WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:15.519 You see, something's going to happen. What's going to happen? What? 2 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:28.359 Welcome to the occult rejects. In this episode, we will 3 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:32.560 be discussing sacred solar temples. The Sun has been revered 4 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:35.079 across cultures of millennia as a life giving force and 5 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:38.039 cosmic power. From the banks of the Nile to the 6 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:42.000 hy Andes, ancient civilizations built monumental temples aligned with the 7 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:45.799 heavens to honor their Sun deities. These solar temples were 8 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:49.799 not only architectural marvels, but also centers of religion, science 9 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:55.359 and legend. In this episode, we delve into the history, symbolism, 10 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.840 and lore of five famed Sun temples around the world. 11 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:03.479 The Temple of Amunra at Karnak in Egypt, India's Conarch 12 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.599 Sun Temple, the Pyramid of the Sun at TiO Tuwaka, 13 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:10.159 New Mexico, the Kala Sosaiya Complex and the Gate of 14 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:14.040 the Sun at Tijuanaku in Bolivia, and the Chorus Sancha 15 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.879 Temple of the Sun in Kusku, Peru. Each side's story 16 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.359 illuminates the people who built it, their beliefs and rituals. 17 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:24.760 The astronomical alignments encoded in stone and the myths and 18 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:29.079 miracles that echo through time. These temples not only reflect 19 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:33.480 advanced ancient knowledge from precise solsis alignments to intricate cosmologies, 20 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:37.400 but have also become touchstones from modern culture, identity, and 21 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.519 spiritual practice. We will visit each temple in turn, uncovering 22 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:44.959 its origins, decoding its symbols, and reliving the legends that 23 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.760 make it a sacred solar heritage of humanity. And first 24 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:54.599 stop is the Temple of a mun Ra. The Temple 25 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.400 of amunrah a Karnak lies on the east bank of 26 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.519 the Nile at ancient Thebes modern Luxor and is the 27 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:06.040 largest religious complex ever built. Its construction spanned over fifteen 28 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:09.960 hundred years, reflecting the rising glory of New Kingdom Egypt. 29 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:14.199 Modest shrines existed on the site by the Middle Kingdom 30 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.000 twentieth to nineteenth century BCE, when Pharaoh senusrat To first 31 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:23.000 built a white chapel to Amun. As Theves became Egypt's capital, 32 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.960 local deity, Amun was elevated and fused with the sun 33 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:32.159 god Rah as amun Ra king of the Gods. Successive 34 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:35.280 pharaohs of the New Kingdom fifteen fifty to ten seventy 35 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:39.439 BCE vastly expanded Karnak into a walled city of temples. 36 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:44.919 The mighty eighteenth dynasty rulers Amenhotep the first, Tutmost the 37 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:49.319 first Hatshepsut, and Tutmost to third laid out grand pylon 38 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.800 courts and feigned hypostyle hall with one hundred and thirty 39 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:59.719 four soaring piperis columns, each aided obelis and sanctuaries. For example, 40 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:04.680 hotshipsput erected towering obelisks of red granite, one still standing 41 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.280 thirty meters high, and Tutmost third built the festival hole. 42 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.000 In the nineteenth dynasty, Seti the first and Ramsay's the 43 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:15.960 second completed the hypostyle hole, adorning it with intricately carved 44 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:20.039 hieroglyphs and battle scenes. By the late period, the complex 45 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:24.520 included multiple precincts for Ammun, Mutt, Mantu, and Moor, with 46 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:28.000 Pharro nectin Nebo the Ft adding the massive outer enclosure 47 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:32.240 walls in the first pylon. Even into Greco Roman times, 48 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:36.319 rulers contributed a grand gate by Ptolemy the third stands 49 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:40.719 at the Temple of Consu's entrance. Karnak thus evolved as 50 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:44.719 a palimp set of Egyptian art and architecture, its layers 51 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:51.319 of construction symbolizing continuity of divine kingship. Karnak was dedicated 52 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:54.840 primarily to aman Rah, and its very location and layout 53 00:03:54.879 --> 00:04:00.280 were rich in cosmic symbolism. Recent geoarchaeological studies suggests the 54 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:04.039 earliest temple area was on a natural rise, originally surrounded 55 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:08.319 by Nile floodwaters, resembling the primeval a mound from Egyptian 56 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:14.039 creation myths. As Inundatian waters receded annually, this ground would 57 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:18.199 appear like a mound emerging from chaos, reinforcing Karnak's mythic 58 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:22.040 role as a site of creation. The temple's design was 59 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:26.160 deliberately orientated to the skies. The main axis is aligned 60 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.920 to capture the winter's solstice sunrise. Every December twenty one, 61 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:33.680 at dawn, sunlight pierces through the eastern gateway and beams 62 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:39.319 straight down the main aisle to illuminate the sanctuary of Amunrah. 