Dharamaa (Dharmapada) was the son of medieval Orissa’s great temple architect, Bisu Maharana. As he had access to the manuscripts describing details of temple construction, he was fascinated by the since his childhood. By the time he turned 12, he had mastered the art of Oriya temple architecture.
However he was always sad as he had never seen his busy and illustrious father who was always out on work. His mother would not tell him much. On his 12th birthday, he asked his mother for a gift, the permission to go to meet his father, which she could not refuse.
After a long journey a tired Dharamaa reached a deserted beach where the sight of a magnificent structure caught his attention. He knew immediately, this is the place where his father was building the biggest temple of the land dedicated to the Sun God. He rushed to the construction site and it did not take him long to spot his father. Behind the hugs and kisses Dharamaa could sense that something was troubling his father.
The temple was the biggest ever built by the famed craftsman of Orissa. 12 hundred of the best from the land had laboured for 12 long years to build the Sun temple. It was the pinnacle of craftsmanship, architecture and details ever put together. But the temple was not complete yet. The final key stone or the ‘chula’ was yet to be placed on the temple top. And all these expert craftsmen including Bisu Maharana had failed multiple trials. The king, Narshinghdev, had announced a deadline for completion of the temple as the next morning, failing which all the twelve hundred craftsmen would be killed. And being the chief architect of the project, Bisu Maharana was upset for being the cause of the death of his team.
Dharamaa asked his father to take him around the temple and show him the construction. As he reached the top of the temple, he remembered the manuscripts he had read about the temple construction. He knew he had the solution. He knew the design of the stone that would fit as the ‘chula’ and would hold the temple together. As he explained the design to his father, Bisu was pleasantly surprised. He was so proud to have a son as talented as Dharamaa.
The father and the son, immediately went in to the workshop and in a couple of hours the ‘kalasha’ was carved and the ‘chula’ was ready to be installed. As they rolled the stone on the sand slopes to the top of the temple, the moon was shining in its full glory. By midnight the key stone was in place and the temple was complete. Bisu was proud his son who had managed to save so many lives.
As the euphoria of success subsided, Dharamaa heard a whisper among the people gathered around to see the completion of the temple. People feared the king would not be too kind to the failed craftsmen as the ‘chula’ was completed by a 12 year old child and not by the craftsmen themselves.
Dharamaa never wanted glory, name or fame for his achievements. He was happy that he was able to save so may lives by completing the temple for the Lord. He slowly made his way though the crowd to the top of the temple. In no time he was standing on the top of the ‘chula’ he had just erected . He looked at the horizon as the first rays of the sun started touching the temple, as if the Sun God was showering his blessings. With tears in his eyes, Dharama jumped off the temple-top into the deep blue waters of the sea.
A young boy who achieved the ultimate glory for Oriya art, craft and architecture by completing the greatest temple ever built, sacrificed his life to protect his father’s esteem and to save the life of many others. After a thousand years, the Sun temple is ruined but Dharamaaa still lives in folklore and in the aspirations of every young craftsman of the region.
