KHAJURAHO

TEMPLES
Built over a span of 100 years, 950 AD to 1050 AD, in bursts of creativity,
the Khajuraho temples has been inscribed on the World Heritage List for
their outstanding universal value and human creative genius.
The mural depicts the life and times of the Chandelas, and celebrate the
erotic state of being. Khajuraho or Khajur Vahika derives its name
from the golden gate palms abound a plenty in the region.
Khajuraho is not just another sleepy hamlet of India, but a tourist
paradise where thousands of tourists every year throng the place.
The 25 Indo-Aryan architecture styled temples do the explanation.
The explicit sexual friezes in fine sandstone and granite, ever since
Khajurahos rediscovery by the East India company military officer, TS
Burt, in 1839, spawn an uninhibited carnal celebration.
An Insight
History Of Khajuraho
History says the Rajput rulers Chandelas, ordered and aided the
construction of Khajuraho temples while they reigned over the
area now known as Bundelkhand region.
With the wane of the Chandela Empire, these magnificent
temples lay neglected, and vulnerable to the ravages of nature. It
was only in this century, that they were rediscovered and
restored, though only 25 of the original 85 survived and stand in
varying stages of preservation.
The Chandelas were believers of the Tantric cult, which
emphasizes that gratification of earthly desires is a step towards
attaining ultimate liberation.

The Khajuraho temples are a pinnacle of the North
Indian Nagara architectural style.
The Nagara style's primary feature is a central tower called as a
shikhara whose highest point is directly over the temple's primary
deity. This is often surrounded by smaller, subsidiary tower called
urushringa and intermediate towers; which naturally draw the eye
up to the highest point, like a series of hills leading to a distant peak.
Setting the temple on a raised base called as adhisthana also shifts
the eye upward, and promotes this vertical quality.
Architectural elements.
Peculiarities of Khajuraho Temples

All the compartments of the temple are interconnected internally as well as externally and
are planned in one axis, running east-west, and forming a compact unified 'mukha-
mandapa', 'mandapa', 'antarala' and 'garbha-griha', are present in all temples.
The clustering together of subsidiary peaks to the main one not only lightens the weight of
the stupendous pile but also intensifies the vertical accent of the main 'sikhara'.

The Khajuraho temple has pronouncedly individual features. The sanctum is 'saptaratha' on
plan and in elevation, and the cubicalportion below the 'sikhara' is divided into
seven segments (saptanga-bada).

The numerous projections and recesses of the elevation, following rhythmically the
indentations of the plan, produce an admirable contrast of light and shade.

With an enormous array of lovely sculptured forms ever present, the texture of the
Khajuraho temple vibrates with a rare exuberance of human warmth, which is unparalleled
in any other art.

The Khajuraho temple is unique in showing a 'saptaratha' sanctum with a 'saptanga-bada',
which marks the highest development of Indian architectural design


The Panchayatna puja - involving the worship of five deities Shiva,
Vishnu, Shakti, Surya and Ganesha was highly prevalent in
Khajuraho, as evidenced from the panchayatna temples - each
with a main shrine and four subsidiary shrines scattered around
the landscape.

Geographically they are categorized into three parts:
Eastern group of temples.
Southern group of temples:
Western group of temples:
Shiva and Vishnu temples.

The Temples
There are three groups of temples at Khajuraho.

1. The Western group
temples of Shiva and Vishnu.
the earliest and most important.
A relatively small area (200 x 300 yards)
most architecturally significant temples--the Lakshmana (built around 950
C.E.), the Vishvanatha (about 1000 C.E.), and the Kandariya Mahadev temple
(about 1025 C.E)--as well as smaller temples including the Mahadeva, Devi
Jagadamba , and Chitragupta


1. The northern group
Vaishnava temples for the most part

1. the eastern group
consists of Jain temples.

1. the Southern Group
the Duladeo and Caturbhuj temples.

WESTERN GROUP OF TEMPLES

KANDARIYA MAHADEVA TEMPLE



The Kandariya Mahadeva temple

Erected towards the middle of the eleventh century by one of the kings of the
Chandella dynasty, this great Shiva temple represents the Nagara style

The circumstances of plate, time, age and height of mastery of architecture and
sculpture confirm that this is one of the unsurpassed achievements of Hindu art.

It belongs to the early eleventh century, and is probably the work of Vidyadhara (ca.
1004-35) under whom the Chandella kingdom reached the height of its prosperity.

Taking its name from the word kandara, or cave, the KandariyaMahadeva temple is
the tallest monument at Khajuraho, its spire rising more than 30.5 metres above the
lofty plinth on which the temple is elevated.


The temple faces east and extends some 30.5 metres in length and 20
metres in width
.
Like other fully developed Chandella temples at Khajuraho, it consists of a
linear east-west sequence of access steps, entrance porch, columned hall
with side balconies, and linga shrine with encircling passageway, off which
open three additional balconies. These balconies bring porches. The porches
serve as balconies with high seating, bringing ventilation and light to the
interior.

What distinguishes the KandariyaMahadeva temple from the other
monuments a Khajuraho is its grand scale and elaboration of design and
ornamentation. Moreover, its indented plan with numerous projections and
recesses create a visual rhythm, accentuated by the bright sunshine and
shadow, that is carried up into the elevation of the building.


Architectural elememts

The component towered elements of the KandariyaMahadeva
expand outwards from the core shaft to create a dramatic
geometric massing that is unsurpassed in North Indian architecture.



Temple:

Equally significant in the overall conception of the temple is the
sculptural treatment of its outer walls, which are covered with
images of the god Shiva, to whom the monument is dedicated, in
the company of consorts, attendants and lesser divinities.
Important among the images here are the non manifest-manifest
aspect of the god, including those who subdues the blind demon,
the cosmic dancer, and the destroyer of the triple demon cities.