63 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:44.279 This breathtaking event, witnessed for nearly four thousand years, symbolizes 64 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:48.079 the rebirth of the sun at the shortest day. Ancient 65 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:51.959 Egyptian astronomer priests likely used instruments like the market, the 66 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.000 star gauge, and observes stars like Sirius to achieve this 67 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:01.160 precise alignment. Karnak's Great Temple thus function as a giant 68 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:07.680 solar observatory, marking the solstice a manifestation of mat on Earth. Indeed, 69 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:10.959 the temple's name I've had issued the most selective places 70 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:16.000 hints at its sacred status. Beyond the solstice, Karnak was 71 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.920 the stage for the Grand Opet festival. Each year, statues 72 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:23.800 of Ahmen, his consort Mutt and sun Kansu were ferried 73 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.800 along the Nile or the Avenue of Sphinxes to luxor temple, 74 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:32.959 re enacting divine renewal and cyclic rejuvenation of kingship. This 75 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:37.040 festival coincided with the summer Nile flood and reflected cosmic 76 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:41.800 order and agricultural cycles. The priests of Karnak adept and 77 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:47.279 Astronomy maintained calendars and timing of rituals, for example, orienting 78 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:52.839 other temples like Hatchupsu's dare el Bari to winter solstice sunrise. Thus, 79 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:56.000 Karnak was not only a cult center, but a cosmic 80 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:01.959 clock in spiritual powerhouse linking heaven and Earth, and during Karnak, 81 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:05.959 one passes along the Avenue of Sphinxes, a processional road 82 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:08.879 flanked by hundreds of ram headed sphinx statues, leading to 83 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:13.759 the first pylon. Inside the main precinct, courtyards and holes 84 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:17.759 unfold in succession, drawing the visitor ever deeper and higher, 85 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:22.639 a symbolic journey to the divine. The great hypostyle hole 86 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.600 built by city the first and rameses a second astonishes 87 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:29.879 with its forest of columns seventy feet toll carved with 88 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:34.279 sunkening leaves of the king worshiping Amun Rah. Beyond lies 89 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:38.199 the Holy of Holies, a dark granite sanctuary aligned with 90 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:43.720 the rising Solsice Sun. In antiquity, this sanctuary housed Amun's 91 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:47.319 cult statue, which only the high priest and pharaoh could approach, 92 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.920 surrounding it with subsidiary chapels and storage for the gods 93 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:57.040 ceremonial bark. Karnak's walls and pillars are densely inscribed with 94 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:02.480 hieroglyphic texts from king's lists to battle scenes, effectively making 95 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:07.439 it an encyclopedia and stone of Egypt's religion and history. Notably, 96 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:11.079 tutmost the Third's festival hall holds the Karnak Kings List, 97 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:16.920 a procession of past kings who tutmost honoured in another sector. 98 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:21.920 Release of Mernepta's campaigns include the famous Israel Stelae text. 99 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:26.000 Also remarkable is a sacred lake within the precinct Doug 100 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:30.120 under Tutmosis the third, symbolizing the primeval waters. It was 101 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:33.360 used for ritual purification of priests and likely for observing 102 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:38.279 star reflections near it. Recent excavations even uncovered a planned 103 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:42.079 workers village, hinting at the community of priests, craftsmen, and 104 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:47.279 labourers who sustained the cult. Karnak was an evolving sacred landscape, 105 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.959 with each new ruler adding chapels, pylons, obelisks or shrines 106 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:56.439 to leave their pious mark. Even during periods of decline, 107 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:00.079 the site remained venerated. In the late period in ptolemaica E, 108 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:04.240 all blocks were reused and new gates inserted, showing a 109 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:09.279 continuous thread of sanctity. A little side note about the 110 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:14.680 Israel Stelle distell was carved from Pharaoh Meneptah, son and 111 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:18.519 successor of Rameses a second late in Egypt's new kingdom 112 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:22.439 the nineteenth dynasty. It is a little over three meters 113 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:26.519 about ten feet high of dark granite stone, and originally 114 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:30.199 stood in the forecourt of Meneptah's mortuary temple on the 115 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.559 west bank at Thebes, directly across the river from Karnak. 