Three Ancient Famous Temples of the Sun

Three Ancient Famous Temples of the Sun [suryasya prasiddhani trini pracinamandirani] / By Mm. Dr. V. V. Mirashi; Nagpur / 38-51

[ nibandhe'smin vidusa lekhakena prathitani trini pracinani suryamandirani kutra asanniti vivecitam | suryapuja bharatadese pracinakalatah pracalati | lekhakamahodayasya matanusarena trini surya- mandirani samagre bharatavarse prasiddhani asan, yani ca mandirani mulasthane, sutire tatha kalapriye ( adhuna 'kalapi ' iti namna prathite sthane ) asan, ityatra puranasilalekhakavyadinam pramanyena prati- paditam | lekhakamahodayaih 'stadija ina indolaji ' namake svagranthe purvamevedam pratipaditam, yat kalapriyam tu 'kalapi ' evasit | mahakaverbhavabhuteh trinyapi natakani kalapriyanathasya utsave eva abhinitani | atah, bhavabhuternatakanamabhinayah kalapisthasurya- mandirasya prangane krtah | kintu da0 kanemahodayaih esa vicarah uttararamacaritanatakasya sviyaprastavanayam nanumoditah | tesam mata- nusaratah kalapriyanathasyotsavah ujjayinisthaprathitamahakalamandirasyo- tsava eva | atastatraivabhinitani bhavabhuternatakani | athava kalapriya- nathastu bhavabhuterjanmasthanasya padmapurasya sivalinga evasit, tasyotsave esamabhinayah krtah | atra da0 mirasimahodayaih da0 kane- mahodayanam matasya nirasanapurvam sviyamatasya sthapana krta | atra varaha - bhavisya - samba - skandapurananam tatha ca silalekhadipramana- namadharena sthapitah yat kalapriyastu kalapinagarasyaiva vacakah yannagaram yamunayah daksine tate varttate yasya sthanasya ullekhah kambepleta silaphalake varttate | 'mulasthanam ' tu panjabaprantasya 'multana ' nagaram, yasya varnanam hvenasamganamna vidusa krtam | sutirasca uda़ीsa prantasya konarka 0 | ] Sun-worship has been prevalent in India from very early times. In course of time sun-temples came to be erected in different parts of India to which we get references in inscriptions. Of these there were three temples which were greatly venerated throughout India. It is proposed to give information about them

Jan. 1966] THREE ANCIENT FAMOUS TEMPLES OF THE SUN 39 culled from the Puranas and other works of Sanskrit literature and also inscriptions and other sources. According to tradition these temples were constructed by Samba, the son of Krsna. Several Puranas such as the Bhavisya, Varaha and Skanda give the story of Samba. When Narada told Krsna that some of his wives were in love with Samba, Krsna investigated the matter and cursed Samba that he would suffer from leprosy. Thereafter, Samba repaired to Mulasthana and there he propitiated the Sun-god, by whose grace he was cured of that fell disease. The god then told him that he would soon obtain his image, which he should instal at that place. Samba, accordingly, noticed an image of the Sun-god floating in the river Candrabhaga, when he had gone there to bathe. He removed the image from the stream and established it in Mitravana. The god next told Samba that the image had been fashioned by Visvakarman, the architect of the gods, out of the Kalpavrksa and sent down the Candrabhaga for his sake. The god next added- samnidhyam mama purva sutire draksyate janah | kalapriye ca madhyahne 'para catra nityasah || (The people will always notice my presence in the forenoon at Sutira, at noon at Kalapriya and in the afternoon at this place (i. e. Mulasthana ). ( Some MSS. of the Purana read Mundire in place of Sutire). The Varahapurana also mentions these places in the following verses which give some more details about them²- sambah suryapratistham ca karayamasa tattvavit | udayacale ca samsritya yamunayasca daksine || cottamam | | ravim | | madhye kalapriyam devam madhyahne sthapya mulasthanam tatah pascadastamanacale sthapya trimurti sambastu pratarmadhyaparahnikam || 1. Bhavisyapurana, I, 129, 16. 2, Varahapurana (Venkate vara Press) 177, 55-57.

