Sun Temple - Konarak, Orissa - This is a photo of a chariot wheel of a giant horse-drawn chariot of the Sun. Together, the 24 wheels of the Chariot and the 7 horses drawing it symbolize the passage of time. The temple city of Konark is situated in the eastern state of Orissa at a distance of around 65 km from Bhubaneswar and 35 km from Puri.The front of the main entrance has two giant stone lions crushing elephants.Konark derives its name from Konarka, the presiding deity of the Sun Temple. Konarka is a combination of two words, Kona (corner) and Arka (sun), which, when combined, means the sun of the corner. Konark was one of the earliest centres of Sun worshipping in India. The temple was built by Raja Narasimhadeva(AD 1238-64) to mark a military victory over the Muslims. Konark was once a bustling port of Kalinga and had good maritime trade relations with Southeast Asian countries. The temple fell into disuse in the early 17th century after it was desecrated by an envoy of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Since the rulers used to worship the Sun, the temple was conceived as a chariot for Surya, the Sun God.