06/12/2023
Aruna Stambha (Sun Pillar) is a sixteen-sided 34 feet (10 m) tall monolithic chlorite stone Pillar having the idol of Aruna (Charioteer of Sun) on the top. It is about twenty feet (6.1 m) away from the Singhdwara (Lion Gateway) of Jagannath Temple in Puri.
It is an important Landmark of Puri and the pilgrims and devotees worship it with great reverence. The Stambha has a magnificent base carved with military scenes and other figures. Its Capitol is ornamented by a series of lotus petals. The monolithic shafts nearly in circumference is sixteen sided. Above this are two gradually diminishing square slabs surmounted by the idol of Aruna in the act of praying to the god Sun. The column is about 34 feet (10.5 m) in height. The whole Stambha is a monument of great beauty.
