Konark - Story of the Dharmapada legend and beyond

I was most excited about visiting the Sun Temple at Konark during my tour of Orissa, and the fact that I had an Orian trip-mate (Snajeev Kumar Behera) made things only more interesting. Everywhere we traveled, there were stories that he narrated about the place. We would often discuss the architecture of the place and decipher meanings from the idols, carvings and style of construction. And some of the meanings deduced were rather radical. Perhaps I can discuss a few here, the rest I can leave to our secret pact!

A very mysterious tree inside the temple complex

Konark happened almost in the middle of the trip. We were in the town for a couple of days and had an awesome time for the entire time. However, before I proceed further, there is a story to share and its the story of Konark. I invited Sanjeev to be a guest author to my blog and write this enchanting story that he narrated to me while we were there.

"Konark Sun temple is not only interesting for its majestic structure but also for the stories that  lives in the folklore for ages. One of the stories that describes the construction of the temple is the story of a 12 year old bright kid who sacrificed his life to save twelve thousand craftsman.

Dharmapada grew up in a small nondescript village in Orissa in the 12th century. Right from his childhood he was interested in architecture and crafts and being the son of a great temple architect, Bisu Maharana, he had access to the manuscripts describing details of temple construction. By the time he turned 12, he had mastered the art of Odiya temple architecture.

But he was always sad as he had never seen his illustrious father and his mother would not tell him much about him. On his 12th birthday, he asked his mother a gift, the chance to meet his father, which she could not refuse anymore.

After a long journey a tired Dharmapada reached a deserted beach where the sight of a magnificent structure caught his attention. He knew immediately, this is the place where his father is building the biggest temple of the land dedicated to the Sun God. He rushed to the construction site and it did not take him long to spot his father. Behind the hugs and kisses Dharmapada could see something was troubling his father.

The temple was the biggest ever built by the famed craftsman of Orissa. 12 thousand of the best from the land had labored for 12 long years to build the sun temple. It was the pinnacle of craftsmanship, architecture and details ever put together. But the temple was not complete yet. The final key stone or the ‘Kalasha’ was yet to be placed on the temple. And these craftsman had failed multiple times and no body knew how to top the Kalasha. The king, Narshinghdev, had announced the deadline till the morning, failing which all the twelve thousand craftsman would be killed. And being the chief architect of the project, Bisu Maharana was upset for being the failure which could kill so many people.

Dharmapada asked his father to take him around the temple and show him the construction. As he reached the top of the temple, he remembered the manuscripts he had read about the temple construction. He knew he had the solution. He knew the design of the stone that would fit as the key stone and would hold the temple together. As he explained the design to his father, Bisu was pleasantly surprised. He was so proud to have a son as talented as Dharmapada.

The father and the son, immediately went in to the workshop and in couple of hours the ‘Kalasha’ was ready to be installed. As they rolled the stone on the sand slopes to the top of the temple, the moon was shining in its full glory. By mid night the key stone was in place and the temple was complete. Bisu was happy for his son who had managed to save thousands of lives.

As the euphoria of success subsided, Dharmapada heard  a whisper among the people gathered around to see the completion of the temple. People feared the king would not be too kind to the failed craftsman as the Kalasha was completed by a 12 year kid and not by the craftsman themselves.

Dharmapada never wanted glory, name or fame for his achievements. He was happy he could save so may lives by completing the temple for the God. He slowly made his way though the crowd to the top of the temple. In no time he was standing on the top of the Kalasha he had just erected . He looked at the horizon as the first rays of the sun started touching the temple, as if the Sun God was showering his blessings. With tears in his eyes,  Dharmapada jumped off the temple-top into the deep blue waters of the sea.

A young boy who achieved the ultimate glory for Odiya art , craft and architecture by completing the greatest temple ever built, sacrificed his life to save the life of others. After thousand years, the sun temple is ruined but Dharmapada still lives in the folklore and in the aspirations of every young craftsman of the region."

We reached the town late in the evening and decided to see it the next morning. A good place to stay is the Pantha Nivas, which is located right opposite the main entrance to the temple. Its clean, comfortable and also within budget for most people.

Panth Nivas, the OTDC Hotel in Konark

Of course, by the time night fell we were restless and decided to see the temple as soon as we can. It was already past visiting hours and so we had to actually sneak in to see the temple in its full night glory.

Konark temple in the night, past the visiting hours

Sanjeev looking at me with, rather amused I think!

I climbed down into the temple (there is a huge pit around the temple, the temple lies at a lower level) using the workers' staircase and it was rather scary. We were also apprehensive of being caught as idol smugglers, who have apparently already siphoned off quite a bit of Konark treasures. After spending an hour, during which I ran around more like a kid, with Sanjeev looking at me with mild apprehension, we came back and slept off. I was extremely happy with breaking the rules and gazing at the temple when there was just no one around.

There can be two things that can be done in the morning - a visit to the beautiful Konark beach or a visit to the temple itself or perhaps even both. The beach is clean and beautiful and often used by the local fishermen as well as the tourists alike. In fact, its interesting to see them both co-exist in the same space. This also makes for some interesting photography subjects.

Though we got a vehicle to go to the beach, we had to actually walk back a little before finding a motorised way back. The walk was, however,extremely pleasant, despite the warm summer morning.

Some images from the beach and the light house we came across on the way back.

Sunrise at the Konark beach

Konark beach

Fishermen at the beach

Fishermen at the beach

Fishermen at the beach

Sanjeev taking a solitary walk

The light house

Photography credits shared by Sanjeev and me.