The Chariot of Surya

Orissa, India

Moonlight contains, holds the scene

softly within its magic realm

we have been given the moment

outsiders, privileged, neither

voyeurs nor audience.

This chariot temple of the Sun

stands facing the ocean

pale stone makes surrounding

night blacker, more intense

more ethereal.

The great sculptured wheels of the chariot,

each carved as a sundial,

are turning, stirring, water begins to churn

as the temple itself plunges seaward.

The faces of the Sun God Surya

change as the moonlight

shadows or lightens his expressions.

These faces alter from dawn to evening

as stone horses pull the great chariot

in its daily journey across the sky.

we watch and believe the illusion

as the tide advances, the god journeys

through the darkness to meet the dawn.

Now the sun rises over the sea,

the first bright ray

will strike the god’s forehead

another day has dawned.

Sarah Das Gupta

Note: A UNESCO World Heritage Site Near Puri, eastern coast of India. 13th century temple to

commemorate the sun deity. The rays of the sun strike the image of the sun at dawn, noon

and sunset. It is built in the form of a huge chariot with horses. It gives the illusion of moving

towards the sea.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sarah Das Gupta is a poet from Cambridge UK who has taught English in India, Tanzania and UK. She started writing aged 80, after a disabling accident. Her work has been published in over 25 countries in magazines and anthologies. She has been nominated for Best of the Net, The Pushcart and a Dwarf Star.