On the Odisha coast, 35 km northeast of Puri, stands the Konark Sun Temple (13th century), a masterpiece of Kalinga architecture dedicated to the sun god Surya. Its unique design - a seven-horse-drawn stone chariot with 24 finely carved wheels - makes it one of India's most extraordinary monuments and a World Heritage Site (1984). In addition to its monumentality, Konark is a stony treatise on astronomy, iconography and ritual urbanism.
The complex is attributed to King Narasimha Deva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty (c. 1250 AD). Its location facing the sunrise reinforces the devotion to the sun. Over the centuries, earthquakes, invasions and the coastal climate damaged essential parts of the temple, but the pavilions, reliefs and the famous Ratha (chariot) retain their symbolic power.