Sun Temple

According to the Skanda Purana and Brahma Purana, the areas near Modhera were known during ancient days as Dharmaranya ( meaning the forest of righteousness). According to these Puranas, Lord Rama, after overpowering Ravana, asked sage Vasistha to show him a place of pilgrimage where he could go and cleanse himself from the iniquity of Brahma-hatyaas. Ravan was a Brahmin by birth. Sage Vasistha showed him Dharmaranya, which was near the contemporary town of Modhera. In the Dharmaranya, he established at a village Modherak and performed a yagna there. After that he established a village and named it Sitapur. This village is about 15 km from Becharaji Modherak village, and it consequently came to be known as Modhera. The Sun Temple was built by Rushabh Bhimdev I of Solanki Dynasty in AD 1026. This was the time when Somnath and the connecting area was ransacked by Mahmud Ghazni and reeled under the paraphernalia of his attack. The Solankis, however, regained much of their lost power and splendour. Anahilvad Patan, the Solanki capital, was restored to glory. Royalty and traders jointly donated to building grand temples. Solankis was considered to be Suryavanshi, Gurjar or progenies of Sun God. The temple was created in such a way that the first rays of the sun fell on the appearance of Surya, the Sun God, at the time equinoxes.