Worshipping the sun at Modhera

It was rather cold when we left Ahmedabad but the sun was all in its glory as we reached Modhera, a 100 km away. It was, after all, the sun’s turf. King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty, believed to be descendants of the Sun God called Suryavanshis, had built this temple in the 11th century dedicating it to Surya. It is believed that the worship of Surya would have dated back to the 5th century BC and it lasted almost until the medieval period.

BY LAKSHMI SHARATH