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The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho is
a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples
dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, and Jain patriarchs, famous for their erotic
sculptures. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, and is considered to be one of the "seven wonders" of
India.
One thousand years ago,
under the generous and artistic patronage of the Chandela Rajput kings of
Central India, 85 temples, magnificent in form and richly carved, came up on
one site, near the village of Khajuraho. The amazingly short span of 100 years,
from 950 AD - 1050 AD, saw the completion of all the temples, in an inspired
burst of creativity. Of the 85 original temples-most constructed of hard river
sandstone-about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and
externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are
frequently sensual and, at times, sexually explicit. The temples are divided
into three complexes-the western is the largest and best known, containing the
magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of
porches and turrets culminating in a spire.
The Khajuraho temples
contain some sexual or erotic art outside the temple or near the deities. Also,
some of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on
the outside of the inner wall. There are many interpretations of the erotic
carvings. It has been suggested that these suggest tantric sexual practices.
Meanwhile, the external curvature and carvings of the temples depict humans,
human bodies, and the changes that occur in bodies, as well as facts of life.
Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes; those reportedly do not show
deities but rather sexual activities between people. The rest depict the
everyday life of the common Indian when the carvings were made and activities
of other beings.
The creators of
Khajuraho claimed descent from the moon. The legend that describes the origin
of this great dynasty is a fascinating one: Hemavati, the beautiful young
daughter of a Brahmin priest was seduced by the moon god while bathing in the
Rati one evening. The child born of this union between a mortal and a god was a
son, Chandravarman. Harassed by society, the unwed mother sought refuge in the
dense forest of Central India where she was both mother and guru to her young
son. The boy grew up to found the great Chandela dynasty. When he was
established as a ruler, he had a dream-visitation from his mother, who implored
him to build temples that would reveal human passions, and in doing so bring
about a realization of the emptiness of human desire. Chandravarman began the
construction of the first of the temples, successive rulers added to the fast
growing complex.
The Khajuraho temple
complex offers a professional light and sound show every evening. The first
show is in English language and the second one in Hindi. The show is about an
hour long and covers the history, philosophy and the art of sculpting of these
temples. It is held in the open lawns in the temple complex.
The Khajuraho Dance
Festival, held every year in the first week of February (1st to 7th), is an
opportunity for visitors to experience various classical Indian dances set
against the backdrop of the Chitragupta or Vishwanath Temples.
I don't claim the information to be my own. It has been collected from various sources
