The Modhera Sun Temple in Gujarat marks 1,000 years in 2026. The Government of India has issued a Rs 100 commemorative coin carrying the dates 1026–2026, notified by the Ministry of Finance in September. The temple is no longer used for worship. Its plan was set out around the movement of the sun.
Modhera lies in Mehsana district in north Gujarat, on the bank of the Pushpavati river. It was once a seat of the Chaulukya, or Solanki, dynasty, which ruled the region from the 10th to the early 14th century.
A date carved upside down
The shrine is credited to King Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty. A stone on the back wall of the sanctum carries the inscription “Vikram Samvat 1083”, which corresponds to 1026–27 CE. The stone is set upside down. Historians read it as evidence of damage and rebuilding after Mahmud of Ghazni’s raid on Gujarat in 1024–25, the campaign that also struck Somnath. The coin and the anniversary follow the 1026 date.
The complex was built in stages. The stepped reservoir came first, early in the 11th century. The shrine followed, and the dance hall was added later in the century under King Karna. The Archaeological Survey of India protects the site as a Monument of National Importance. UNESCO placed it on India’s tentative list for World Heritage status in December 2022.
Built to the sun’s calendar
The temple faces east. Its sanctum was aligned so that the first rays of the rising sun lit the image of Surya at the equinoxes, in March and September. The image itself is now missing. At the summer solstice, Live History India notes, the sun stands directly over the temple and casts no shadow.
The complex has three parts on one axis. The Surya Kund is a rectangular stepped tank, with terraces and small shrines set into its walls and steps. Its recessed steps let people reach the water at different levels. The Sabha Mandapa, the assembly hall, is the most richly carved structure, with recessed corners that give it a star-shaped plan. The Gudha Mandapa contains the sanctum.
From sun temple to solar village
Modhera has added a second, modern relationship with the sun. On 9 October 2022 the Prime Minister declared it India’s first round-the-clock solar-powered village.
The project, run by Gujarat Power Corporation Limited, combines a 6 MW ground-mounted solar plant at Sujjanpura, about 6 km from the temple, with a 15 MWh battery storage system. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 1,297 homes received 1 kW rooftop systems, and government buildings carry another 305 kW. The Ministry put the investment at about Rs 76.66 crore, shared equally by the central and Gujarat governments.
The battery is what allows the village to run on solar power after dark. Energy Storage News reported that the system first came online in the summer of 2021. Residents have reported savings of 60% to 100% on electricity bills, SolarQuarter reported in 2022.
One village, two uses of the sun
The temple’s builders tracked the sun’s path to place a single beam of light in a sanctum. The village’s engineers track the same path to size panels and batteries. Both depend on precise knowledge of where the sun will be and when.
The temple and the solar plant at Sujjanpura stand 6 km apart. Both were planned around the path of the same sun, 1,000 years apart.
