About

Khajuraho is a town in Madhya Pradesh renowned for a group of Hindu and Jain Temples. It is situated about 175 km south-east of Jhansi. These temples are well known for their Nagara style symbolism and erotic figures and sculptures. These sensuous stone carvings of human and animal form in erotic poses are very aesthetically portrayed and stand testimony to the rich cultural heritage of India. Most of these monuments were built between 950 to 1050 CE under the reign of the Chandela dynasty. The town has a total of 85 Temples spread across an area of 20 square kilometres. These are found in three major clusters - Western, Eastern, and Southern.

The Kandariya Mahadeo temple is the most prominent of all the temples in Khajuraho's Western group. It is built on a 4m high jagati (plinth) and has a plan which follows the traditional Hindu temple layout with a mukha-mandapa or foyer, a maha mandapa or great hall, an antarala or ante-chamber, and the garbha griha laid out on an east-west axis, facing the east. The temple is a sandhara temple, with an enclosed pradakshina patha (circum-ambulatory path) going around the sanctum. The circum-ambulatory path also has three open porches on the north, west, and south. The spire is in the nagara style, topped with an amalaka and a kalasha. There is a small shuka-nashika mounted by a lion standing guard. The tall and slender superstructure is built in the shape of a steep mountain, symbolic of Mount Meru (the mythological origin of the world). The superstructure has 84 miniature spires, which when combined with the pyramidal towers over the ardha-mandapa, mukha-mandapa, and maha-mandapa, give the impression of the successively rising mountain ranges of the Shivaliks, Lesser Himalayas, and the Greater Himalayas. Each of the spires is topped by a kalasha, with the tower over the garbha griha having an amalaka, topped by the kalasha.
The recessed ceiling of the temple is adorned with detailed carvings. The circular ceiling of the maha mandapa is supported by four exquisitely carved pillars, and is formed by eight richly cusped circles of diminishing size rising above it, and the top closed by another elaborately carved circle. The ceiling of the mandapa is formed of four cusped squares placed diagonally, and topped off by a richly carved square. There are a total of 872 statues adorning the walls of the temple, with 226 inside and 646 outside. A large number of these are between 75cm and 90cm in height.
The lintel above the doorway to the sanctum features a figure of Shiva with Brahma and Vishnu to the right and the left. The door frame features elaborate sculptures with the river goddesses - Ganga and Yamuna - at the foot of the doorway. A marble lingam with a circumference of 135cm is installed in the sanctum sanctorum.
A series of steep steps with high rise lead from the ground level to the entrance to the temple. The elegantly ornamented mouldings feature elephants, horses, warriors, and hunters, along with acrobats, musicians, dancers, and musicians. There are three broad belts of sculptures immediately above the plinth running all around the temple. The principal groups of these sculptures are in the recesses between the pillars of the transept and the sanctum. The three belts represent dharma or duties and responsibilities, artha or material wealth and prosperity, kama or desires. The fourth of the Purusharthas or purposes of human life, is moksha or deliverance from the cycle of life and death, and is represented by the sculptures inside the temple. Above these three bands are several bands of projecting mouldings that encircle the temple and form cornices to the pillared balconies of the mandapas and the projections from the sanctum.

The Mahadeo Temple is a small shrine that is to the north of the Kandariya Mahadeo temple. It is a simple shrine with a porch on four pillars. There is a figure of Shiva over the center of the entrance, with figures of Brahma and Vishnu to the right and left.

The Jagadambi Temple stands further to the north of the Kandariya Mahadeo temple. There is an idol of Parvati currently enshrined in the sanctum, but a four-armed image of Vishnu carved above the lintel suggests that the temple was originally built for Vishnu. The temple stands on a lofty plinth that it shares with the Kandariya Mahadeo temple. It has the traditional structure of Hindu temples with a mukha mandapa or foyer, a maha mandapa or great hall, an antarala or ante-chamber, and the garbha griha. There is no internal circumambulatory passage, making this is a nirandhara temple. The maha mandapa has lateral transepts ending in pillared balconies with stone railing flaring upwards and outwards. The main spire is of curved nagara style, with three lesser towers of successively smaller sizes of pyramidal style. The outer walls are decorated with three horizontal bands of figures, with the lowest one being the tallest, above which bands of mini-spires interspersed with niches with images of deities can be seen.

The Chitragupt Temple stands on an independent plinth by itself, a little further north of the Jagadambi temple. It closely resembles the Jagadambi temple in plan, but is larger in size. The shape of the maha mandapa is different from that of other temples as the corners of the square are truncated, forming an octagon around the four central pillars.
There is a sculpture of the Sun God, Surya, in the sanctum sanctorum, depicting him riding a chariot driven by seven horses. The temple walls are carved with images of deities, with an eleven-headed Vishnu on the southern facade being particularly impressive. The idols include Brahma and Saraswati on the south, Shiva and Parvati on the West, and Vishnu and Lakshmi on the north, with Varaha. Other images on the walls depict both religious and secular themes, with many of them being of an erotic nature.

