The Sun Temple at Modhera village of Mehsana district, Gujarat, India.

The Sun Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the solar deity Surya located at Modhera village of Mehsana district, Gujarat, India. It is situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati...

It was built after 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty. No worship is offered now and is protected monument maintained by Archaeological Survey of India...

The temple complex has three components: Gudhamandapa, the shrine hall; Sabhamandapa, the assembly hall and Kunda, the reservoir. The halls have intricately carved exterior and pillars. The reservoir has steps to reach the bottom and numerous small shrines...

The temple complex is built in Māru-Gurjara style (Chaulukya style). The temple complex has three axially aligned components; the shrine proper (garbhagriha) in a hall (gudhamandapa), the outer or assembly hall (sabhamandapa or rangamandapa) and a sacred reservoir (kunda).

The Sabhamandapa is not in continuation with Gudhamandapa but is placed little away as a separate structure. Both are built on a paved platform.Their roofs have collapsed long ago....

The Gudhamandapa measures 51 feet 9 inches by 25 feet 8 inches. It is almost equally divided into Gudhamandapa, the hall and Garbhgriha, the shrine proper. Both are rectangular in plan with one projection on each of the smaller sides and two projections on each of the longer sides. These projections on the smaller sides form the entrance and the back of the shrine....

The three projections of the outer wall of Gudhamandapa had windows on each side and the east projection had the doorway. These windows had perforated stone screens; the northern is in ruins and the southern is missing...

Pradakshinamarga is formed by the passage between the walls of Garbhgriha and the outer walls of Gudhamandapa. The roof of passage has stones slabs carved with rosettes. The Shikhara of it no longer exists.

The Garbhagriha, the shrine proper or sanctum sanctorum is square measuring 11 feet from inside.

The shrine had two cells; a cell below the level of the upper cell. The floor of the upper cell is now fallen which once housed the image of a deity. The seat of the image is now in a pit. The lower cell was probably used for storage.....

The walls inside the shrine are plain and the outer wall is decorated. The doorway has carved figures of seated Surya in panels surrounded by dancers and amorous couples. All figures are mutilated and the images on the door-lintel are completely destroyed....

The sanctum sanctorum is designed in a way that the first rays of rising sun lit up the image of Surya during solar equinox days and on summer solstice day, the sun shines directly above the temple at noon casting no shadow....