Read the passage and answer the questions given below it.
Most visitors to the Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha come to see its carvings. Sooner or later a guide stops the group beside one of the stone wheels and points to the shadow a spoke casts on the rim. This wheel, he says, can tell you the time.
The temple was built in the thirteenth century under King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. It was planned as the chariot of Surya, the Sun god, with twenty-four carved wheels and seven stone horses to pull it. Each wheel has eight thick spokes and eight thinner ones. Guides explain that the gap between two thick spokes stands for about three hours, so the shadow gives a rough idea of the hour.
It is a pleasing story, and on a bright morning the shadow does seem to behave. Whether the builders meant it that way is harder to say. A wheel set in a wall faces one direction only, so for part of each day it stands in shade. A clock that works only some of the time is an odd thing to build in stone. The wheels may have been carved first as signs of the Sun’s journey, with the time-telling read into them later.
None of this has harmed the wheel’s fame. The temple was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, and the wheel now appears on the back of the ten-rupee note. Millions who have never seen Odisha carry it in their pockets, and few have tried to read the time from it.
It can be inferred from the passage that the guide’s demonstration at a wheel
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → depends on the time of day and on whether that wheel is in the sun.
The passage gives a plain reason why the trick cannot work all day on every wheel.
- The writer says, “A wheel set in a wall faces one direction only, so for part of each day it stands in shade.”
- A wheel in shade has no spoke shadow to show. Also, the shadow “does seem to behave” on a bright morning. So the guide’s show works only at some hours and at a wheel the sun is reaching.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: was first thought up by guides after the temple became a World Heritage Site. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The passage never says when the sundial story began. The year 1984 is given only for the UNESCO listing.
Option 2: shows that the builders turned every wheel to face the rising sun. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The passage says nothing about which way the wheels face.
Option 4: can be repeated at any wheel and at any hour, as long as the sky is clear. — Incorrect. Contradicted: A wheel in a wall stands in shade for part of each day, even when the sky is clear.