The temples of Khajuraho

The temples of Khajuraho are more than just erotic sculptures, though, which are apparently only one -tenth of all the carvings on the walls of the shrines. Built between the 10th-12th centuries by the Chandela Rajputs, the temples of Khajuraho were hidden in dense forests and were discovered much later, only in the 19th century. Located on the banks of a tributary of the Ken river, these medieval monuments are today one of the World Heritage Sites. The Western Group of temples is the largest here and then you have the Eastern and the Southern Group and a few Jaina monuments as well. And these temples he says go beyond religion and eroticism. The Khajuraho sculptures may be synonymous with erotic art, but there are several different kinds of carvings here.

The story goes that the moon seduced a beautiful woman called Hemavathy when was bathing in the dark under moonlight. However, he apparently told her that their son would one day establish a kingdom. Hemavathy ran into the forests and raised her son Chandravarman who eventually grew up to establish the Chandela dynasty and one theory says he was influenced by his mother’s story and built the temples of Khajuraho with sculptures depicting human passions and probably, the futility of the same.

However, there are many theories regarding the erotic sculptures of Khajuraho. The Chausath Yogini temple built in 900 AD . Built In an open sanctuary all the sixty seven cells are empty. None of the 64 Yogini along with Goddess Durga are around , but It can feel a mystical aura around the temple. People believe that the essence of Khajuraho lies in Tantric cult and the erotic sculptures are manifestations of the same. Whatever the reason may be, Khajuraho ‘s temples go beyond the kamasutra.

The Kandariya Mahadev temple towers above the rest in the Western Group with almost 900 sculptures jostling for space on its walls. It represents Kailash as the temple resembles a mountain range. The main tower is like a mountain, reaching out to 30 meters tall and there are several miniature towers popping out like smaller hillocks. Besides erotic sculptures you can see several different carvings here as well. Dedicated to Shiva, the temple is believed to have built by King Vidhyadhara after a successful war campaign. The Vaikunta image of Vishnu seems to have three different faces – those of a lion, boar and a man. The carvings here depict social and cultural lives of the Chandelas.Facing this temple is a Lakshmi temple, that once housed a Garuda and next to it is an intricately carved monolith of Varaha, the incarnation of Vishnu built of sandstone. Along the same platform of the Kandariya Mahadev temple is a Mahadev temple, another shrine dedicated to Jagadhambi, a Chitragupt temple for Surya, the sun god, a shrine for Parvati and the massive Vishwanath temple.

The Eastern and Southern groups, where the deity was believed to have been discovered during an excavation. The Brahma temple, a small shrine by a lake. Although a lingam is housed here, it was initially meant to be built for Vishnu.Every temple has an interesting name. A Vishnu temple is called Javari as millet or Javar was cultivated close by. Another temple called Ghantai refers to the bells depicted on the pillars. Jaina temples dedicated to the Teerthankaras – Adinatha, Parshwanatha and Shantinatha. The Dulhadeo temple, where Shiva is a bridegroom is a temple dedicated to weddings, fertility rites and cults.

According to my point of view no one will ever know what was in the sculptor’s mind as he carved these erotic sculptures of Khajuraho. Perhaps the charm of the destination lies in this mysticism.