116 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:38.120 It was discovered there in eighteen ninety six by the 117 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:42.639 British archaeologist Flinders Petrie, who was clearing the ruins of 118 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:45.399 the king's temple when he realized that a large fallen 119 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.840 block in the first court was a finely inscribed victory monument. 120 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:54.720 The stone itself had a life before Meneptah. It began 121 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:58.120 as a monument of Amenhotep the Third a century earlier. 122 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:00.960 He had used it to celebrate his building works at 123 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:05.240 his mortuary temple, Luxor Temple and the third Pylon at Karnak. 124 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:09.519 Meneptah's artisans turned the stella around and carve their own 125 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:13.000 text on the rough reverse, facing it outward against his 126 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:17.240 new temple wool. In other words, this one stone physically 127 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.759 carries two layers of history, the golden age of Amenhotep 128 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:23.840 the Third and the later, more embattled age of Menepta. 129 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:27.960 At the top is a carvlunette scene that still preserves 130 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.039 traces of its original yellow, red, and blue pigments. It 131 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:37.360 shows the triad Amun, Mutt, and Kansu. Amun, chief god 132 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:40.360 of Karnak and often fused with the Sun, as Amun 133 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:44.080 Ra hands a sword of victory to Meneptah, while Mutt 134 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:48.799 and Consu stand behind as divine witnesses. This little panel 135 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:52.679 visually ties the stella back to Karnak itself. The same 136 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.559 gods whose cult was centered in the Ammun precinct are 137 00:09:55.600 --> 00:10:00.360 here empowering the king's campaigns. The text of that flows 138 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:03.480 down beneath is in effect a long hymn to that 139 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:09.919 divine royal partnership. The inscription dates to year five of Mernepta, 140 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:14.039 around twelve oh eight BCE. Most of its twenty eight 141 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:16.480 lines are not about Canaan at all, but about a 142 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.840 dramatic war on Egypt's western frontier. Menepta boasts that he 143 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.320 crushed a coalition of Libyan tribes, the Libu and their 144 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:27.600 northern allies, an early wave of the peoples we now 145 00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:31.759 group under the label Sea Peoples. This stelli describes them 146 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:34.320 as a threat that came on Egypt from the west, 147 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:38.960 but claims they were utterly destroyed their chiefs, killed, their camps, burned, 148 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:43.919 their seed wiped out. Only in the closing stanza do 149 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:47.080 the text pivot eastward to Canaan, then part of the 150 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:52.399 Egyptian imperial sphere. In a compact poetic list, it names 151 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:56.840 Syrian and Canaanate polities that have been subdued Hati and 152 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:01.159 Haru brought regional terms for the serial Palestinian zone, then 153 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:05.559 more local units like Canaan, the cities of Eskalon, Gazar 154 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:10.039 and Yanoum, and finally a group called Israel. It is 155 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:13.159 the single lion that has made the stella famous far 156 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:18.960 beyond Egyptology. In almost every modern translation, the line is 157 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:22.960 rendered along the lines of Israel is laid to waste 158 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:28.840 his seed is not. This is standard bragging language for 159 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:34.600 Egyptian royal propaganda, not a literal extermination. Notice. When pharaohs 160 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.320 describe cities made as though they never existed or lands 161 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:42.879 whose seed is not, they are using stylized hyperbole. Crops destroyed, 162 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:47.159 warriors killed, and tribute cut off, all to magnify the 163 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:53.360 king's glory. This stelae contains the earliest known reference to Israel, 164 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:59.159 dating back to around twelve oh five BCEE In recent years, 165 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:03.519 some have proposed that there may be even earlier references 166 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:07.240 to Israel and Egyptian records, potentially dating back to around 167 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:12.720 fourteen hundred BCE. However, the meneptas Stella remains the most 168 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:17.240 widely accepted and recognized reference to Israel and ancient texts. 169 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:24.039 Given Karnak's immense antiquity, it accumulated rich myth and legend. 