Modhera Sun Temple

Built under the Solanki (Chaulukya) dynasty in the 1020s, Modhera's Sun Temple is Gujarat's principal surviving monument of Maru-Gurjara Nagara architecture and one of the few Indian sun temples, alongside Konark, planned with precise solar orientation: the garbhagriha is positioned so that at the equinoxes sunlight falls directly onto the sanctum image without obstruction. The complex unfolds in three parts — a freestanding assembly hall (sabha mandap) on 52 pillars representing the weeks of the year, a stepped tank (kund) terraced with 108 subsidiary shrines used for ritual bathing, and the main shrine itself, connected by a carved torana gateway. Sculptural bands depict the twelve forms of Aditya alongside secular and courtly imagery typical of Solanki temple ornament. No longer active for worship since medieval-era damage, Modhera is maintained as a protected monument and hosts an annual classical dance festival staged against its floodlit facade.