The Temple of the Forbidden Eye was a stone shrine built to the god, Mara, located in India on the banks of the Bengal river Lost Delta.
History[]
Deep inside the temple was a large stone face of Mara, with one eye covered. Below the temple was a lava pocket, which had a wooden bridge built over it. Seekers could enter the shrine, and after passing through several stone passageways and traps, they choose a door to be rewarded with one of three treasures:
- Earthly Riches
- Eternal Youth
- Future Knowledge
The one condition of entering the temple was that pilgrims were not allowed to look into the Eye of Mara, or risk death. The area below the temple housed numerous dangers, including gargantuan snakes, skeletons, bug-infested rooms, spike traps, and dart traps, and a rolling boulder, similar to the one found in the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors.
In 1935, after his adventures in Pankot Palace, Indiana Jones discovered the temple by piecing together misplaced map fragments leading to the temple. Jones maintained a small temporary office inside the temple, where his team cataloged and crated artifacts for shipment to the University of Indiana for detailed analysis and further study. Once word had gotten out of his archaeological discovery, and the rewards of Mara, visitors from the Western world began to visit. Other team members installed a film projector where they played newsreels of Jones' discovery, which had enticed fortune-seekers from around the globe to the site. Hoping to locate the Jewel of Power and restore it to it's proper place, Jones ventured deep within the temple. While digging staff continued to explore different sections of the temple, Sallah, sensing an opportunity to turn a profit to fund the continued excavation, initiated a tour operation. To facilitate faster travel inside the temple, Sallah acquired from the black market, via his Brother-in-Law, several troop transports and operated them deep within the temple, allowing tourists to reach the doorways of the rewards from the Chamber of Destiny into the Hall of Promise, and glimpse at the face of Mara. However, some tour groups gazed upon the Eye of Mara, and were plunged into the areas below the temple, beyond the Gates of Doom, where they were eventually rescued by the actions of Indiana Jones.
Behind the scenes[]
The Temple of the Forbidden Eye is the center of the theme park attraction Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland, in Anaheim, CA. Attendees play the role of tourists visiting the site, and exploring it with vehicles, while Jones prevents the most dangerous aspects of the Temple from harming the tourists.
To help promote the opening of the attraction, the Temple was also depicted in the Super Bowl XXIX halftime show, this time, filled with worshippers, guardians, and Patti LaBelle. Jones and Marion Ravenwood ventured to the Temple to retrieve the stolen Vince Lombardi trophy.
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger (Indirect mention)
- Random Acts of Indy (Mentioned only)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (First appearance) (Non-canonical appearance)
- Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
- Disney Magic Kingdoms (Ambiguously canonical appearance) (Attraction)
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (On map)
Sources[]
External links[]
- Indiana Jones™ Discovers the Jewel of Power! (Web archive)