170 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:27.120 The alignment of the temple with the WinCE's solstice was 171 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:30.679 not only an astronomical feat, but laden with meaning. The 172 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:34.000 annual birth of the sun and Ammun Shrine reaffirmed the 173 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:39.519 Pharaoh's divine mandate to maintain cosmic order. According to new research, 174 00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:42.960 the choice of Karnak's sight on a raised terrace a 175 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:47.519 mid Nile channels made it literally a sacred island identified 176 00:12:47.559 --> 00:12:51.399 with the creation mound and Egyptian belief. This suggests that 177 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:56.120 priests deliberately linked geography with theology. As Noile floods rose, 178 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.399 the temple's base would appear to emerge from orders, re 179 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:05.159 enacting creation. In Egyptian law, amun Ra was a mysterious 180 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:08.840 transcendent creator who could also manifest as the sun disc 181 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.960 at midday. It was said that each night Amun ra 182 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:16.200 sailed on the world, only to be reborn at dawn, 183 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:20.320 a cycle the Karnak sanctuary enabled through its solar channeling. 184 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.279 There were a few miracle tales in Egyptian records about Karnak. Specifically, 185 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:28.600 the god's statue was carried on the bark and would 186 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:33.159 nod or move to answer questions, likely via priest. One 187 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:37.320 legend holds that Alexander the Great, after conquering Egypt, traveled 188 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:40.159 to the Libyan desert oracle of Ammun to be confirmed 189 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:45.200 as divine son of Amun. Karnak, as Amun's chief temple, 190 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:52.000 likely also inspired such narratives of divine legitimation. In modern times, 191 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.320 locals and travelers described a kind of awe or energy 192 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:59.000 at Karnak's solste sunrise, a meeting of ancient spirit and 193 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.840 present wonder as the hall's glow gold for a few 194 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:07.000 moments in midwinter. Karnak also ties into wider esoteric law. 195 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:11.159 Some authors speculate that Karnak, the Giza Pyramids, and other 196 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:14.200 ancient sites lie on global lay lines or energy grids. 197 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.720 For instance, it's often noted that the Great Pyramid and 198 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:22.600 Karnak might align on certain longitudinal arcs. Though such claims 199 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:25.559 are unproven, they feed the aura of Karnak as a 200 00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:30.120 node of Earth's sacred geometry. Today, Karnak stands as a 201 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:34.200 magnificent open air museum and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 202 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:37.559 Its gargantuan ruins from the fall and topple of its 203 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:41.480 first pylon to the standing Obelis and Colossi continuing to 204 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:47.600 undergo excavation, perservation, and study by Egyptologists from around the world. 205 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:52.799 In recent years, archaeologists have made exciting discoveries. In twenty twenty, 206 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:56.879 a cachet of twenty six dynasty gold jewelry was unearthed 207 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:01.000 and a hidden recess. In twenty twenty five, comprehensive sediment 208 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:05.679 analysis revealed new insights into the site's origin, pushing initial 209 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:08.879 occupation back to the Old Kingdom twenty three hundred to 210 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:13.519 twenty two hundred BCE. Conservation efforts have stabilized walls and 211 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:17.399 cleaned blackened ceiling, soot, and lesser known chambers, revealing brightly 212 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:21.799 painted reliefs in the Temple of Consu and elsewhere. Meanwhile, 213 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.799 Karnak remains a place of living heritage. At dawn on 214 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:30.919 every winter solstice, hundreds of visitors, locals, tourists, and spiritual 215 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.799 pilgrims gather in the chill to witness the Sun's ray 216 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:37.799 strike Amun's sanctuary, just as it did in Pharonic times. 217 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:42.600 The event is treated with reverence and often accompanied by 218 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:48.159 cultural performances. By night, Karnak hosts a popular sound and 219 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:53.200 light show narrating its history amid illuminating ruins an Egyptian 220 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:57.399 popular culture. Karnak and the connected luxury temple have come 221 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:01.759 to symbolize national pride. Yet standing in Karnak's Great Court 222 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:05.080 under a sky of blazing stars, one can still feel 223 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:09.360 the numinous atmosphere that ancient worshippers must have felt, the 224 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:13.200 sense of communion with the cosmos in the most selective places. 