Ranakpur in Rajasthan is synonymous with its world-famous Jain temple. So much so that another, older temple located less than half-a-kilometre from the Jain temple lies virtually forgotten, visited only by the someone who knows about it existence – the 13th century Suryanarayan Temple or Sun Temple.
It is around 3 in the afternoon when our group arrives at the Sun Temple. Looking back, I’m still astonished that we made it to the temple for there are no signboards or markers to guide a visitor to the Sun Temple. If the manager of our tour group had not known about the Sun Temple, I doubt we would have visited it.
Built from low-grade marble, which has weathered beautifully over the centuries, the exterior of the temple is intricately carved with Surya or the Sun God seated on a chariot drawn by horses. The temple faces east, and has a sanctum topped by a shikhara in the nagara style, and an octogonal mandapa preceding the sanctum. The mandapa has some of the most exquisitely carved pillars and sculpted toranas I have seen. This is the first time I’m visiting a sun temple and I’m fascinated by the unusual motifs and iconography on the walls here.
There is nobody at the temple and our small group has the temple to ourselves. As I walk around the Sun Temple and note its details and delight in its carvings, the harsh afternoon light does not deter me from imagining how this east-facing temple would appear during sunrise.
As the eastern sky pinkens with the readiness of sunrise, the horses neigh impatiently. And with a burst of light they are off drawing the chariot bearing Surya in his day’s journey across the skies.
What a sight it must be in the mornings, I tell myself. I wish I can visit it during sunrise, but know that it is not possible as I am in a group and we are on a schedule. I’m happy that at least I got to visit the temple unlike many people who pass through Ranakpur completely unaware of the existence of the Suryanarayan Temple.
Have you visited this Sun Temple? If yes, do tell me what you thought of it and its unique sculptures?
My Favourite Things 
On my visit to Ranakpur, I did not know that it existed 😦
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I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m not surprised as there is absolutely no information on this at Ranakpur. To add to the confusion many people call the Suryanarayan Temple as the Jain Sun Temple. This automatically makes people assume that the Jain Temple is the Sun Temple !
Look at the positive side, you have a chance to visit Ranakpur again, don’t you? 🙂
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I visited Ranakpur about 5 or 6 years back, Sudha.. and had no idea it existed!!!! now, reading your post makes me want to go back! I especially loved the part about the horses coming to life and bearing surya across the skies!
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The Sun Temple had just finished a round of renovation when I visited it in Feb. 2013. It would have been interesting to see what its condition was 5-6 years back. And 5-6byears back is almost like a lifetime. You need to go back just to see the Sun Temple.
And as I mentioned in my comment to Puru above, there is a lot of confusion regading this Temple as some people call it the Jain Sun Temple. Now, I’m not very knowledgeable about Jainism, but do they have something like a Sun God?
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hello,
i am belong from jainism.
i was just visited recently.
its not jain sun temple.
as per jainism sun is goddness.
actully history of this temple, maharana from mewar was built this temple in 13th century.
right now owner and management is under udaipur maharana (city palace).
i have some recent picture. if you give me permission i would like to post here.
picture is not about temple, its very amazing natural look of this temple.
you can even check this photo here.
https://goo.gl/maps/GWc7ijYiqYT2
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I never said that this is a Jain sun temple. If you have read the post at all or read it carefully, you will see that I have only called it the Sun Temple, which is located near the Jain Temple of Ranakpur. No where does have I said or implied that this is a Jain sun temple.
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I visited the temple several years ago and remember being as awed. The sculptures are amazing and the whole aura around the monument is reminiscent of a magnificent time. Puri remains one of my favourite beaches. 🙂
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Good to see you here after so long, Deboshree. Welcome back. 🙂 The sculptures are indeed amazing and I have seen nothing like this before.
Your mention of Puri’s beach made me wonder if you were referring to the Konark Temple? I haven’t yet visited that one, and this Ranakpur SunTemple remains the only one I have seen so far.
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You must visit the one in Konark too. We clubbed a Puri-Bhubaneshwar-Konark trip and it remains one of the best we have ever had. 🙂
The Ranakpur temple is relatively less known but extremely beautiful as well.
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I have only heard of the Konark Sun temple. What a beautiful temple! The carvings are absolutely marvelous. One can spend hours looking at them. I can understand how you must have felt to leave it to keep to a schedule. Even tourist spots are decided by commercial considerations and viability, which explains why this temple is bypassed by tourist guides.
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And I have seen only the Ranakpur Sun Temple ! There are quite a few standalone Sun Temples. Konark is the best known. Gujarat has the Sun Temple at Modhera which is supposed to be just as magnificent.
I agree with your reason for why this Temple gets missed out. But I think there is a larger, more important reason. Available literature refers to this Temple as the Jain Sun Temple. This is actually quite confusing as I don’t think the Jains worship the Sun God. Also, once you are at the Ranakpur Jain Temple,, it is difficult to even go elsewhere – the structure is so grand.
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I said I had ‘heard’ of the Sun temple at Konark. And here you have ‘seen’ an equally grand one 🙂
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Truly a beautiful temple. It just makes me wonder at the amazing craftsmanship of the artists and sculptors at that time. I hope I get to see it too.
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You must, you must, you must 🙂
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I am a student of archaeology and visited the sun temple to record it. Unfortunately, the priest posted there Mahesh Sharma was a real hindrance. He didn’t let us feel comfortable or record anything regarding the temple. He didn’t even let me write notes about the architecture inside the temple. He threatened us and was a very difficult person who understood nothing about archaeology or the need to write about this archaeological marvel. My experience was very sad Sudhagee,and the whole day was wasted so much so that I couldn’t even enjoy the beauty of the temple.
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Hello Koel, I’m really sorry that you had such a terrible experience. I have never been able to understand why priests and other caretakers of the temple behave the way they do. I have met hostile ones, condescending ones, rude ones, to those who simply look the other way at vandalism. In the absence of clear-cut rules and regulations, one has to follow what the priests/caretakers say. For their word is law. One strategy I follow is to pray and make an offering at every temple I visit (if it is in worship), take permission to look around (it is almost always given) and spend some time with the priest talking about his work and temple lore. I never jump into recording or documenting or photographing immediately, no matter how pressed for time I may be.
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