40 puranam --- PURANA [Vol. VIII., No. 1 These verses tell us that Samba established the images of the Sun-god at three places-viz. (1) on the eastern mountain (ii) at Kalapriya on the southern bank of the Yamuna and (iii) at Mulasthana on the western mountain. Of these three places, Mulasthana is modern Multan in the Panjab. That there was a famous temple of the Sun at this place which attracted pilgrims from all parts of India is well known. Hiouen Tsang gives the following description of this temple in Mulasthanapura: "There is a temple dedicated to the Sun very magnificent and profusely decorated. The image of the Sundeva is cast in yellow gold and ornamented with rare gems. Its divine insight is mysteriously manifested and its spiritual power made plain to all. Women play their music, light their torches, offer their flowers and perfumes to honour it. been continued from the very first. of the five Indies never fail to make precious stones (to this Deva). mercy (happiness) in which they provide food and drink, and medicines for the poor and sick, affording succour and sustenance. Men from all countries come here to offer up their prayers; there are always some thousands doing so. On the four sides of the temple there are tanks with flowering groves where one can wander about without restraint." This custom has The kings and high families their offerings of gems and They have founded a house of When Muhammad Kasim captured Multan, he is said to have obtained thirteen thousand two hundred maunds of gold from this temple. The Arabs were iconoclasts, but they allowed the worship of the Sun image at Multan to continue as it brought them a large revenue from the offerings of the devotees. The Pratiharas of Kanauj and other powerful rulers of North India tried to wrest this town from the possession of the Muslims, but did not succeed; for when the Arabs were opposed by greater numbers 'they threatened to break the idol and the Hindus retired." 3. Travels of Hiouen Tsang by S. Beal, Vol. IV (pub. by Susil Gupta), p. 463. 4. C. V. Vaidya, History of Mediaeval Hindu India, Vol. II, pp. 197 f.

Jan. 1966] THREE ANCIENT FAMOUS TEMPLES OF THE SUN 41 6 The second temple of the Sun was situated at Sutira (or the beautiful shore of the ocean). In the forementioned passage from the Varahapurana it is said to be on the eastern mountain. In the Skandapurana this place is called Mundira. In the Sambapurana it is called Surya-kanana or Raviksetra, while the Brahma-purana is more explicit in that it calls it Konaditya or Konarka in Utkala (or Odra-desa). This is evidently modern Konarak, a famous temple of the Sun, about thirty miles from the town of Puri in Orissa. The existing temple was built by the Ganga king Narasimha I in the thirteenth century A. D. About its architectural importance Sir John Marshall says. "If the question were put to me, which are the noblest monuments of ancient India, I should name without hesitation the following: among Muhammadan monuments, the Taj Mahal at Agra; among Hindu, the Black Pagoda at Konarak and the Kailasa temple at Ellora ; and among Buddhist, the frescoed cave-temples of Ajanta and the Stupas of Sanci." The temple at Konarak is built on the sandy shore in a solitary place. The site was evidently held sacred from very early times and the present temple was evidently erected in place of an earlier one which had fallen in ruins. Dr. P. V. Kane has objected to this identification on the following grounds'-(1) There is another reading Mundire for Sutire. This is very important, Mundire would be the Sun-temple of Modhera, which is about 18 miles from Patan in North Gujarat and which was built about A. D. 1026. The passage of the Bhavisyapurana mentioning it would then have to be referred to the 11th century or later and would be of no use in establishing the existence of these Sun-temples before A. D. 700. (2) The Varahapurana mentions that the temple of the Sun was on the rising mountain. None can say that the temple of the Sun at Konarka is situated on the rising mountain. These objections have no force. As regards the first, Mundira cannot be identified with Modher where a temple of 5. R. C. Hazra, Studies in the Upa-puranas, p. 106. 6. The Monuments of Sanchi, p. 1. 7. P. V. Kane, Uttararamacharita of Bhavabhuti, Fourth Ed. Introd., p. 13, 6