225 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:18.960 Karnak's legacy is thus twofold, a treasure trove for scientific 226 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:22.840 inquiry into ancient civilization, and an enduring sacred site that 227 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:27.480 continues to align human consciousness with the rhythms of the sun. 228 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.559 And now we will head on over to the Knark's 229 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:38.000 Sun Temple in India. On the eastern shores of India, 230 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:40.960 facing the Bay of Bengal, stands a Conark's Sun Temple, 231 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:44.440 a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a crowning achievement of 232 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:50.000 ancient Hindu architecture. Built in the thirteenth century CE, Karnak 233 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:54.240 from Konah meaning engel and Arka meaning sun, is designed 234 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:57.919 as a colossal stone chariot for the sun god Serdia, 235 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:02.039 complete with wheels and horses carved from rock. This temple 236 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:06.599 encapsulates the cosmology, artistic brilliance, and devotional fevor of the 237 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:11.880 Eastern Ganga Kingdom while also being wrapped in legend and mystery. 238 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:15.240 The Sun Temple of Carnark was constructed around twelve fifty 239 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:19.119 CE under the patridge of King Narisima Diva, the first 240 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:23.480 of Eastern Ganga dynasty and its zenith. The Ganga Kingdom 241 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:27.200 had defeated Muslim invaders and flourished in Odisha. A Kalinga 242 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:31.480 and Narissima Diva likely built Karnark to commemorate military triumphs 243 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:37.279 and assert cultural glory. According to Sanskrit inscriptions in medieval texts, 244 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:40.400 the temple's core structure was two hundred and twenty nine 245 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:43.960 feet tall. It was oriented eastward so that at dawn, 246 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:46.799 the sun's first rays would strike the main altar and 247 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:51.160 the idol of Surdia. The entire complex was conceived as 248 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:55.160 Surdia's chariot rising from the sea, symbolizing the Sun's daily 249 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:58.799 journey across the sky. It is built from three types 250 00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:02.880 of stone, quarried condolite for the main body, and harder 251 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:07.359 chlorite and laterite stones for certain sculptures and foundations. The 252 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:10.400 base of the temple is the chariot's platform, edged with 253 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:13.960 twenty four giant stone wheels about nine feet in diameter. 254 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.759 Each wheel is exquisitely carved with spokes and hubs bearing designs, 255 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:22.240 and they famously double as sun dials. One can tell 256 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:26.160 the time by the shadow cast by the spokes. Seven 257 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:30.279 stone horses appeared to pull the chariot. This integrated symbolism 258 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:34.160 of time and motion is unique to Knark. Contemporary records 259 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:37.319 like the text Madhavi Kanakachampu if I'm saying there correctly 260 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:42.519 praise Conark's magnificent suggesting It was originally called Kanaka Serriya 261 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:46.160 Mandir Golden Sun Temple because it was said to have 262 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:49.000 been plated in copper or gilt on some parts, gleaming 263 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:52.559 in the sunlight. The temple had a main sanctum now 264 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:56.799 collapsed and a still standing Jagamarhana assembly hole, about one 265 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.799 hundred and twenty eight feet tall, whose pyramidal roof is 266 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:04.039 in intact and displays tiered sculptures of musicians, dancers, and 267 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:09.640 celestial beings. The construction techniques must have been advanced. Some 268 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:13.319 of the massive stone blocks weigh around thirty five tons each. 269 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:17.759 There is a famous local legend that a gigantic loadstone 270 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.680 magnet sat atop the temple to hold the structure together, 271 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:26.759 and that it interfered with ship's compasses at sea. While 272 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:30.039 not verified, it speaks to the ore the temple inspired 273 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:35.400 by the late sixteenth century, the main sanctum had tragically collapsed, 274 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:39.319 possibly due to structural stress or, according to some accounts, 275 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:43.359 after being damaged in the earthquake or by lightning. European 276 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:46.400 mariners in the seventeenth century knew Krnark as the Black 277 00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:51.400 Pagoda for its dark silhouette on the coast. British antiquarians 278 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:54.480 in the nineteenth century cleared sand and vegetation to reveal 279 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:59.880 Krnark's ruins, and even excavated the buried sculpture of Suria. 