Temple Astronomy 3
This part is a continuation of the Temple Astronomy series. Temple Astronomy 1 Temple Astronomy 2
Legends get associated with the subject in the form of folk tales, folk songs and folk plays when the phenomena or the acts go beyond the intellect of the common people. Though legends do not receive any importance from the historians, scholars and researchers, however, “Every story has a core of truth”, which needs investigation
Introduction
In earlier
parts, we examined how temple architecture in India sometimes reflects
astronomical knowledge—either through symbolic cosmology or measurable solar
alignment.
In this
section, we analyse two iconic structures:
- Konark Sun Temple
- Vidyāśhaṅkara temple in Śṛṅgerī, Karnatak
A lot of research has been done, and much more is still required to confirm the perceived peculiarities, astronomical or otherwise. The goal is to distinguish verifiable astronomical alignment from interpretive Medieval and historical claims.
Konark Sun
Temple
The temple is
located on the eastern coast of India, about 35 Km NE of Puri in
Odisha. The temple’s construction was initiated by the king,
Narasimhadeva I, known as Langula Narasimhadeva, during the Eastern Ganga
dynasty in the mid-13th century. The temple was sanctified
on माघ शुक्ल
सप्तमी, also called as रथसप्तमी, on 27 Jan 1258 CE.
It was named “Konark” Kone= corner or angle, Ark= Sun (कोण + अर्क = कोणार्क).
The present temple, built by Narsimhadeva, is not the first Sun temple; in fact, it is the 4th to be built on the same site. The Plan of the Temple Site
Symbolism and Astronomical Peculiarities
The temple is an architectural marvel. The temple was designed in the form of a chariot mounted on 24 wheels and drawn by 7 horses. Major portions of the temple are in ruins, and hence, the chariot and horses cannot be visualised.
The team of horses, 12 Wheels, has varying interpretations regarding its symbolism.
The wheels act like vertical sundials. A shadow cast by a stick held horizontally at the centre of the wheel shows the time of the day. The 8 spokes denote 8 Prahar, for units of time, see Vedic Period 3
How time is calculated from the wheel is explained in Figure 1.
Figure 1
The shadow cast by the stick held horizontally at the centre of the hub shows a time
The temple is oriented Eastwards and receives the sun's rays at sunrise. See images below
Three Sun idols are facing East, South and West, depicting rising, midday and setting sun. The sun’s rays illuminate them as per the time of the day, see fig 2
Actual Photo taken by me, along with a compass shot of the main temple. Orientation is 090-270 degrees
Trivia - Konark Temple
Konark temple is a World Heritage monument, as designated by UNESCO in 1984.
Konark is
shrouded with Myths and facts. A lot of research is being done to
unravel the mystery of Konark; most of this work is available online.
While the Konark Sun Temple is the most famous, the main deity is no longer present in the sanctum to witness this phenomenon.
There is neither a magnet on top of the temple nor is the Sun idol floating, as the legend says. Idol floating may be an optical illusion
Konark temple
is not of Buddhist origin, as is assumed by some
Two ruined
temples on the southwest corner are old Sun temples of the 9th century
More research through GPR is required to unravel some myths.
Vidyāśhaṅkara Temple in Śṛṅgerī
The Vidyashankara Temple was built around 1338 CE in a small town, Sringeri, originally called Rushyashringagiri. The temple is an architectural amalgamation of Hoysala and Dravidian styles. The temple is dedicated to lord Shiva, though there are idols of Vishnu and other deities.
The plan is an elliptical shape formed by the apparent union of two opposed apsidal parts, which meet at open ends and the curves on the eastern and western ends. The eastern apse has the Navranga
Astronomical
Peculiarities
The temple is aligned in the East-West direction
The main interest of this navaranga is its unique astronomical aspects concerning the 12 राशी स्तंभ, distinctive zodiacal pillars. See image above.
Each pillar has the image of the sign of the Zodiac Rashi
A paper written by Dr MH Krishna, Director of Archaeology of Mysore State, in 1936 claimed that the corresponding राशी स्तंभ in the temple was illuminated by the rising sun through the zodiac sign through which the Sun was transiting.
A remarkable feat of architecture, albeit an incorrect observation.
Dr BS Shaylaja8, N Kameshwara Rao7 and Priya Thakur7, in their research papers, give out the findings of their actual observations, which contradict the claims of Dr MH Krishna.
Similar research has been carried out by other scholars also. Their results have the same conclusion.
Their findings have been confirmed by other researchers.
Direction of rising sun beams for various dates as observed by Dr BS Shaylaja. The beam illuminates the correct pillar only for the Winter Solstice. For the rest of the pillars, there is a mismatch
Intrapolating this 600 shift backwards along the ecliptic, NK Rao and Priya Thakur opine that the temple illustrates a calendrical arrangement similar to the epoch around 2000 BCE.
Trivia -Vidyāśhaṅkara Temple
The temple was
built by Sage Vidyarana, who was himself an astronomer
Sunlight enters
the east-facing main entrance, but it cannot enter the corners. A narrow beam of rising sun enters
through the Northern and Southern doors
only on days of the Solstice. See diagram above.
Dr Shylaja observed that the Rashi’s match only for the Winter Solstice and only two राशीस्तंभ are aligned in the direction of the rising sun during the two Solstices. Her claims have been verified by various researchers.
As of today, the Sun is not illuminating the corresponding राशी स्तंभ that it is currently transiting. This displacement of approximately 600 is attributed to the axial precession of the Earth, which has caused a shift in the Sun's position in relation to these astrological columns.
NK Rao and Priya Thakur Show that on September 21, sunlight hit the Scorpio pillar, but the Sun was actually in Virgo. This represents an angular difference of approximately 60°.
Beam of morning sunlight near the Scorpio Pillar
The morning sunlight moves systematically from the Leo
pillar to the Aquarius pillar (tracing the Sun's path from north to south) and
then retraces its path.
Some pillars are illuminated through narrow beams passing
through small holes.
Mysteries
Why was the temple design of the राशी स्तंभ aligned to the epoch of 2000 BCE and not 14th CE?
Was the design deliberate or a mistake? Or was it made to commemorate an earlier event?
Since it was designed by an astronomer, it was likely intended to depict some Vedic rituals or the effects of precession.
References
1. A Study
of Ancient Indian Astronomy through Architectural Marvels KKP Shirodkar https://doi.org/10.58482/ijeresm.v3i2.2
2. Myths,
Facts and Controversies Associated with the Sun Temple of Konark by Sudhansu
Shekhar Rath
3. Astronomical
Heritage: The Sun Temple Konark, by Dr Mayarani Praharaj
4. Bahinipati
S, Ranjan Biswal D and Suar D. The Konark Temple’s Construction: A Critical
Review of the Historical, Cultural, and Scientific Evidence [version 2; peer
review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations] F1000Research 2025, 13:1540 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.157831.2
5. Basic Unit
of time measurement in ancient India.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348501311_Aksara_the_Basic_Unit_of_Time_Measure_in_Ancient_India
6. www.thekonark.in
7. Aspects of
Observational Astronomy in India. Vidya Shankar Temple at Sringeri by N
Kameshwara Rao and Priya Thakur https://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2011JAHH...14..136R
8. Astronomical
Aspects Associated with Temples, by Dr BS Shylaja
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