42 puranam -- PURANA [Vol. VIII., No. 1 the Sun was constructed in the 11th cen. A. D. Even if we accept the reading Mundire in place of Sutire in the puranic passage cited above, the reference in it cannot be to the temple in Gujarat; for the description in the puranic passages shows that the temple at Mundira was in the east (of India). Modher is not in eastern India. As for the second, the eastern mountain means the eastern direction here. Udayacale and astamanacale in the puranic passages cited above mean only 'in the eastern and western directions' respectively. As regards Dr. Kane's objection that the temple of Konarka is not situated on a mountain one may well ask 'Is Mulasthana (Multana), about the identification of which there is not the slightest doubt, situated on a hill ?' Such objections have no force. In this connection I may quote here the opinion of Dr. R.C. Hazra, who is an acknowledged authority on the Puranas." "Sutira (literally meaning 'beautiful shore') must be another name for Mundira, which, again, must be very close to, or even identical with, Konarka, situated on the sea-shore, very close to the river Candrabhaga (a branch of the river Prachi) in Orissa," (Studies in the Upa-puranas, p. 105). The third famous place of Sun-worship was Kalapriya identified with modern Kalpi on the southern bank of the Yamuna Some years ago in an article entitled 'Identification of Kalapriyanatha' published in my Studies in Indology, Vol. I, pp. 33f.10 I identified Kalapriyanatha at whose fairs all the three plays of Bhavabhuti were staged, with the Sun-temple at Kalpi. Tripurari, a commentator of Bhavabhuti's Malatimadhava,, identifies Kalapriyanatha with Mahakala of Ujjayini. Dr. Kane accepted this identification in his third edition of the Uttararamacarita. In the aforementioned article I drew attention to the puranic passages cited above which showed that there were three famous temples 8. Dr. Hazra takes Udayacala to refer to Udayagiri in Orissa. (Studies in the Upa-puranas, p. 107.) 9. Ibid., p. 105. 10. The view was first expressed in the Marathi periodical Yugavani of Nagpur (1947).

Jan. 1966] THREE ANCIENT FAMOUS TEMPLES OF THE SUN 43 of the Sun in India in ancient times-one on the eastern mountain or shore, the second at Kalapriya on the southern bank of the Yamuna and the third at Mulasthana on the western mountain and that it was believed that the Sun-god was present there in the morning, at mid-day and in the evening respectively. From these passages it could be easily inferred that Kalapriyanatha at whose fairs all the three plays of Bhavabhuti were first staged was the Sun-god and that his temple was situated at Kalpi on the southern bank of the Yamuna. This view received confirmation from the following verse from 'the Cambay plates of Govinda III, descriptive of the Rastrakuta king Indra III's march on and devastation of the Gurjara-Pratihara capital Kanauj." yanmadyadvisadantaghatavisamam kalapriyapranganam tirna yatturagairagadhayamuna sindhupratispardhini | yenedam hi mahodayarinagaram nirmulamunmulitam namna'dyapi janaih kusasthalamiti khyatim param niyate || "(The courtyard of (the temple of) Kalapriya was rendered uneven by the strokes of the tusks of his (i. e. Indra III's) rutting elephants. His horses crossed the unfathomable Yamuna which rivals the ocean in expanse. He completely devastated the enemy's city Mahodaya so that even now it has become greatly renowned among the people by the name Kusasthala (land full of grass)." This verse shows that the whole army of Indra III could be encamped in the extensive courtyard of the temple of Kalapriyanatha and that thereafter his horses had to cross the Yamuna in the course of the invasion of Kanauj. The editor of the plates identified Kalapriya with the god Mahakala at Ujjayini," 11. Ep. Ind., Vol. VII, pp 36 f. 12. In the introduction to his edition of the plates Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar remarked, "It thus appears that in his expedition of conquest in Northern India, Indra III halted at Ujjain to pay homage to the god." Ibid., Vol. VII, p. 30. Dr. Altekar, however, in his Rashtrakutas and Their Times, p. 102, n. 44, correctly identified Kalapriya with Kalpi. He says that there still exists a temple of Kalapriya at Kalpi. This requires verification.

