2. Surya-Narayana Temple (in Puri)

The temple of Surya-Narayana is situated in the northern side inner enclosure or Kurma-bedha of the Jagannatha temple complex. It is exactly located close to the east of Lakshmi temple and also adjacent to the east of the Navagraha temple 25 The temple of Surya-Narayana (Dharma raja) contains three parts contiguous to each other.26 According to J.B. Padhi the present Surya-Narayana temple was earlier dedicated to Indra devata whose image is found inside the sanctum. 27 G.C. Tripathy states that the temple was also originally the seat of Dharma devata. 28 It is the only single shrine of Surya devata in the temple complex of Lord Jagannatha. From the religious point of view, this temple has some importance in the cultural history of Orissa. Those devotees, who come to visit Lord Jagannatha, have also to visit Surya devata of the temple complex. The temple of Surya-Narayana consists of three structures such as vimana, jagamohana and natamandapa. All the structures of the temple are built in sand stones, locally called as Baulamala patharas. It faces to east. The presence the Surya-Narayana temple in the premises of Lord Jagannatha temple suggests that the worship of Sun god was popular in ksetra during the medieval period. Art And Architecture of the Temple:Vimana:The vimana of the Surya-Narayana temple is a rekha delua and its height is about 55 feet from the surface of the temple complex. It has four vertical parts such as pista, bada, gandi and mastaka. The structure of the vimana is sapta-ratha in plan. It stands on a low platform of 2 1/2 feet high. The pista or the platform of the vimana consists of three horizontal mouldings, which are relieved with scroll-works, flower designs and jali works. The base of the pista is square of 35 feet on each side. The bada is pancanga type i.e. having five component parts such as pabhaga, tala jangha, bandhana, upper jangha and baranda. The pabhaga consists of conventional mouldings of khura, kumbha, patta, kani and basanta. The intervening recesses of the pabhaga are relieved with scroll works, jali works, flower medallions, creeper with flower devices and naga pilasters. The pagas of the tala jangha are decorated with khakhara mundis, which contain the figures of asta dikpalas and the royal 303

court scenes. The figures of the astadikpalas are seated on their respective mounts and directions. The intervening recesses of the tala jangha are filled with simha-vidalas (elephant on lady), alasakanyas, kirtimukhas, female figure surrounded with some sakhis, scroll works and creepers with the flowers. The pagas of the upper jangha are decorated with pidha mundis, which contain the figures of the female counterparts of the asta-dikpalas. They are all in seated postures on their respective mounts and directions. The intervening recesses between the pagas of the upper jargha are filled with alasakanyas, lady with child, preaching scene of lady, standing female figures with tree branches (woman-tree motifs), erotic scenes, flower-medallions, creepers with flowers, naga kanyas and jali works. All the parsvadevata niches of the bada are now completely remained vacant. There is only a small image of Mahavir found on the southern side outer wall of the bada. The baranda of the bada consists of ten horizontal mouldings. The curvilinear superstructure is surmounted on the bada of the vimana. The gandi of the vimana displays five pagas or rathas (Pl.No-12). All the pagas of the gandi are elegantly carved with scroll works, jali works and creepers with small flower designs. The kanika pagas of the gandi contain ten bhumi amalas in its surface. The base of the eastern side raha paga of the gandi contains an angasikhara, which is surmounted by the gaja-simha motif. Deula Carini figures are inserted in the four cardinal directions of the beki above rahas. Female figures are fixed on the top of the kanika pagas of the gandi. The projecting lions are not found on the top of the kanika pagas. Due to the absent of the projecting lions in the respective places of the temple, M.M. Ganguly has referred that a peculiarity with the temple is that the figure of projecting lion is not noticeable here as is usually met with in the temples of Orissa.29 The mastaka of the vimana consists of beki, amalakasila, khapuri and kalasa. Both ayudha and dhvaja are not inserted in their respective places of the mastaka. The sanctum preserves the image of Surya-Narayana as the presiding deity of the temple. The temple priests indicate that the presiding deity is the original Surya-Narayana image of the famous Konarka temple. With the fall of the Konarka temple, the priests arranged it's shifting to Puri for proper preservation.30 It is also stated in Madalapanji that the installed image of Sun 304

31 god was brought from Konarka temple by King Narasimha Deva of Bhoi dynasty (A.D. 1622 to 1647 A.D.).³¹ According to R.K. Das, the idol of Bhaskara, the Sun god, was brought from Konarka temple by Maratha ruler Raghabji and kept secretly in this temple.32 On the basis of the tradition, K.S. Behera has said that the image of Surya, worshipped in the temple, was brought from Konarka temple in the first quarter of the 17th century A.D. (1600 A.D. to 1625 A.D.)33 The image of Surya-Narayana stands on a pedestal of stone carved with the figures of seven horses; this is evidently the figure of Sun god.34 So the presiding deity of the temple is Surya-Narayana, which is visible to outwards. The image has been installed on the simhasana of 2 1/2 feet high. He holds a full-blown lotus in each hand. There is another stone image found from the backside of the presiding deity (Sun god). Within the sanctum, a partially disfigured image has been lodged behind a masonry wall. There is a lot of controversy among the scholars as well as the archaeologists with regard to the identity of that image, which is installed in the backside of the presiding deity (Sun god). Though there is a stone image of Surya at the centre of the sanctum, just behind the image there is another stone image. Some scholars attribute it to be the figure of Indra. Chintamani Acharya specifically states that it is the temple of Indra and the broken image of Indra (backside of the presiding deity) still exists there.35 According to R.K. Das, in the temple of Surya devata, the broken image of Indra is still there but in front of it a small wall has been raised and the image of Sun god is placed there. 36 According to Surendra Mohanty, behind SuryaNarayana, is seen a beautiful image of Buddha, in sitting posture, sculptured in black chlorite.37 According to Jagabandhu Padhi, the image can be identified with the image of Indra Devata,.38 According to P.K. Pattnaik the image of Buddhist origin is kept just behind that of Surya and can not be seen except with the help of a bright light. This is popularly associated with Indra, which does not appear to be correct. He has also not accepted it as the image of Indra. According to M.M. Ganguly, behind the stone background of the SuryaNarayana image is seen a beautiful image of a mutilated Buddha in a sitting posture with several carved figures, all in black chlorite. He also refers that the importance of the temple is due to the nature of the deity-enshrined therein.40 The image on the backside of the presiding deity (Sun god) is possibly the 39 305

