4.3 Konarak Sun Temple—Home of the Sun科纳拉克太阳神庙——太阳之乡

科纳拉克太阳神庙表现太阳神苏利耶驾驶战车的形象。这座神庙建于13世纪，是印度最著名的婆罗门庙宇之一。24个车轮饰有字符图案，7匹马拉着战车。该庙的主殿内设有三尊由黑石雕成的太阳神：正面对着庙门的是印度教中的创造神梵天（代表朝阳），在两侧的是保护神毗湿奴（代表正午的太阳）和破坏、再造神湿婆（代表夕阳）。每天清晨从海上升起的第一束朝阳便映射在太阳神头上，太阳绕着庙宇旋转一周，始终照在这三尊太阳神的身上。该庙由红砂石和绿泥石垒砌而成，因历经数百年风蚀雨淋，颜色晦暗，而又称“乌塔”。神庙沿轴线排列着主殿、前殿和舞殿。主殿、舞殿已毁，仅存前殿。

在神殿里有一个用黑色绿泥石制的，有许多精美雕刻的苏利耶宝座。在宝座上有一个供奉苏利耶的祭坛。有一段通向宝座顶端的楼梯，现在仅存三级楼梯。

像太阳神庙这种奇特的构思，和如此集中的大量至今保存完好的群体性雕塑建筑，实属罕见。虽然大部分受到摧毁，只剩下原来的一半，但这些留有残垣断壁的建筑仍然不失其当年的魅力，深深地吸引着来自世界各地的游人。

The Sun Temple at Konarak was built in about 1250 A.D. by the East Ganga king Narasimhadeva. It is thought he built the temple to commemorate military successes against Muslim invaders.

According to local legend, the temple has a great aura（光环）of power that comes from two very powerful magnets（磁铁）said to have been built into the tower—magnets that allowed the king's throne to hover in mid-air. European mariners sailing off the coast used the temple's tower for navigation, but dubbed（把……称为）it the Black Pagoda for the frequent shipwrecks that occurred along the coast. They attributed the disasters to the legendary magnets' effect on the tidal pattern.

Konarak was sacked by the Muslim Yavana army in the 15th century. The central statue enshrined（供奉）in the temple was smuggled away to Puri by priests, but the Sun Temple was badly damaged in the attack.

Nature took over the destruction from there. Over the centuries, the sea receded, sand engulfed（吞没）the building and salty breezes eroded the stone. It remained buried under a huge mound of sand until the early 20th century, when restoration began under the British.

British archaeologists uncovered the lower parts of the temple that had remained well preserved beneath the sand and restored what they could of the rest of the ruins. Trees were planted to shelter the temple from the damaging winds and a museum was opened to display whatever sculpture wasn't left in situ or sent to Delhi, Calcutta and London.

In 1924, the Earl of Ronaldshay proclaimed the newly-revealed temple to be "one of the most stupendous（巨大的）buildings in India which rears itself aloft, a pile of overwhelming grandeur even in its decay."

The Konark Sun Temple takes the form of a huge chariot（二轮战车）for the sun god Surya, with 12 pairs of stone-carved wheels and a team of seven galloping horses (only one of which survives intact). The temple also symbolizes the passage of time, which is under the sun god's control. The seven horses, which pull the sun temple eastwards towards the dawn, represent the days of the week. The 12 pairs of wheels represent the 12 months of the year and the eight spokes in each wheel symbolize the eight ideal stages of a woman's day.

The main entrance to the complex is on the eastern (sea-facing) side, in front of the Hall of Offerings (bhogamandapa). This was a later addition to the complex and was likely used for ritual dance performances, as its walls are carved with sculptures of musicians and dancers as well as erotic（情色的）scenes.

The sanctuary tower was once the centerpiece of the Konark Sun Temple, but today it is no more than a jumble（混乱）of sandstone slabs off the western wing. The imposing structure with the pyramidal roof that now takes center stage is actually the porch (jagamohana).

The roof of the porch has three tiers covered in statues, mostly musicians and dancers sereneding the sun god during his daily passage through the heavens. Sculptures on the bottom platform include a Shiva Nataraja, performing the cosmic dance. The interior is now blocked up.

Just beyond the porch is a double staircase that leads to a shrine containing a statue of Surya, the sun god. The beautiful image is carved of high-quality green chlorite（绿泥石）stone and is one of the masterpieces of Konarak. Surya wears tall riding boots and is accompanied by a small figure of Aruna, the charioteer, at his feet. From here you can climb down into the remains of the inner sanctum, where the deity（天神）was originally enshrined.

The surfaces of the temple are carved with exquisite stone sculptures with a wide variety of subjects, including many erotic scenes based on the Kama Sutra. Erotic sculptures are found especially in niches halfway up the porch, along the sides of the platform and around the doorways of the main building.

Other sculptures decorating the temple's exterior include deities, animals, floral patterns, voluptuous（妖娆的）women, mythical beasts and aquatic monsters. The 24 giant wheels are beautifully carved and each of the eight spokes bears a medallion（圆形浮雕）containing figurative carvings.

Friezes above and below the wheels depict military processions and hunting scenes, with thousands of rampaging（狂暴的）elephants. Look for the giraffe in the top frieze along the south side of the platform—this proves that Konarak traded with Africa in the 13th century.

用英语畅谈Konarak Sun Temple黄金句

☺ According to local legend, the temple has a great aura of power that comes from two very powerful magnets said to have been built into the tower—magnets that allowed the king's throne to hover in mid-air.根据当地的传说，神庙里面有巨大的能量环，这个能量环来自于两块磁力非常强的磁铁，据说这两块磁铁被安装在了塔内，让王座可以悬停在半空中。

☺ Over the centuries, the sea receded, sand engulfed（吞没）the building and salty breezes eroded the stone.几个世纪以来，海面下降，沙子吞噬了建筑，咸咸的海风侵蚀了岩石。

☺ The sanctuary tower was once the centerpiece of the Konark Sun Temple, but today it is no more than a jumble of sandstone slabs off the western wing.圣殿曾经是太阳神庙的主殿，但现在不过是一堆乱石散落在西翼。

☺ The beautiful image is carved of high-quality green chlorite stone and is one of the masterpieces of Konarak.美丽的神像由高级的绿泥石雕刻而成，是科纳拉克的代表作之一。

☺ Other sculptures decorating the temple's exterior include deities, animals, floral patterns, voluptuous women, mythical beasts and aquatic monsters.装饰神庙外部的其他雕塑包括天神、动物、植物、妖娆的女子、虚构的野兽和水生的怪兽。

☺ Look for the giraffe in the top frieze along the south side of the platform—this proves that Konarak traded with Africa in the 13th century.在站台南部顶端的浮雕里找找长颈鹿的身影，它证明了科纳拉克在13世纪的时候与非洲有贸易往来。

用英语畅谈Konarak Sun Temple