Wheel #8, South

Sanctuary Terrace, Konarak

No survey of Konarak would be complete without a photograph of one of the celebrated wheels that carry the solar chariot on its journey through the heavens. Consisting of rim, hub, eight major, and eight minor spokes, the wheels are carved, like the entire terrace, into an amazing filigree of lacy design.

Textual evidence suggests that the wheels correspond to signs of the Zodiac. However, attempts to match up the Zodiac to the decorations on the wheels have remained elusive. On this wheel, the rondels depict a seated figure (at the "12:00" position), followed clockwise by three riders, a seated figure, two riders, and another seated figure. Either the decorations are random, or there is some underlying principle (possibly directional, or chronological, or both) that we just don't "get."

Whatever the answer, these unique creations represent a pinnacle of the Indian stoneworker's art.