The 11th century Suryanar temple dedicated to the Hindu Sun-god Surya is still in active worship.
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 around 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]
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]
In ancient Egypt, there were a number of sun temples. Among these old monuments is 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]
Martand Sun Temple Central shrine, dedicated to the deity Surya. The temple complex was built by the third ruler of the Karkota dynasty, Emperor Lalitaditya Muktapida, in the 8th century CE. It is one of the largest temple complex on the Indian subcontinent.
Surya Narayana Temple at Arasavalli in Andhra Pradesh built in 7th century by king Devendra Varma, ruler of Kalinga.[17] The temple is constructed in such a way that on the day of Radhasaptami, the Sun's rays directly fall on the feet of the Sri Suryanarayana Swami, the deity at the temple.
Sun Temple, Madkhera is located in Madkhera, a small village situated on the North-West of Tikamgarh town at a distance of about 20 km. The entrance of the Sun temple is from the east and the Sun idol is placed inside.[21]
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,[36] with construction thought to have begun in 1275 AD,[37] although it does not seem to have been completed.[38]
Other usages
The name Temple of the Sun or Sun Temple was given to a folly which stood in Kew Gardens from 1761 until 1916. It was designed and built by William Chambers, who also planted a cedar tree next to the structure earlier, in 1725. In 1916, a storm brought down the cedar tree, which destroyed the folly in the process.[39]
^"Temple of the Sun". Unaahil B'aak:The Temples of Palenque. Wesleyan University. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^P. Charbonneau; O.R. White & T.J. Bogdan. "Solar Astronomy in the Prehistoric Southwest". High Altitude Observatory, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^"Sun Temple". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
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