We produced this program to answer that question. So, first understand the history and watch it when it’s uploaded to YouTube. Here’s the history:
As per the Archaeological Survey of India, the Modhera Sun Temple was built in 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty. As you enter the historical complex, you first come across the magnificent kund known as the Suryakund, built in a rectangular shape containing 108 shrines to various gods and demi-gods. Check out the three main shrines positioned on the three sides of the kund, dedicated to Ganesh and Vishnu and an image of Lord Shiva dancing the ‘tandav’.
Walk up the steps to the ‘Sabha Mandap’, or the assembly, and convene with sculpted renderings of twelve ‘Adityas’ (another name for the sun god). The twelve representations carved on the pillars represent the sun according to the twelve months.
After witnessing the ‘Sabha Mandap’, a visit to the Garbhagruha will definitely feel like a spiritual experience. The statue of the sun god no longer exists, and the Suryavanshi Solankis have been scattered into the dust of history for a thousand years, but still, on the day of the equinox, one can almost hear the chanting of the prayers, the aroma of incense, and the tinkling of bells as the sharp, linear rays of the sun illuminate the inner core of life and light.