Sun Temple, Modhera

<!-- See WikiProject Indian cities for details -->The Sun Temple, Modhera, at Modhera in Gujarat, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu Sun-God, Surya. It was built in 1026 AD by King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty. Other Sun Temples in India are as follows: Konark in Orissa, Martand in Jammu and Kashmir near Almora in Uttarakhand, Dakshinaarka temple in Gaya, Bihar, Punark and Deo Barunark in Bihar, Bhramanya Dev Temple at Unao, Balaji in Madhya Pradesh, Sun Temple at Sri Surya Pahar in Assam, Suryanaar Temple at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, Surya Narayana Swamy temple at Arasavalli in Andhra Pradesh.

The Modhera sun temple is situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati, 25&nbsp;km from Mehsana and 102&nbsp;km from Ahmedabad.

History

According to the Skanda Purana and Brahma Purana, the areas near Modhera were known during ancient days as Dharmaranya (literally meaning the forest of righteousness). According to these Puranas, Lord Rama, after defeating Ravana, asked sage Vasistha to show him a place of pilgrimage where he could go and purify himself from the sin of Brahma-hatya (the sin of killing a Brahmin, because Ravana was a Brahmin by birth). Sage Vasistha showed him Dharmaranya, which was near the modern town of Modhera. In the Dharmaranya, he settled at a village Modherak and performed a yagna there. Thereafter he established a village and named it Sitapur. This village is about 15&nbsp;km from Becharaji Modherak village and it subsequently came...
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