Odisha Temples - Music On Stone

"Had the early European visitors reached Konark about the time they saw the Taj Mahal they would have placed Konark as one of the seven wonders of the world", observed an eminent art critic of Europe.

Sculptures in the temples of Orissa surely charm foreign visitors also. It is dsifficult to count how many temples Orissa has. Bhubaneswar is a city of temples and ruins. Orissa’s master architects and sculptures have left in Bhubaneswar magnificent temples, beauty of which has no parallel. And Konark perhaps is unique among Orissa’s glorious temples. Konark temple’s sculptures are living beauties in silence. Konark is a living testimony to the daring and the artistic sensibility of a race that once knew how to live, love, worship and create in heroic proportions.

The temple, which lies in a vast compound enclosed by a wall, is grandiose in proportion and daring in conception. It was built by King Narasimha Deva I who ruled Kalinga (present day Orissa) in the 13th Century. According to Abul Fazal, the court historian of Akbar the great Mughal emperor, its cost was defrayed by 12 years’ revenue of the province. The structure as a whole was conceived as the mythical chariot of the Sun-God borne on twenty-four wheels and drawn by seven horses. Every detail in the temple is subservient to that overriding idea, and no part, however exquisite its own beauty stands by itself. The beauty of the temple does not lie merely in its structural grandeur which is more or less conventional. It is the sculpture of Konark that constitutes a landmark in the development of Indian art. The walls of the Sun temple are covered with exuberant carving covering aspects of life. Every bit of the exterior is moulded and chiseled either in form of geometrical patterns, conventional foliage, or mythical animals and figures. The technique ranges from patterns cut with the minute precision of a cameo to powerful-modeled groups of colossal size.

The main theme of the sculpture is love. There are beautifully shaped figures in close embrace, dancing or making music. In female figures, feminine charms are so well depicted that the spectator is left speechless. On the roof-stand some of the finest sculptures are executed in India, girl musicians of heroic proportions accompanying the Sun-God’s chariot. These huge figures silhouetted against the sky and visible from long distances look like heavenly creatures. The seven horses of sun temple are believed to signify the seven days of the week, the twenty-four wheels 24 fortnights of the year, the eight spokes of each wheel 8 prahars (span of time) into which the ancient Indians divided the day.

At Konark, as also at Bhubaneswar and Puri, visitors find a large number of carvings and reliefs with an obvious erotic import. Same kind of erotic theme in sculptures can be seen in the temples of Khajuraho in Central India.

Broadly speaking, Orissa’s temples have many common features. They are mostly of sandstone. The stones are held together with iron clamps, the use of wood having been dispensed with. A typical temple consists of two essential structures, the deul (tower) and jagamohan (assembly hall). The deul is the sanctum where the deity is enshrined. It is a square structure surmounted by a curvilinear tower. Facing the deul, and communicating with it, is jagamohan, a square structure with a pyramidal roof. Occasionally, one or two more structures, such as the natyamandir (dance hall) and the bhogmandir (hall or offerings), were added in front of the jagamohan.

Bhubaneswar is one of the country’s oldest cities, Orissa’s master architects and sculptures have left in Bhubaneswar magnificent temples (8th to 13th century A.D.) the beauty of which has not been excelled any where in the country. Lingaraja temple in Bhubaneswar which dominates the temple city with its elegant, soaring 39m. high tower. It represents the quintessence of Orissan art. Human figures, especially the feminine form, are also a recurrent decorative motif. The supple grace of these life-like stone figures, draped in the flimsiest of silks and muslins and adorned with a variety of jewellery-all in stone evokes in beholder a feeling of great aesthetic pleasure which words can only inadequately express.

The smallest of the group, the Mukteswar is perhaps the loveliest, "a dream realised in sandstone". It has an eleven metre high tower and an elegant eight metre high jagamohan. The floral decorations in this temple are better executed than in most other temples and statuary is full of action. Kedareswar temple near a tank behind the Mukteswar, is 12m. high. The exact data of the Kedareswar temple is unknown, it is older than the great Lingaraja temple. The Parasurameswar temple is believed to be Bhubaneswar’s oldest temple (8th century A.D.).

One of the gems of Orissan art is the Rajarani temple, is set amidst paddy fields. About 17.7 m. in height its niches are filled with 0.9m high statues executed with a vigour one would think difficult to combine with the plastic quality that is associated with the art of stone carving in east India. The feminine form is delineated here in a variety of moods and attitudes. There are lovely slender-waisted, full-breasted woman in amorous dalliance, sporting with treees, taking off their anklets, caressing their pets or playing on instruments.

Other than those major masterpieces, temple Vaital and Ashoka’s rock edicts at Dhauli (3rd century before christ) should be mentioned. The rock caves of Udaigiri hills dated back 2nd century B.C. Rani Gumpha, Ganesh Gumpha and Hathi Gumpha have different style of sculptures.

Famous Jagannath temple of Puri was built between 8th and 12th century A.D. The Jagannath temple is lightly carved. Its tower rises 59m. from its base, impresses with its proportions and height rather than with its carvings. In the compound of Jagannath temple, scattered small temples have innumerable sculptures like Bhubaneswar and Konark.

In Aandre Malraux’s words, Orissa’s temples are voices in silence and songs on stone carving. French litterateur and art historian Mr. Malraux describes Orissa temples as rare heritage sites of this planet called earth.

In undertaking efforts to preserve the world’s cultural and natural heritage, the UNESCO has attempted to emphasise the link between culture and development. The UNESCO’s World Heritage Programme (1978) aims to protect historic sites and natural landmarks of outstanding universal significance.

India with its great variety of monuments and archeologtical sites has indeed a rich heritage. There are 16 world Heritage Monuments. And Sun Temple of Konark (Orissa) is one of them. It is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India.

The 1999’s October cyclone lashed out in the coastal Orissa, perturbed the beauty and elegance of Konark temple for a short while. Archeological Survey of India’s prompt and timely action has cleared all the difficulties in the temple site, and soon it became a tourists paradise again.

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