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Sun Temple
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Located on the sea coast like Puri and known to early sailors on Orissan coast as the Black Pagoda, in contrast to the White Pagoda of Puri, the Sun temple at Konark (circa A.D.1250) is an wonder in stone and rightly finds a place in the World Heritage List, being a monument of World importance. Originally conceived as a gigantic chariot on 24 huge wheels drawn by seven spirited steeds the temple (about 277 feet high) presents a grand sight even in its ruined condition. Set at the centre of a spacious courtyard enclosed by a compound wall and subsidiary shrines and structures the temple complex consists of broken deula and jagamohana on a raised pista or platform, fashioned as the lower part of the chariot. The jagamohana (about 121 feet high) has a three tired pidha moldings with life size heavenly musician figures set on the space in between tiers of pidha moldings which has stepped pyramidal shape. The parsvadevata figures on the deula and the entrance of Jagamohana are
 
The sculptures are tall and slender figures in vivacious poses carved in high relief depicting mother and child, female figure looking into a mirror, attending to her toilet, taking off her anklet playing on musical instruments. Some of these sculptures are mast pieces of Orissan sculptural art with their fascinating facial expression and graceful fluid movements. The name ‘Rajarani’ seems to have been dune to the use of particular type of sand stone in the construction of the structure bearing the same name The crowning achievement of the architect is the designing of the graceful contour of its towering gandi, its soaring height and grandeur. The plastic art on the structure is so well planned that it reveals an equally effective use of space and proportion and contain some finest carvings including cult deities, secular sculptures, animal motifs, nayika and mithurta figures, which only adds to the majesty of the edifice. With all features of Kalinga architecture fully evolved, it is the culmination of the architectural development in every respect and became a standard for later temples of Orissa. The larger-than-life-size figures of parsvadevatas on the side niches are a rare combination of finest carvings with consummate artistic skill and imposing sculptures of the parivara deities of Siva. Although known at present as Lingaraja, one of the ancient names of the deity. Tribhunanesvara, is the precursor of the present name of the city Bhubaneswar made of chlorite schist stones while the entire structure is built of Khonodolite stones. The planning and execution of the temple is so superb that it justified the saying that Orissan temples are but sculptured mass. Each part of the structure is perfectly balanced and embellished with plastic art of all conceivable forms and designs executed in such a fine manner which would even now create a sense of wonder in the minds of a visitor. More famous in the plastic arts are the life sized mithuna figures or erotic sculptures. The theme of the plastic art includes the entire gamut of social and cultural life of the time and the people. It is rightly observed that with the Sun temple at Konark the Orissan architecture reached its zenith. The temple is ascribed to the rule of the great Ganga emperor Narasimhadeva I (A.D. 1238 – 64)