Taking the stairs up the 3.9 m platform, one can get an even closer look at the large Surya – majestic images of the Sun God surrounded by his wives and other deities. Three life-size statues of Surya on the back and two sides of the temple, made of a greenish chlorite stone, are positioned so that the sun’s rays fall on the Sun God’s face alternating at dawn, noon, and sunset.
Even the three-tiered roof is resplendent with carvings. My favorite was the sculptures of women playing woodwind instruments and the cymbals. Their poses were so highly animated, it would be easy to imagine them actually moving with the music. The interior of the temple has been completely filled in, an attempt to keep the structure from collapsing. Scaffolding covers one side of the structure. The temple once had a huge tower that was visible far out at sea, but it collapsed in the 19th century. One can still see the original iron beams above the doors. The temple’s soft khondalite stone was also seriously eroded by seawinds and sand. Much of the structure lay buried for centuries under sand and was only excavated in the early 20th century.
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