Khajuraho Temple

The world renowned temple town of Khajuraho in the Bundelkhand region in northern Madya Pradesh is designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site for its archeological and historical monuments. The famous erotic sculptures of Khajuraho temples are India's unique gift to the world, representing, as they do, a pageant to life, to love, to joy, perfect in execution and sublime in expression. Khajuraho is situated to the west of Varanasi and Allahabad and south of the Ganges, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Life in every form and mood, has been captured in stone, testifying not only to the craftsman's artistry but also to the extraordinary breadth of

vision for the rich and powerful Chandela Rajputs under whose rule the temples were conceived and constructed. Lost among forests for centuries they were accidentally discovered by a British army engineer T. S. Burt in 1838. 

Khajuraho derives its name from 'khajura'-date palm which grows freely in the area and perhaps because there were two gold khajura trees on a carved gate here. Taken in totality, the sculptures of Khajuraho depict the everyday life of the people and the court in the 10th and 11th centuries. 

The Khajuraho temples were built in a short span of hundred years, from 950-1050 AD in a truly inspired burst of creativity. Of the 85 original temples, today only 25 have survived, and is spread over three locations to constitute one of the world's great artistic wonders. The creators of Khajuraho claimed descent from the moon and the legend behind the founding of this great dynasty and the temples is a fascinating one. 

Hemawati, the lovely young daughter of a Brahmin priest, was seduced by the moon-god while bathing in a forest pool. The child born of this union was Chandravarman, founder of the Chandela dynasty. Brought up in the forests by his mother who sought refuge from a censorious society, Chandravarma, when established as a ruler, had a dream visitation from his mother. It is said that she implored him to build temples that would reveal human passions. Chandravarman began the construction of the first few temples and successive rulers added to the complex. It is also possible that the Chandelas were followers of the Tantric cult, which believes that gratification of earthly desires is a step towards attaining the infinite liberation of nirvana.

Architecturally too, they are unique, being very different from the temple prototype of their period. Each stands on a high masonry platform with a marked upward direction in the structure, further enhanced by vertical projections to create the effect of grace and lightness. Each of the chief compartments is mounted by its own roof, grouped so that the highest is in the centre, the lowest over the portico; a highly imaginative recreation of the rising peaks of the Himalayas, abode of the gods.  Khajuraho temples are the examples of Indo -Aryan architecture. The sculptors have shown many aspects of Indian life 1000 years ago-gods and goddeses, warriors and musicians, real and mythological animals. But two elements appear over and over again and in greater detail than anything else-women and sex. Stone figures of 'apsaras' or celestial maidens, their myriad moods and facets appear on every temple. In between are the 'mithuna', erotic figures, running through a whole Kamasutra of positions and possibilities.