The Union Finance Ministry has notified a Rs 100 commemorative coin to mark 1,000 years of the Sun Temple at Modhera in Mehsana district. The notification, dated 18 September and issued under the Coinage Act, 2011, puts the temple on the reverse with the years “1026-2026” above it and “1000 YEARS OF MODHERA SUN TEMPLE, GUJARAT” below, DeshGujarat and The Tribune reported.
DeshGujarat’s account of the rules gives the physical details. The coin is round, 44 mm across, with 200 serrations on the edge, and the mint will strike it in nickel silver: 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. The obverse carries the Ashoka Lion Capital and “Satyameva Jayate”, as on other Indian coins.
Where the 1026 date comes from
Historians place the temple’s construction around 1026-27 CE, in the reign of the Chaulukya (Solanki) king Bhima I, who ruled from 1022 to 1063. An inscription at the site records Vikram Samvat 1083, which falls in that window. The temple stands on the Pushpavati river, and India added it to UNESCO’s World Heritage tentative list in 2022, according to The Tribune. The Archaeological Survey of India looks after it.
That date lines Modhera up with Somnath. Mahmud of Ghazni raided the Somnath temple in 1025-26, early in Bhima I’s reign, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked 1,000 years since that raid at Somnath in January, DD News reported. So Gujarat is marking two 1,000-year anniversaries in 2026, both from the same king’s time on the throne: one for a temple that was attacked and one for a temple his kingdom built.
Can you get one?
Probably not from your change. India has issued Rs 100 coins for several anniversaries in recent years, and the government mints usually sell them to collectors as sets instead of releasing them into circulation. The notification fixes the design. Neither report gives a sale date or price.
What it means for Mehsana
Modhera already draws visitors for more than its carvings. The state holds the Uttarardh (Modhera Dance) Festival in the temple complex each January, and in October 2022 the Prime Minister declared Modhera village India’s first round-the-clock solar-powered village. A national coin adds a hook for travel writers and school trips in a year the temple turns 1,000.
The timing also suits a feature of the building itself. The temple faces due east, and at the March and September equinoxes the rising sun lines up with the entrance and lights the inner sanctum. This year’s September equinox falls on 23 September, five days after the notification. If you plan to go, get there before sunrise.
What to watch
- The mint’s sale notice, which will set the price and say whether the coin comes as a proof or uncirculated set.
- Whether the state tourism department or the ASI announces millennium events at the site. The coin notification does not mention any.
- Progress on Modhera’s UNESCO bid, which has sat on the tentative list since 2022.
Sources: DeshGujarat, The Tribune, DD News
This report was compiled and written with AI assistance from publicly reported sources, and reviewed for accuracy.