The ancient Katarmal Sun Temple is at a distance of about 18 kilometers from Almora city. This temple is said to be around the 9th century, which was built by the Katyuri ruler Katarmal Dev. During this, Archeology Department official Dr. Chandra Singh Chauhan told that this temple of Sun God is the second largest temple in India.
India's second largest Sun Temple (Katarmal Sun Temple) is located in Almora district of Uttarakhand. The first largest temple is Konark Kasuria Temple of Odisha. The ancient Katarmal Sun Temple is at a distance of about 18 kilometers from Almora city. This temple is said to be around the 9th century.
Which was built by Katyuri ruler Katarmal Dev. It is said that there was terror of a demon named Kalnemi, hence the people here used to invoke Lord Surya. Lord Surya sat on the banyan tree to protect the people. Since then he is also known as Bad Aditya here.
After Konark Temple of Odisha, it is considered to be the second largest Sun Temple in the country. The idol of Lord Bad Aditya installed in the Katarmal Sun Temple is not made of stone or metal but of the wood of the Bad tree, which is kept covered in the sanctum sanctorum.
Due to its location in Katarmal village, it is known as Katarmal Sun Temple, but its actual name is 'Baraditya Sun Temple'. Actually, the specialty of this temple is hidden in its name itself. In this temple, the idol of Lord Aditya i.e. Sun is not made of any stone or metal, but of banyan wood.
This east-facing temple was built by the medieval Katyuri king Katarmal, who was ruling the central Himalayan region at that time. The main temple structure is the Triratha, built in the Nagara style with a square sanctum with a curved spire.
On the basis of architectural features and inscriptions engraved on the pillars, the Archaeological Department estimates the construction period of this temple to be thirteenth century. A part of this temple and about 44 other temples dedicated to Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Lakshmi-Narayan, Narasimha, Kartikeya and other deities located in this complex were built at different times.
At least once the thought comes that how and why such a big temple would have been built at such a remote place. Due to being situated in a less populated area, there is theft here by ancestors and other people. Very little attention has been paid to these coaching also.
But, now this temple complex has been declared a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India, due to which it is being taken adequate care of. The entrance to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was also made of carved wood, which is currently housed in the gallery of the National Museum, Delhi.
When your car swings on the serpentine roads on the way from Ranikhet to Almora-Kausani, the surrounding view is enough to make you intoxicated. A large number of tourists pass through here every day, but very few of them know that they are passing very close to a temple which has the reputation of being the largest, tallest and unique temple in the entire Kumaon region. Is. It is one of the oldest Sun temples in India.
If you do not ignore a small path going uphill on the right side, about 12-13 km before Almora on the Ranikhet-Almora road, you can see the name of Katarmal Sun Temple on a board there. After walking about two and a half to three kilometers on this route, we reach Katarmal village. This Sun Temple is clearly visible from here. To reach here you will have to walk a little...
