Of the 100-odd Sun temples in Gujarat, this temple at Modhera is the most known. Now a ruin by the river Pushpavati, 102 km from Ahmedabad, the temple built in 1026 AD by King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty, is under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India. The mystic aspect of the temple is the axial alignment with two intricately carved Sabha and Guda Mandapas as well as the Surya Kund—as the temple tank is called—with the Tropic Of Cancer passing through the heart of all three structures. Through a interplay of geometric patterns, pyramid-shaped stairs take you down to the water level. More than hundred miniature idols carved in between the steps of the tank at four levels speak of the devotion of long dead royal sculptors. The japmala has 108 beads. As one goes down step to step, or rather terrace to terrace inter-linked by steps, the reflection of the ancient shrines glitter in the green waters below.
Twice every year, on the days of the March and the September equinoxes, the rays of the sun glide over the Surya Kund, pass through the arches of the music hall, pierce the entrance to the main chamber or Guda Mandap, and illuminate the sanctum where the idol once stood. It is long gone, but the legacy of the Sun God, coming to life on pre-decided dates in concord of art and devotion, lives on.
A flight of stairs from the Surya Kund leads you up to a Toran or a pair of tall stone pillars forming a gateway (now an archway with the arch missing) taking you to the Sabha Mandap. It is a testimony to the unrivalled skill of long gone engineers—the Mandap is an octagonal structure supported by 52 pillars (representing the number of weeks in a year) with carvings depicting scenes from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Exiting the Sabha Mandap, you enter the Guda Mandap which houses the sanctum sanctorum. Though the Sun God visits the temple every morning as a lament of once worshipped light, now it is home to bats. As dusk falls, an air of mystery covers the darkened Mandapa whose gigantic dome becomes barely visible in the evening. The Mandapa is peristylar with an octagonal nave beneath the dome. Time has crawled its brutal signature; the inside walls are bare but niches in each bay hold idols of the god. The plain walls are more than compensated by exquisitely carved pillars and architraves portraying scenes from the Ramayana. The Garbhagruha or the Sanctum Sanctorum is sealed to prevent the curious from falling into the deep trench—which according to popular belief was filled with gold coins upon which sat the gold idol of Arka Deva on his chariot of eight horses. Between the outer walls of the temple and the sanctum is a passage. On the left side of the passage lies a hidden doorway to a tunnel which supposedly leads to the Rani ki Vav in Patan, some 25 km from the temple. According to myth, Lord Rama performed a yagya (sacrifice) here after vanquishing Ravana, to be absolved of the sin of killing a Brahmin. Rama built “Modherak” which subsequently came to be known as “Modhera”. The same fable also exists in Rishikesh, where a similar yagna was conducted near the Lakshman Jhoola.
In spite of the neglect of worshippers, the symbolic power of this Sun Temple—very much like the one at Konark, Odisha, and Martand, Kashmir—seems undiminished by the ravages of history. The ancient, majestic temple in the backdrop of a serene, rustic landscape frames an eternal picture in the minds of the visitor. It brings back the lost culture, art and spaces of another time.