280 00:20:00.359 --> 00:20:04.240 In the twentieth century by Indian authorities, stabilized the Jagamahana 281 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:07.599 by filling it with sand to prevent further collapse. Today, 282 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:11.039 what remains is still imposing, the audience hull with its 283 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:14.079 elaborate exterior and parts of the mandappa and many detached 284 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:18.200 sculptures arranged in a site museum. The twenty four wheels 285 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:20.599 correspond to the twenty four hours of the day and 286 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:23.759 perhaps the twenty four nights of the Hindu year, while 287 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:27.599 the eight spokes in each wheel make eight intervals, possibly 288 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:31.519 the praharis the three hour periods. Thus, the wheels are 289 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:35.160 functional sundials that can tell time accurately, a testimony to 290 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:39.279 the astronomic knowledge encoded in the temple design. The seven 291 00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:41.680 horses represent the days of the week and the seven 292 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:45.559 colors of sunlight. The temple is oriented east west, with 293 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:49.599 the front door facing the sunrise over the ocean. In fact, 294 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:53.200 the main Surdia idol, now missing, likely removed to Puri 295 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:56.680 for safety and antiquity, was said to receive the dawn rays. 296 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:01.599 Flanking the temple a three subsidiary images of surdia carved 297 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:05.359 in green chlorite stone, located on the three outer sides. 298 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:09.720 They show shurdia in different aspects and Notably, they catch 299 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:14.319 the sun rays at dawn, noon, and afternoon, respectively. This 300 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.359 means as the sun moves, one after another of these 301 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:21.400 Surdia reliefs is illuminated, symbolically tracking the Sun's course through 302 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:26.119 the sky. The iconography is purely Vadic. Surdia is depicted 303 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:29.000 standing writing a chariot with lotus flowers in both hands, 304 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:33.839 attended by Usha and Pradyusha. The temple exterior is a 305 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.920 profusion of carvings that illustrate the breadth of the medieval 306 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:41.839 Odishan life and belief. Lowa Boss reliefs show earthly themes 307 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:46.440 elephants marching in warror, procession, lions and mythical beats guarding 308 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:50.119 hundreds of elephants in parades, scenes of courtly life and 309 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:54.839 possibly historical battle. Higher up are divine scenes, the gods 310 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:58.200 and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, heavenly a sparus dancing, 311 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:03.200 and myriad erotic couples and amorous poses. Its erotic sculpture 312 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:06.240 freezes are famous and likely symbolized the union of Sun 313 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:09.519 and Earth, or the human microcosm in tune with the 314 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:14.519 cosmic rhythm. One intriguing relief shows King Narasima himself seated 315 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:18.839 receiving council from a sage. Another panel shows a giraffe, 316 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:22.920 indicating trade contracts with Africa as giraffe's gifts to India's 317 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:27.279 sultanates from Africa in that era. This sheer detail led 318 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:30.359 early European visitors to exclaim that every inch of the 319 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:34.720 Carnarch Temple is covered with scripture, from large freezes to tiny, 320 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:40.039 intricate floral patterns. The sculptures even included celestial imagery. On 321 00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:44.799 the temple walls are carved navagraha denying planetary deities as 322 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:48.519 a set of reliefs above the entrance. This served as 323 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:52.960 a protected talisman and an homage to Hindu astrology. In essence, 324 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:59.000 Carnarch's artwork forms a Sanskrit encyclopedia in stone, encoding theology, 325 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:03.160 time cycle, and worldly life as one unified creation. Under 326 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:07.480 Serdia's dominion, devots likely started to fill the temple at 327 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:11.279 dawn to offer water oblations to the rising sun. The 328 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:14.440 temple had a novagraja slab at its entrance with carvings 329 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:18.079 of the nine planets. Priests would pray here first, as 330 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:22.000 still done today, to avert planetary evils before approaching Surdia. 331 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:26.440 While the main idol of Serdia is lost, descriptions indicate 332 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:28.920 it might have been a colossal statue mounted on a 333 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:32.799 magnetized iron rod to appear floating. This is part of law, 334 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:37.240 though not archaeologically confirmed, This temple was such an important 335 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.720 pilgrimage that it features in ancient travel accounts. The sixteenth 336 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:45.039 century Abul Fazl noted in iin i Akbari as a 337 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:50.079 femed Khannar temple. The sixteenth century Abu Fasle noted it 338 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:55.759 in ein i Akbari as a famed corner temple. Mythology 339 00:23:55.799 --> 00:24:00.000 surrounds Karnak's origin. The first enduring legend is of Samba, 340 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:03.920 a son of Lord Krishna. Samba was cursed with leprosy, 341 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:07.119 and to cure himself, he performed penance to Surdia for 342 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:12.160 twelve years at dmitri Van on the khandrab Haga River. Pleased, 343 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:16.039 Surdia cured Samba of his disease, and Samba erected a 344 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:21.160 sun temple in gratitude. This legend is explicitly tied to karnark. 