44 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VIII., No. 1 but the description does not suit a temple at Ujjayini which lies far to the south of the Yamuna. Dr. Kane has subjected this identification of Kalapriyanatha mentioned in the plays of Bhavabhuti with the Sun-god at Kalpi to a lengthy criticism in the Introduction to the fourth edition of the Uttararamacarita recently published by Motilal Banarasidas. He has accepted the reading Kalapriyanatha and taken it as referring to Siva. But this reading involves the fault of viruddhamatikrit as in the case of Bhavani-pati as pointed out by Mammata.18 As regards the other reading Kalapriyanatha Dr. Kane has raised the following objections against my view :- (1) Kalapriyanatha cannot be the name of the Sun-god. He is Mahakala of Ujjayini. This temple was famous even before the time of Kalidasa. It would be quite appropriate and beneficial for an aspiring poet to have his drama presented at the festival of such a famous shrine as that of Mahakala of Ujjayini, where thousands of people flocked from all parts of India. True that Siva is not called Kalapriyanatha, but he is called Kalapujita in the Anusasanaparvan and Kalanatha in the Santiparvan. These names are not very different from Kalapriyanatha. It is noteworthy that the sungod also is not called Kalapriyanath in the Puranas. There he is named Kalapriya. So he cannot be identical with the Kalapriyanatha of Bhavabhuti. (2) The Varahapurana, which refers to Kalapriya is a later purana. It expressly says that Samba revised the Bhavisyapurana and then established the Sun's images. This shows that the Varahapurana mentions new places of sun-worship as established by Samba, not mentioned in Bhavisya before. (3) All the three plays of Bhavabhuti were staged at the fairs of Kalapriyanatha. They were certainly composed at different periods probably separated by a good many years. There is not an iota of direct or indirect evidence testifying to Bhavabhuti's long or frequent stay at Kalpi (if we accept the identification of Kalapriyanatha with the Sun-god at Kalpi.) He is said to have 13. bhavanipatisabdo bhavanyah patyantare pratitim karoti | Karyaprakasa, Ullasa, VIII.

Jan. 1966] THREE ANCIENT FAMOUS TEMPLES OF THE SUN 45 received the patronage of Yasovarman, king of Kanauj, but for this we have to rely on the Rajatarangini of Kalhana composed about four centuries after Bhavabhuti and it is quite possible that Kalhana relies on mere tradition or at most on a verse in the Gaudavaho itself. (4) No Purana or other important text has been produced speaking of Kalapriyanatha as a Sun-temple, nor has it been shown that the word natha was added to any Sun-temples in ancient or mediaeval times. Why should we not have other names of the Sun like Mulasthananatha ? (5) The passage from Rajasekhara's Kavyamimamsa" 'yo gadhipurasya daksinah sa kalapriyasyottarah ' | only shows that Kalapriya (which may mean Kalpi or some other town) was to the south of Gadhipura (Kanauj). There is nothing to show that in this passage directions or distances of temples are intended. (6) The worship of the Sun in temples was introduced late in India. Several chapters of Bhavisya (Brahma) such as 139-146 are meant for bolstering up the status of Magas and Bhojakas. For these reasons Dr. Kane concludes that the most probable view is that Kalapriyanatha is the name of a local shrine of Siva at Padmapura. He says that the next probable view is that it is the Mahakala temple of Ujjayini. Examination of the Objections Dr. Kane has devoted as many as eleven pages of his Introduction to the examination of my view about the identification of Kalapriyanatha. There is much repetition in this rambling discussion, but I have stated above in his own words what appear to me his most important objections to my view. We shall now proceed to examine them critically. Objection 1-It is admitted that the temple of Mahakala at Ujjayini is very ancient and was a famous place of pilgrimage. But this is no reason for its identification with the temple of Kalapriyanatha mentioned in Bhavabhuti's plays. As a matter 14. Kavyamimamsa (G. O. S., 1916), p. 94.

46 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VIII., No. 1 of fact Dr. Kane gives up this identification in the end and identifies Kalapriyanatha with the god in a Saiva temple at Padmapura, of which there is absolutely no evidence. Again, Dr. Kane has not been able to find Kalapriyanatha as a name of Siva anywhere. After searching the Mahabharata and the Puranas he could find only Kalapujita and Kalanatha as adjectives or names of Siva. He therefore puts the counter question 'Is the name Kalapriyanatha of the Sun found in the Puranas? It is easy to answer this question. Kalapriya was the site of a famous temple of the Sun in ancient times. From the passages cited above from the Bhavisya and Varaha puranas it is evident that there were three famous temples of the Sun-god-(1) one on the eastern shore where the god was believed to be present in the morning; (2) the second at Kalapriya, where the god was present at mid-day and (3) the third at Mulasthana or on the western mountain, where he was present in the evening. The Sun received the name Kalapriyanatha because he was the god (natha) of Kalapriya. That Kalapriya was the ancient name of Kalpi, situated on the southern bank of the Yamuna is clear from the description of Indra III's invasion of Kanauj cited above from the Cambay plates of Govinda IV and from the statement of Rajasekhara yo gadhipurasya daksinah sa kalapriyasyottarah | That there was an extensive temple at Kalapriya is clear from the above cited verse from the Cambay plates and that the god installed there was the Sun-god is evident from the passages cited above from the Bhavisya and Varaha Puranas. What is the distinctive part of the name KalapriyanathaKalanatha or Kalapriya? The readers should judge this by themselves and decide which of the two views appears probable. Objection 2-When an advocate finds that the statement of a witness is going against the interest of his client, he tries to prove that the witness was not present at the place when the event in question took place. Since the Varahapurana clearly says that there was a temple of the Sun-god at Kalapriya where he was believed to be specially present at mid-day, Dr. Kane has

