In the course of time Konak along with its temples and sacred spots have lost their glories. There is no proper justification of how long it stood with its glory and the causes of its fall. However, many speculations on this. The various speculations made, might be the cause of the fall of this magnificent monument are given below.
It is stated that due to weak foundation of such a heavy structure the temple fell down. But as stated earlier the temple was founded on a deep gorge of a river to make it stronger. And also there is no sign of sinking in any part. So this argument is also not founded on good grounds.
Engineering Defects :
As per the opinion of some Engineers, as usual with the progress of construction of the temple walls, its outside and inside were being filled with sand. After completion of the temple when the sands were cleared both from inside and outside, due to imbalance of pressure of walls the temple fell down. But many scholars do not agree with this argument, when they find the existence of a throne of the Sun god inside the temple. They also do not accept that such a procedure was followed in constructing the Sun temple. Besides there are historical documents that the Sun god was being worshiped in the newly constructed temple for a considerable period.
Flying Lion :
Recently some scholars have advanced the opinion that there was a big image of a Lion which is called Flying lion on the upper part of the Sun temple just above the porch. Now the said image is found lying in the broken condition on the ground in three places. Due to placement of such a heavy block of stone on the temple walls, it imbalance the wall and the wall collapsed.
Load Stone :
It is described that there was a load stone on the top of the Sun temple and due to its magnetic effects it was drawing vessels passing through the Konark sea resulting in heavy damage. In others view due to the magnetic effects of the load stone placed on the top of the Sun temple the compass fitted in the ships to show the direction, was being disturbed and was not functioning properly and it was a troubling task in the part of the captains to drive their vessels in right direction. So to make the shipping save, the Muslim voyagers took away the load stone from the Sun temple. This load stone on the temple was working as the central stone keeping all the stones of the temple wall in a balance. Due to its displacement the temple walls lost their balance and fell down in course of time. But such a statement has no record in history nor has got any proof about the existence of such a powerful load stone on the temple top.
Some historian justify that due to early death of the king Langula Narasimha Dev, the builder of the Konark temple, the construction of the temple had been left haphazardly. As a result of this the incomplete structure collapsed in course of time. But this view stands without any basic data. It is rather established from the records of Madala Panji of Puri Jagannath temple as well as from some copper plates that the 1278 A.D. and the king Langula Narasimha Dev reigned till 1282. Many historian are of the opinion that the construction of the Konark temple was completed between 1253 and 1260 A.D.
Hasty Completion Of The Temple :
It is learnt from the Dharmapad story that the king Narasimha Dev had ordered the sculptors to complete the temple about a fortnight earlier than the scheduled time and also had threatened them if they fail to complete the temple within the stipulated time, all the sculptors will be heavily punished to death. As the chief architect Sri Sibei Samantaray expressed his inability, the king engaged another person to speed up the work in place of Sri Samantaray. Though the newly appointed architect completed the work in the stipulated time, he failed in placing the Kalas (the crowning stone ) of the temple. Finally the Kalasa was set up by a boy of 12 years, Dharmapada, son of Vishu Moharana. It is evident, as a result of this impracticable order of the king many things had gone wrong. This resulted in weakening the placement of the crowning stone, which could not be placed properly according to the basic plan of the temple. As a result the temple walls collapsed being imbalanced within a very short period.
Some scholars says that due to earthquake the temple fell down. But there is no proof in support of occurring such an earthquake in this area. There is also no sign of suppression of the foundation of the temple at any direction. And such an occurrence could have been remembered by the people as they have remembered the story of Dharmapada, Ramachandi and Bishu Maharana. Nowhere there exists such a devastating statement.
Thunderstruck :
The arguments that the temple was affected due to Thunderstruck is also not acceptable. Since the temple walls are of 20 to 25 feet in thickness it is not at all possible on the part of any thunderstruck to disturb it in any manner.
It is stated by some that , due to suicide of Dharmapada on the temple just after placing its crowning stone, the temple lost its sanctity and considered as an unfortunate element and was thus rejected. But it is recorded in the Madala Panji and many historians are of opinion that Sun god had been established in the temple and was being worshiped regularly for years together. So this argument is also not acceptable.