345 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:24.440 The khandrag Haapa River flows near the temple and to 346 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:29.440 this day a festival called Samba Dashami and Odisha celebrates 347 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:35.359 Samba's cure. Interestingly, historical records say one Samba sun temple 348 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:39.400 existed in Pakistan Toi, and the Samba legend is associated 349 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:42.599 with both, implying a pan Indian myth of sun worship 350 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:47.559 is a cure for skin diseases like leprosy. In Karnak's contexts, 351 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:50.920 the legend likely provided a divine rationale for the temple's 352 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:55.039 sanctity and its healing reputation even into the nineteenth century. 353 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:58.279 A ritual Mela affair on the Makha Saptami, the seventh 354 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:00.559 day of the Hindu month of Makha, was held at 355 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:03.559 the chans rob Haga Beach near Connarch, where people bade 356 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.400 that sunrise for health with a procession carrying an image 357 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.440 assertia to the river, a practice linked to Samba's story. 358 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:14.559 Another popular law around Connach's construction speaks of the twelve 359 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:18.759 year building period under twelve hundred artisans. When the massive 360 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:22.119 copula stone top could not be lifted. A boy named Dharma, 361 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:26.680 son of the chief architect, ingeniously solved this engineering problem 362 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:30.680 and set to capstone. The twelve year old prodigy leaped 363 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:34.119 to his death from the temple top, sacrificing himself to 364 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:38.319 protect his father. In Pierre's reputation, this point in tail, 365 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.640 though not documented in texts, it is told by local 366 00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:44.480 guys as an example of devotion and the tragic costs 367 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:50.160 of great works. Conark has joined intense study by archaeologists, historians, 368 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:55.839 and even scientists interested in archaeo astronomy and engineering. The 369 00:25:55.880 --> 00:25:58.599 precise alignment of the temple with cardinal directions and the 370 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:02.960 solar path has been verified. For example, researchers note that 371 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:06.240 the wheels on the platform accurately represent time divisions, and 372 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:11.799 even the spokes through shadows marking equidescent intervals. A comparative 373 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:14.519 study of sun temples notes that both are positioned to 374 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:19.359 capture specific solar events, a modhara, the equinoxes, a cornarch 375 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:24.079 perhaps the solstices, indicating a conscious tradition of temple orientation 376 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:27.720 in India. The iconography of the nine planets at Conarch 377 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:31.960 have been studied in light of medieval Indian astronomy. Scholars 378 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:35.079 find that the temple's sculptures reflect knowledge of the planets 379 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:39.920 and cosmic deities, integrating them into temple ritual. One intriguing 380 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:45.480 academic exploration involved geological and material analysis. The presence of 381 00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:48.799 iron beams and the hypothesis of a magnet atop led 382 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:53.119 scientists to examine residual magnetism in the stones. Though the 383 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:57.559 legendary loadstone hasn't been found, large iron disks and cramps 384 00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:01.920 used structurally have been documented. One theory is that an 385 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:05.440 enormous iron girder inside the temple, acting as a chain, 386 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:10.920 might have magnetized over time. In twenty twenty, the Archaeological 387 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:15.160 Survey of India ASI conducted ground penetrating radar scans of 388 00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:19.839 connarch to assess buried remains, confirming that significant portions of 389 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:25.359 the original sanctum foundation survive intact below ground. Conservation wise, 390 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:28.960 the ASI recently decided not to attempt rebuilding the fallen 391 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:33.920 sanctum due to insufficient original stones, and instead focus on preservation. 392 00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:39.200 Karnak also attracts academics for the Sanskrit inscriptions on its premises, 393 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:42.480 which record grants to the temple, including one that lists 394 00:27:42.519 --> 00:27:46.920 recipes for temple offerings and details of dance performances. These 395 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.759 suggest Karnak was a cultural hub where music and dance 396 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:54.920 flourished in Surdia's honour. Although active worships ceased centuries ago, 397 00:27:55.400 --> 00:28:00.359 Cornarch's cultural and spiritual legacy indoors. Every year, the Conarch 398 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.039 Dance Festival is held in the front of the illuminated temple, 399 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:06.920 an iconic event where classical dancers perform in the open air, 400 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:12.160 restoring symbolically the art patronage of the Sun god. In 401 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:16.160