image of Lord Buddha. This backside image (Buddha) is carved seated in padmasana posture. The entire slab of the deity is 4 1/2 feet in high. The background slab of the deity is decorated with trefoil arch; makara head at the base and the kirtimukha motif at the apex. Two flying apsara figures are depicted on the both side top corners of the slab. Apsara figures are carved on the both sides of the makara headed arch. The sculptural features of the backside image (Buddha) indicate that it is the fine workmanship of the Ganga Art of Orissa. The image of Buddha is larger than the presiding deity, the Sun god. Due to the lack of airabata (elephant) in any part of the present temple of Surya- Narayana, the back side disfigured deity can not be the image of Lord Indra. From the artistic point of view, the back side image (Buddha) is very beautiful. There is no any Buddha image except this one in the premises of the Jagannatha temple. Out of the ten incarnations of Lord Visnu, Jayadeva has identified that Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Lord Visnu. M.M.Ganguly has referred that the image of Buddha had been removed from the original Buddhist shrine of the temple complex and in later period, it has been kept here. In this connection Surendra Mohanty suggests that the statue of Buddha in the temple points to yet another link of the cult of Jagannatha with Buddhism. 42 Both the images of the presiding deity (Surya-Narayana) and the backside deity (Buddha) are worshipped in the sanctum. A few more brass idols of Surya and his consort are also under worship in this temple. The sanctum has one doorway towards the jagamohana. Two circular pillars are erected as the jambs of the doorway. The doorway lintel of the sanctum is completely undecorated. The figures of navagrahas are finely carved on the architrave above the doorway lintel. They are all in yogasana postures with respective attributes in their hands. The navagraha slab is also relieved with scroll works and flowers designs. .· Jagamohana:The jagamohana of the Surya-Narayana temple is a pidha deula and its height is about 40 feet from the surface of the temple complex. The structure is erected on the plinth of 2 1/2 feet high. The bada of the jagamohana is pancamga type i.e. having five fold divisions such as pabhaga, tala jangha, bandhana, upper jangha and baranda. All the component parts of the bada are devoid of 306

decorative ornamentation. The pyramidal superstructure is surmounted on the bada of the jagamohana. It consists of two tiers or potalas, the lower and the upper potalas, which contain 4 and 3 pidhas respectively. The middle portion of each potala is decorated with pidha mastaka design in all sides. Dopichha lions and Deula Carini figures are also completely absent in their respective places. The mastaka of the jagamohana consists of beki, ghanta (bell-shaped member) above which there is another beki, amalakasila, khapuri and kalasa. Ayudha and dhvaja are not inserted in the kalasa of the mastaka. The middle portion of the floor of the jagamohana is occupied by the images of Rabi (Surya) and Candra, which are made of astadhatu. The western side inner left wall of the jagamohana contains a figure of Jarasura and the right side of the western inner wall contains a figure of Chhaya in its niche. The north-west corner of the jagamohana is occupied by the Kandarpa ratha (made of wood) in which Krsna is sitting in it and gopis are depicted in seated postures on the different parts of the ratha. The jagamohana has four doorways and all are devoid of decorative ornamentations. Natamandapa-: The natamandapa of the Surya-Narayana temple is a pidha deula and its height is about 20 feet from the surface of the temple complex. It is also erected on the platform of 2 1/2 feet high. The base of the structure is rectangular and it measures approximately 35 feet in length and 15 feet in width. The bada portion of the natamandapa is completely undecorated. The pyramidal superstructure is surmounted on the bada of the natamandapa. It consists of three flat-shaped pidhas. There is only kalasa installed on the top of the upper pidha. The Archaeological Survey of India, Puri Circle has deplastered all the above structures of the Surya temple in 1990's. Thickness of lime plaster over these structures was maximum 45 cm. Date of the Temple: There is no authentic evidence with regard to the approximate date of the construction period of the Surya-Narayana temple inside the temple premises of Lord Jagannatha. On the basis of the architectural features, J.B. Padhi is of the view that the temple seems to have been constructed sometime 307

in 13th or 14th century A.D." On the basis of the architectural style and backside image of the sanctum, the construction period of the Surya-Narayana temple can be tentatively assigned to the first half of the 14th century A.D. Most probably, it was constructed after the construction of the main Jagannatha temple of Puri. The temple was originally dedicated to the backside image (Buddha) of the sanctum. This temple was converted to Surya deula in the first half of the 17th century A.D. It is also very difficult to know about the real founder who built this temple. There are as many as four of the kings of the Ganga dynasty bear the name Bhanu Deva (Bhanu is synonymous of Sun god). It testifies that the Ganga rulers of Orissa were the followers of Surya Devata. But there is no any evidence about their patronage for the construction of this shrine. The structures of the vimana and jagamohana seem to have been constructed in same period but the natamandapa built in the later period of the main deula.