Curse Of Sumanyu :
The great poet of Odisha Sri Radhanath Ray in his Kavya 'Chandrabhaga' has narrated a story about the cause of the fall of temple. According to that Kavya, Sumanyu Risi cursed the Sun god for his ill-behavior towards his daughter Chandrabhaga, who committed suicide. Hence the temple of the Sun god fell down. But this is an imaginary story.
According to the history of Odisha, Kalapahada invaded Odisha in 1568. He had destroyed a number of Hindu temples in Odisha including the Konark. It is described in the Madala Panji Kalapahada attacked Odisha in 1568 and it was an evil hour for Odisha. Though it was impossible to break the Sun temple of Konark, the stone walls of which are of 20 to 25 feet thick he somehow managed to displace the Dadhinauti (Arch stone) and thus made a way for the temple to collapse. He also broke most of the images and other side temples of Konark. Due to displacement of the Dadhinauti, the temple gradually collapsed and the roof of the Mukhasala also got damage due to the stroke of the stones falling down from the temple top. At the time of measurement by the King Narasimha Dev, the Sun temple was in existence up to its Amalak sila, i.e. about 200 feet in height. Kalapahad had only destroyed its Kalas, the crowning stone and the Padma-dhwaja, the lotus finial and the upper portions. Due to removal of this crowning stone the temple lost its balance and gradually started to fall down. The stroke of heavy stone pieces caused considerable damage to the porch.
For the Construction of Puri Jagannath Temple :
There was a big block of stone called Navagraha Paata placed in front of the Mukhasala. The then king of Khurda removed the said block to down and took away many sculptured stones from Konark and constructed some portions of Puri temple with them. During Maratha time, the outer compound wall of the Puri temple was constructed with the stone of Konark temple. It is reported that among all the temples the Nata Mandir (the Dancing hall of Konark) was broken intentionally considering it as an unnecessary structure during the time of Maratha administration. In 1779, a Maratha Sadhu had taken away the Arun Pillar from Konark and put it in front of the Lion's Gate of Puri Jagannath temple. By the end of 18th century Konark lost all its glories and had been turned to a dense forest. In course of time, the temple area thus became devoid of people being covered with dense forest, full with sands and filled with terrible animals and homed by pirates. It is said that even the local people feared to go to Konark in the broad day light.
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| Now Visible Remains |
From the construction point of view
Weak Foundation :It is stated that due to weak foundation of such a heavy structure the temple fell down. But as stated earlier the temple was founded on a deep gorge of a river to make it stronger. And also there is no sign of sinking in any part. So this argument is also not founded on good grounds.
Engineering Defects :
As per the opinion of some Engineers, as usual with the progress of construction of the temple walls, its outside and inside were being filled with sand. After completion of the temple when the sands were cleared both from inside and outside, due to imbalance of pressure of walls the temple fell down. But many scholars do not agree with this argument, when they find the existence of a throne of the Sun god inside the temple. They also do not accept that such a procedure was followed in constructing the Sun temple. Besides there are historical documents that the Sun god was being worshiped in the newly constructed temple for a considerable period.
Flying Lion :
Recently some scholars have advanced the opinion that there was a big image of a Lion which is called Flying lion on the upper part of the Sun temple just above the porch. Now the said image is found lying in the broken condition on the ground in three places. Due to placement of such a heavy block of stone on the temple walls, it imbalance the wall and the wall collapsed.
Load Stone :
It is described that there was a load stone on the top of the Sun temple and due to its magnetic effects it was drawing vessels passing through the Konark sea resulting in heavy damage. In others view due to the magnetic effects of the load stone placed on the top of the Sun temple the compass fitted in the ships to show the direction, was being disturbed and was not functioning properly and it was a troubling task in the part of the captains to drive their vessels in right direction. So to make the shipping save, the Muslim voyagers took away the load stone from the Sun temple. This load stone on the temple was working as the central stone keeping all the stones of the temple wall in a balance. Due to its displacement the temple walls lost their balance and fell down in course of time. But such a statement has no record in history nor has got any proof about the existence of such a powerful load stone on the temple top.
From the Historical Point of View
Incomplete Temple :Some historian justify that due to early death of the king Langula Narasimha Dev, the builder of the Konark temple, the construction of the temple had been left haphazardly. As a result of this the incomplete structure collapsed in course of time. But this view stands without any basic data. It is rather established from the records of Madala Panji of Puri Jagannath temple as well as from some copper plates that the 1278 A.D. and the king Langula Narasimha Dev reigned till 1282. Many historian are of the opinion that the construction of the Konark temple was completed between 1253 and 1260 A.D.
