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The Konark Sun Temple complex

- Adithyan

The Konark Sun Temple complex has ruins of many subsidiary shrines and monuments around the main temple. Some of these include:

Mayadevi Temple: Located west- been dated to the late 11th century, earlier than the main temple. It consists of a sanctuary, a mandapa and, before it, an open platform. It was discovered during excavation­s carried out between 1900 and 1910. Early theories assumed that it was dedicated to Surya's wife and thus named the Mayadevi Temple. However, later studies suggested that it was also a Surya temple, albeit an older one that was fused into the complex when the monumental temple was built. This temple also has numerous carvings and a square mandapa is overlain by a sapta-ratha. The sanctum of this Surya temple features a Nataraja. Other deities in the interior include a damaged Surya holding a lotus, along with Agni, Varuna, Vishnu, and Vayu.

Vaishnava Temple: Located southwest of the so-called Mayadevi Temple, it was discovered during excavation­s in 1956. This discovery was significan­t because it confirmed that the Konark Sun Temple complex revered all the major Hindu traditions, and was not an exclusive worship place for the saura cult as previously believed. This is a small temple with sculptures of Balarama, Varaha, and Vamana–trivikrama in its sanctum, marking it as a Vaishnavit­e temple. These images are shown as wearing dhoti and a lot of jewelry. The sanctum's primary idol is missing, as are images from some niches in the temple. The site's significan­ce as a place of Vaishnavis­m pilgrimage is attested to in Vaishnava texts. For example, Chaitanya, the early 16th-century scholar and founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavis­m, visited the Konark temple and prayed on its premises.

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