The internal includes delicately designed hallways while the
sanctum includes a stone sacred linga.
The area has an exclusive four-footed (also known as chatushpada)
picture, termed as the sacred Sadashiva.
The four legs of the Lord Sadashiva signify the four areas or
amazing padas of the Lord Shaiva spiritual program.
The BhagvanSadashiva is a way of Master Shiva that represents
obvious as well as unobvious element and is regarded to be the
greatest deity among the sacred Shaivaites.


Along with the stone holy linga, the key sections of the sanctum
have statues and designs illustrating three different types of Master
Shiva: renowned Subduer of the sightless devil, Andhaka, the
cosmic professional dancer great Natesha and sacred Tripurantaka,
ruining the three devil places.

Sculptures:



The sculptures are arranged in three tiers on the outside,
amounting to no less than 646 figures in all, not counting the
226 figures of the interior.
The famous erotic groups for which the temple is well known
are placed on the juncture of the walls of the mandapa and the
passageway surrounding the sanctuary, marking one of the
most ritually vulnerable parts of the monument.
Among the other images are those of female deities, such as
the seven mothers, let alone the countless apsaras who are
shown in alluring postures that reveal the mastery of the
Khajuraho artists .

SOUTHERN GROUP OF TEMPLES
DULHADEO TEMPLE
DULADEO

Built in circa AD 1100-1150
devoted to Lord Shiva
This sacred Shaiva Temple, typically known as the forehead of
great Duladeo or sacred Kunwar Math is located southern of the
Khajuraho town.
Also known as, the Groom Temple,
there is a picture of Shiva on the lintel of the entry to the
underground garbhagriha and the sanctum has a holy Shivlingam.
The facades of this forehead bring reps of the pictures of status
Shiva as well as Shiva-Parvati.


ARCHITECTURE


The temple is categorized as a nirandhara temple. Nirandhara means a
layout without the ambulatory path

consisting of a sanctum without an
ambulatory, a vestibule, main hall (maha-mandapa), and an entrance
porch.

The layout of the temple does not have a circumambulatory
passage which is probably due to the fact that it was the last of the
temples built in the 12th century during the reign of Chandelas, when
the peak period of their construction phase had already passed.
[
The temple pinnacle (SHIKARA) is created in three rows of
minor shikharas.

Its features are in general conformity with those adopted for the other
temples in the Khajuraho complex.
The classification according to the physical characteristics of the
monuments consists of a raised base which is a sub structure over which
the richly decorated structure rises and is covered with rich sculptures.
The main hall in the temple is very large and octagonal in shape. Its
ceiling has elegantly carved celestial dancers (APSARAS). There are
twenty such brackets carved with the apsaras, with two or three apsaras
next to each other in each bracket, and arranged in the ceiling in
a corbelled circle.
A striking sculpture is of a profile carving of a celestial dancer in the
inner passage of the temple hemmed between buttresses, which has
decoration of a necklace with hands poised as if to throw a dice.
[
A figure of Shiva is carved on the lintel at the entrance to the sanctum
(garbhagriha). The central icon of the linga in the sanctum is not the
original but a duplicate, as the original is untraced.
[
Worship is offered at the temple by the local people.
1. A unique feature of the depictions on the linga is that it has 999 more
lingas carved all around its surface. Its religious significance is that going
round the linga would amount to taking of circumambulation a 1,000
times around it.
The architecture copies the old style as it was built at the end of the
Chandela period, and hence the sculptures are stated to be wooden
and stereotyped compared with other earlier temples in the complex.
However, the elegance and grace of the figurines of women are more
like pin-ups and there are also few figurines in the erotic poses of
couples engrossed in love (mithuna).
SCULPTURES:

EASTERN GROUP OF TEMPLES
PARSHAVANATH TEMPLE
ADINATH TEMPLE
PARSHVANATHA TEMPLE
The Jain temples are the most important temples in the Eastern Group at Khajuraho, and
probably date from the late 11th century.
One difference with Khajuraho's other temples is that the temple's primary images are not
Hindu deities, but Jain tirthankars
This temple is now dedicated to Parshvanath, the 23rd tirthankar
Another clear difference is in the architectural style, at least for this temple, which has
openings at both sides.
Built in the 10
th
century
Inspite of being a jain temple it shares the sculptures and architecture of hindu temples of
khajuraho depicting the chandela art.
Orignally tis temple was dedicated to god adinatha who was represented as a bull. This was
later replaced by an image of parshvanatha in 1860.
Measuring 20m by 11 m
Lies in a walled enclosure
Outer wall of the temple is embellished with 3 bands of graceful sculptures depicting hindu
gods and apsaras
The temple is oblong on plan with axial projections on two the east and west
The projection on the east acts as the entrance while the one on the west consists of a
shrine attached to the sanctum.
It is a sandhara temple; absence of balconied windows


Despite their less-
intense erotic
content, the Jain
temples carvings
include some of
Khajuraho's most
famous, partly
because they
illustrate everyday
life.

At the right is woman putting
collyrium (lampblack) on her eyes-
-not only as a cosmetic (like
mascara), but also because it was
(and still is) believed to be good
for the eyes. At left is a young
woman looking into a hand mirror
and fussing with her hair--a
familiar feminine gesture that
transcends time and place.
ADINATH TEMPLE
The second ancient Jain
temple is dedicated to the
first
Jain tirthankar, Adinath. This
is much smaller than the
Parshvanath temple, and
although the outside is richly
and intricately carved, the
figures are much smaller.
This temple has been
extensively damaged and
repaired; the tower dates
from the 11th century, but
the entry porch in front was
added much later, creating
an incongruous combination