It is learnt from the Dharmapad story that the king Narasimha Dev had ordered the sculptors to complete the temple about a fortnight earlier than the scheduled time and also had threatened them if they fail to complete the temple within the stipulated time, all the sculptors will be heavily punished to death. As the chief architect Sri Sibei Samantaray expressed his inability, the king engaged another person to speed up the work in place of Sri Samantaray. Though the newly appointed architect completed the work in the stipulated time, he failed in placing the Kalas (the crowning stone ) of the temple. Finally the Kalasa was set up by a boy of 12 years, Dharmapada, son of Vishu Moharana. It is evident, as a result of this impracticable order of the king many things had gone wrong. This resulted in weakening the placement of the crowning stone, which could not be placed properly according to the basic plan of the temple. As a result the temple walls collapsed being imbalanced within a very short period.
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| Mukhasala |
From Natural Calamities
Earth Quake :Some scholars says that due to earthquake the temple fell down. But there is no proof in support of occurring such an earthquake in this area. There is also no sign of suppression of the foundation of the temple at any direction. And such an occurrence could have been remembered by the people as they have remembered the story of Dharmapada, Ramachandi and Bishu Maharana. Nowhere there exists such a devastating statement.
Thunderstruck :
The arguments that the temple was affected due to Thunderstruck is also not acceptable. Since the temple walls are of 20 to 25 feet in thickness it is not at all possible on the part of any thunderstruck to disturb it in any manner.
From Folktales
In-sanctity :It is stated by some that , due to suicide of Dharmapada on the temple just after placing its crowning stone, the temple lost its sanctity and considered as an unfortunate element and was thus rejected. But it is recorded in the Madala Panji and many historians are of opinion that Sun god had been established in the temple and was being worshiped regularly for years together. So this argument is also not acceptable.
Curse Of Sumanyu :
The great poet of Odisha Sri Radhanath Ray in his Kavya 'Chandrabhaga' has narrated a story about the cause of the fall of temple. According to that Kavya, Sumanyu Risi cursed the Sun god for his ill-behavior towards his daughter Chandrabhaga, who committed suicide. Hence the temple of the Sun god fell down. But this is an imaginary story.
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| Original Temple Plan - Artistic View |
And the Most Popular Cause
Kalapahada :According to the history of Odisha, Kalapahada invaded Odisha in 1568. He had destroyed a number of Hindu temples in Odisha including the Konark. It is described in the Madala Panji Kalapahada attacked Odisha in 1568 and it was an evil hour for Odisha. Though it was impossible to break the Sun temple of Konark, the stone walls of which are of 20 to 25 feet thick he somehow managed to displace the Dadhinauti (Arch stone) and thus made a way for the temple to collapse. He also broke most of the images and other side temples of Konark. Due to displacement of the Dadhinauti, the temple gradually collapsed and the roof of the Mukhasala also got damage due to the stroke of the stones falling down from the temple top. At the time of measurement by the King Narasimha Dev, the Sun temple was in existence up to its Amalak sila, i.e. about 200 feet in height. Kalapahad had only destroyed its Kalas, the crowning stone and the Padma-dhwaja, the lotus finial and the upper portions. Due to removal of this crowning stone the temple lost its balance and gradually started to fall down. The stroke of heavy stone pieces caused considerable damage to the porch.
For the Construction of Puri Jagannath Temple :
There was a big block of stone called Navagraha Paata placed in front of the Mukhasala. The then king of Khurda removed the said block to down and took away many sculptured stones from Konark and constructed some portions of Puri temple with them. During Maratha time, the outer compound wall of the Puri temple was constructed with the stone of Konark temple. It is reported that among all the temples the Nata Mandir (the Dancing hall of Konark) was broken intentionally considering it as an unnecessary structure during the time of Maratha administration. In 1779, a Maratha Sadhu had taken away the Arun Pillar from Konark and put it in front of the Lion's Gate of Puri Jagannath temple. By the end of 18th century Konark lost all its glories and had been turned to a dense forest. In course of time, the temple area thus became devoid of people being covered with dense forest, full with sands and filled with terrible animals and homed by pirates. It is said that even the local people feared to go to Konark in the broad day light.
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