Jan. 1966] THREE ANCIENT FAMOUS TEMPLES OF THE SUN 47 the time of BhavaHe first selected the view and identified tried to prove that the Purana is later than bhuti. But he has not succeeded in it. reading Mundire as being convenient for his the place with Modher, where a temple of the Sun was constructed in the 11th cen. A. D. He thus tried to show that the Varaha purana, which mentions this temple of the Sun, was composed several centuries after Bhavabhuti and therefore its evidence on the present question is of no avail. But as we have shown above, Mundira, which was situated in eastern India, cannot be identified with Modher in Gujarat. So this argument has no bearing on the date of the Varahapurana. Dr. Kane has next attempted to show that the Varahapurana, which mentions the Sun-temple at Kalapriya is later than the Bhavisyapurana. For this purpose he has cited the following passage from the Varahapurana.15 sambastu saha suryena rathasthena divanisam | ravim papraccha dharmatma puranam suryabhasitam | bhavisyamiti vikhyatam khyatam krtva punarnavam || sambah suryapratistham ca karayamasa tattvavit | udayacalamasritya yamunayasca daksine || madhye kalapriyam devam madhyahne sthapya cottamam | mulasthanam tatah pascadastamanacale ravim || | Dr. Kane construes the hemistich bhavisyamiti vikhyatam khyatam krtva punarnavam with the following verse, but it would be more natural to connect it with the preceding hemistich ravim papraccha dharmatma puranam suryabhasitam | Even admitting that the Varahapurana is later than the Bhavisyapurana, how does it follow that it (or at least the relevant passage in it) is later than the age of Bhavabhuti? Dr. Kane has himself remarked that it is difficult to determine the age of puranic passages. The Bhavisya is believed to be an ancient purana, though there might be interpolated passages in it as in other Puranas. The Varahapurana, though later than the Bhavisya, 15. Adhyaya 177, verses 54-57.

48 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VIII., No. 1 need not, on that account, be regarded as later than the time of Bhavabhuti. Again, as already shown, the Bhavisyapurana also mentions the Sun-temple at Kalapriya in the following verse 16- samnidhyam mama purvahne sutire draksyate janah | kalapriye ca madhyahne'parahne catra nityasah || Nay, the passage is still older; for it occurs in the following corrupt form in the Sambapurana as shown by Dr. Hazra"- samnidhyam mama purvahne udite rajyate nanah | kalatyaye ca madhyahne sayahne catra nityasah || From this it is clear that the Sambapurana, which is the oldest Purana in which the story of Samba and the temple at Mulasthana occurs, must have known the other two prominent places of Sun-worship viz. Kalapriya and Sutira. So the attempt of Dr. Kane to show that the Varahapurana and with it the Suntemple at Kalapriya are later than the age of Bhavabhuti has failed completely. Even supposing that all these passages in the Puranas are of a later age than Bhavabhuti, there remain the references to Kalapriya in the Cambay plates and the Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara, both of which belong to the beginning of the 10th century A. D. Have we any evidence that Kalapriya came into existence and became famous as a centre of Sun-worship within about 150 years after Bhavabhuti? On the other hand, it will be shown below that the temple of Kalapriya must have been famous before the seventh century A. D. Objection 3-Dr. Kane says there is not an iota of evidence to suppose that Bhavabhuti stayed long at Kalapriya or visited the place frequently. One may ask in return if there evidence that he stayed long at Ujjayini (for Dr. Kane previously held that Bhavabhuti's plays were staged at the fair of Mahakala 16. Bhavisya. I, 129. 17. See Studies in the Upapuranas, p. 101. any

