It is situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati. It was built after 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty. No worship is offered now and is protected monument maintained by Archaeological Survey of India. The temple complex has three components: Gūḍhamanḍapa, the shrine hall; Sabhamanḍapa, the assembly hall and Kunḍa, the reservoir. The halls have intricately carved exterior and pillars. The reservoir has steps to reach the bottom and numerous small shrines.
Quotes
[edit]- Colonel Monier-Williams, a military official, was the first to notice the temple in the course of his duties as Surveyor General. In his Journal in 1809, he described the structure as ol rare elegance, and noted that its domes had been blown off by a Muslim prince,
There is one of the finest specimens of ancient Hindu architecture at Mundera I ever saw. It is a pagoda very similar in structure to those of the present day; but ornamented so profusely that it is very evident the founder was determined to make it the most finished piece of work that it was possible for the compass of human art to effect ... All the upper part of it is supported on pillars, which are of an order the most elegant, and enriched with carved work of exquisite beauty, and which would be considered in this refined age as the conception of a correct taste, and the execution of a masterly hand. Innumerable figures cover most of the bases of the pillars, and a considerable portion of the exterior surface of the building... The domes were blown off, they say, by means of gunpowder ... by a Musalman prince. The lower circles remain, and are ornamented in a style of elegance that is uncommonly striking ...- in Burgess and Cousens 1975: 71-72). quoted from Jain, M. (2019). Flight of deities and rebirth of temples: Espisodes from Indian history.173
- Thereafter, in 1856, British administrator A.K. Forbes wrote of the temple and the evidence of Muslim vandalism,
It rose to the height of one story only, and consisted of an adytum, a closed mundup attached to it, an open mundup separated from the rest of the edifice. The spire has fallen, and the domes are no longer in existence; but the remainder of the building is nearly complete, although indentations are visible upon some of the columns, such as might have been made in wood by sharp weapons, to which the Mohummedans point as marks of the swords of the Islamicate saints ... The detached open mundup of the temple is now known under the name of ‘Seeta Chore’ or marriage hall, and the reservoir (now called the Ram Koond) is a celebrated place of pilgrimage for Vaishnavite ascetics.- Forbes 1878: 195-196). quoted from Jain, M. (2019). Flight of deities and rebirth of temples: Espisodes from Indian history.173ff
- James Burgess and Henry Cousens were the first archaeologists to properly survey the temple. They noted images of solar deities outside and inside, and identified it as a Sun temple. According to them, the structure had originally all the parts of a first-class temple, was built according to injunctions of the shilpa shastras, in good proportions, and richly decorated. They stated that the shikhara was blown up,
The Muhammadans, not content with defacing the figure sculptures of this Modhera temple, are said to have placed bags of gunpowder in the underground shrine, and blew it up with the upper cell, destroying the Sikhara or tower .... The shrine is now a wreck: nothing but the bare walls remaining ... this must have been of two storeys... The floor separating them, with part of the roof, had fallen into the pit. On clearing out of the debris, the seat of the image of Surya was found in the middle of the floor, with other blocks connecting it with the side walls. On the front of the seat are carved seven horses (the saptasva-vahana) of the god, their fore-quarters projecting and prancing forward ...- Burgess and Cousens 1903: 74ff). quoted from Jain, M. (2019). Flight of deities and rebirth of temples: Espisodes from Indian history. 173ff.
