Sun temple

West Holy Gate, Temple of the Sun, Beijing

A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed across the world including in India,^[1] China, Egypt, Japan and Peru. Some of the temples are in ruins, undergoing excavation, preservation or restoration and a few are listed as World Heritage Sites individually or as part of a larger site, such as Konark.^[2]

China

The Temple of the Sun in Beijing, China, was built in 1530 during the Ming dynasty by the Jiajing Emperor,^[3] together with new temples dedicated to the Earth and the Moon, and an expansion of the Temple of Heaven.^[3][4] The Temple of the Sun was used by the imperial court for elaborate acts of worship involving fasting, prayers, dancing and animal sacrifices, as part of a year-long cycle of ceremonies involving all the temples.^[5] An important element was the colour red, which was associated with the Sun, including red utensils for food and wine offerings, and red clothes for the emperor to wear during the ceremonies.^[5] The temple is now part of a public park.^[6]

Egypt

A plan of Userkaf's temple

There were a number of Egyptian sun temples, such as the Great Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel^[7] and complexes built by the Fifth Dynasty, of which only two examples survive, that of Userkaf and of Niuserre.^[8] The Fifth Dynasty temples usually had three components, a main temple building at a higher elevation, accessed by a causeway, from a much smaller entrance building.^[9] In 2006, archaeologists found ruins underneath a market in Cairo, which could possibly be the largest temple built by Ramesses II.^[10][11]

India

Konark Sun Temple

The sun temples of India were dedicated to the Hindu deity Surya,^[12] with the most prominent being the Konark Sun Temple (also known as the Black Pagoda),^[13][14] at Konark in Odisha. Konark was constructed around 1250 AD, by Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty,^[15][16] and was built in the shape of a large chariot with carved stone wheels, pillars and walls. Other sun temples in South Asia include:

• Soorya Narayana Temple (Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಸೂರ್ಯನಾರಾಯಣ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) at Maroli, Mangalore, Karnataka
• The Sun temple at Katharmal, Almora built by the Katyuri kings.
• The Sun Temple at Modhera in Gujarat, built in 1027 AD by King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty^[17]
• Martand Sun Temple, near Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir^[18]
• Bhramanya Dev Temple at Unao, Balaji in Madhya Pradesh^[1]
• Sun Temple at Kalpi in Uttar Pradesh
• Surya Pahar Temple at Sri Surya Pahar in Assam^[1]
• Suryanar Kovil Temple at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu^[1]
• Surya Narayana Temple at Arasavalli in Andhra Pradesh^[1][19]
• Dakshinaraka Temple at Gaya in Bihar^[1]
• Biranchinarayan Temple, Buguda in Buguda, Ganjam, Odisha.^[20]
• Biranchinarayan Temple, Palia, a 13th—century temple in Palia, Odisha.^[20]
• Multan Sun Temple, also known as Aditya Sun Temple, in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan.^[21][22]
• Navlakha Temple, Ghumli, Gujarat, built in the 11th century.^[23]
• Katarmal sun temple in Uttarakhand, built from approximately the 10th century onwards.^[24][25]
• Adityanarayan temple (Hindi: आदित्यनारायण मंदिर), Parule, Maharashtra.^[26]

Others

Qurikancha with Convent of Santo Domingo above

There are also sun temple sites in a number of other countries:

• The Temple of the Sun in the Temple of the Cross Complex, at the Mayan site of Palenque, in southern Mexico, built sometime between 200 and 900 AD.^[27][28]
• The Temple of the Night Sun at the Mayan site of El Zotz, Guatemala, possibly abandoned in the fifth century.^[29]
• Qurikancha, in Cusco, was the most important temple in the Inca Empire, dedicated primarily to the sun god Inti.^[30]
• There are several Shinto shrines in Japan, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu including:

• Ise Grand Shrine in Ise, Mie prefecture^[31][32]
• Amanawa Shinmei Shrine, founded in 710, in Kamakura
• Amanoiwato-jinja in Takachiho, Miyazaki prefecture^[33]

• In the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, United States, there is a structure which may have been used as a sun temple by the Pueblo culture,^[34] with construction thought to have begun in 1275 AD,^[35] although it does not seem to have been completed.^[36]

See also

• Chinese temple
• Egyptian temple
• Fire temple
• Rock temple

References