Jan. 1966] THREE ANCIENT FAMOUS TEMPLES OF THE SUN 49 at Ujjayini)? It is better not (raise such flimsy objections; but it is not difficult to answer nem. Bhavabhuti seems to have stayed long at Padmavati-(modern Padam Pawaya in the former Gwalior State); for he has given a detailed description of the rivers, mountains and temples of the city. Kalapriya (modern Kalpi) is not very distant from Padmavati. He may have gone there frequently to attend the annual fairs. Dr. Kane does not believe in the statement of Kalhana that Bhavabhuti had the patronage of Yasovarman, the king of Kanauj; but he has stated no reason for disbelieving it. Dr. Kane thinks that Bhavabhuti would have staged his plays at the royal court if he had the support of Yasovarman. It is, however, possible to argue that Bhavabhuti received the royal patronage late in his career after his plays had been composed and even staged, when his fame reached Yasovarman's ears. Perhaps, though residing at the royal court, he may have preferred to stage his plays at the large fair of Kalapriyanatha, not very distant from Kanauj, to gain popular applause. As we have no detailed information about the life of Bhavabhuti, it is not possible to say which of these conjectures is correct. Objection 4-The objection that we have no other names of the Sun-god ending in natha (like Kalapriyanatha) is equally flimsy. One may well ask, "The names of Siva generally end in isvara. Why does not this name of Siva installed in Padmapura (as Dr. Kane believes) end in isvara ?" Objection 5-The name of the Sun-god mentioned in Bhavabhuti's plays was not Kalapriya, but Kalapriyanatha. That the town of Kalapriya was situated to the south of Kanauj is quite clear from the aforecited statement from Rajasekhara's Kavyamimamsa. From the Cambay plates it is quite evident that the place was situated on the southern bank of the Yamuna and had a large temple, capable of accommodating a huge army in its extensive courtyard. The Puranic statement sambah suryapratistham ca karayamasa tattvavit | ... yamunayasca daksine || madhye kalapriyam devam | shows that the temple was dedicated to the Sun-god. In that passage Kala- 7

50 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VIII., No. 1 priya is described as deva. Similarly in the next verse: pascadastamanacale ravim | Mulasthana also is called Ravi. In both these places the intended sense is 'the god installed at Kalapriya' and 'that installed at Mulasthana' respectively. The afore-cited passage from the Varahapurana tells us that Samba first constructed the temple of the Sun at Mulasthana (modern Multan). That it was the first shrine of the Sun is also indicated by the name Mulasthana (the original shrine). The Purana further tells us that Samba himself erected the other two famous temples of the Sun at Sutira and Kalapriya. It was evidently the popular belief that the temples at Multan, on the eastern coast and at Kalpi were equally old. Now, the temple at Multan was famous in the seventh century A. D. as appears clear from the description given by the Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Tsang. The other two temples must have been equally well-known in that age though Hiouen Tsang had no occasion to describe them. We have no reason to suppose that the temple of the Sun at Kalapriya came into existence later. Objection 6-Dr. Kane thinks that Sun-worship was introduced late in India, but in any case it is earlier than the Gupta age as shown below. Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar held that the cult of the Sun must have penetrated to India about the time of the Kusana Emperor Kaniska and the Multan temple, which was its original seat, must have been constructed about the same time.18 From an inscription found at Mandasor we learn that as early as Vikrama Samvat 493 (A. D. 437-38) a Sun-temple was erected at Dasapura (modern Mandasor) by a guild of silk-weavers that had migrated there from Lata.19 That Sun-worship was quite common in North India in the sixth and seventh centuries A. D. is clear from Bana's Harsacarita, and Harsa's inscriptions. Bana has given a graphic description of the daily worship of the Sun by Prabhakaravardhana, the father of Harsa. Prabhakaravardhana's father Adityavardhana and grand-father Rajyavardhana were 18. R. G. Bhandarkar, Vaisnavism etc. (1913), p. 154. 19. Fleet, Gupta Inscriptions, pp. 89 f.

Jan. 1966] THREE ANCIENT FAMOUS TEMPLES OF THE SUN 51 920 both param-Aditya-bhakta 'devout worshippers of the Sun." Hiouen Tsang tells that at the quin-quennial assembly at Prayaga the image of the Sun was installed along with those of Siva and Buddha. There was a temple of the Sun in Kanauj." All these references show that Sun-worship in temples was well established in North India at least three centuries before the time of Bhavabhuti. The fore-going discussion must have made it plain that there were three famous ancient temples of the Sun at Multan, at Kalpi and on the eastern coast at or near the site of the well-known temple of Konarak in Orissa. 1549 20. Ep. Ind, Vol. IV, pp. 28 f. 21. Travels of Hiouen Tsang, Vol. II by Beal (pub. by Susil Gupta), p. 245.