The Vishvanath Temple stands to the east of the Chitragupt temple. It is a sandhara temple similar in plan to the Kandariya Mahadeo temple, and the second largest in size among the western group of temples. The outer walls are richly decorated with religious and secular themes, in the familiar three-band format, with 602 of the statues being in the size range 60cm to 75cm. The interior is lavishly decorated with flat recessed ceilings and numerous pendants.
The spire has a succession of mini-spires leading up to the main spire, which stands about 25m tall and is topped by an amalaka. There are ten large-sized elephants fixed on the slabs projecting from the ten angles of the roofs above the five pillared balconies of the transepts and the sanctum.
A large Nandi pavilion stands in front of the Vishvanath temple with its own pyramidal spire topped by a kalasha, and mini-spires leading up to the main spire. The large seated Nandi figure in the pavilion is over 2m high. It has a large open hall with twenty pillars, eight of which support the open porches on the four sides. The base of the Nandi pavilion features a moulding with a series of elephants with their mahuts.
The Vishvanath Temple originally had four subordinate temples at the four corners of the terrace upon which it stands, of which the temple at the south-west corner has an idol of eight-armed Durga in the sanctum. The subordinate temples at the north-east and south-west corners no longer survive, and the temple at the north-east corner has undergone extensive restoration work over time.

The Parvati Temple is assumed to be a part of the Vishvanath temple group and it stands a little to the south and west of the Vishvanath temple itself. The temple originally had the usual four components - the porch, central hall, ante-chamber, and the sanctum - of which only the ante-chamber and sanctum survive today. The sanctum is pancharatha in plan. There is an additional projection on the east with a guardian lion mounted on it. The four-armed idol in the sanctum is that of Lakshmi, with a small figure of Vishnu just above her head, while the positions on her right and left are occupied by Brahma and Shiva, respectively.

The Lakshmana Temple is on the south of the Vishvanath temple and is of almost exactly the same size and style. It is a sandhara temple, with a closed circum-ambulatory path. The Lakshmana temple has been known by different names at different times - Ramachandra Temple and Chaturbhuj Temple being two of its known names. There is a four-armed idol of Vishnu that stands in the sanctum. It differs from other temples in this cluster in having only two bands of sculptures along its outer walls above the plinth, where all the others have three bands. The mouldings of the plinth are much richer than the other temples - depicting boar-hunts, marching armies with horses and elephants, and soldiers with a variety of weapons.
The sanctum has an idol of Vishnu with three heads - the central one being human, and the two sides being that of a boar and a lion. The lintel features Lakshmi in the center, with Brahma and Shiva by her sides. The upper lintel frieze has the Navagrahas in the niches. The sanctum doorway has saptasakhas, with various incarnations of Vishnu in the center.
There are four subordinate temples at the four corners of the terrace on which it stands - each with an idol of Vishnu in a central position over the entrance. The two at the back (north-west and south-west corners) face east, while the two in front face each other towards the entrance of the main temple. All of these have survived largely intact. There is a fifth subordinate temple in the same group which stands on the east of the main temple, facing it. It has a four-armed Lakshmi idol. There is a steep set of stairs leading up to this temple, placing it at the same elevation as the Lakshmana temple.

The Pratapeshwara Temple is of recent vintage and was built during the reign of King Pratap Singh of Chhatrapur, in the first half of the 19th century. It is a Shiva temple that has few characteristics of the other Chandela temples in the cluster. It has a mukha-mandapa, a maha-mandapa, and a garbha griha. Unusually for a temple, the mukha mandapa has a dome-shaped shikhara with two smaller-sized domed chhatris at the front corners. The spire above the maha mandapa is pyramidal with a succession of pidhas of diminishing size, while the shikhara above the sanctum is of nagara style with a curvilinear profile. The walls are plain with a succession of arches and pilasters.

The Matangeshwara Temple enshrines one of the largest Shiva Linga - standing at about 2.4m in height and a circumference of 1m. The lingam is so tall that it has a pedestal half-way up its height from which devotees may worship the lingam. It is a square of about 10.7m in plan, with a projecting porch 5.5m long on each side. It has a pyramidal roof topped by an amalaka with a kalasha, while there is a shuka-nashika projection on the east mounted by a lion.

The Varaha Pavilion is in front of the Lakshmana temple. It is made entirely of sandstone, and has a rectangular plan with a pyramidal roof. The ceiling has overlapping squares, topped by a slab with a circular medallion. There are three pillars at each corner, and two on the western side, forming the entrance. There is a 1.75m tall figure of a standing boar in the pavilion, facing the entrance. The body and legs of the boar are covered by more than 650 figures of humans and sages and deities, while the snout features two boats, one on each side, with people rowing them. There is an image of a snake between the feet of the boar. It is believed that there was an idol of mother earth, Bhudevi in the front of this idol.

The Parshvanath Temple has a Parshvanath idol installed in the main sanctum, with an idol of Adinatha installed in a secondary sanctum on the rear, making it a rare example of a temple with two entrances and sancta. It is the largest of the Jain temples in Khajuraho, and has a fully developed mukha mandapa, a maha mandapa, an antarala and the sanctum. The outer walls feature numerous sculptures of women, flying vidyadharas, and depictions of Hindu deities with their respective consorts.

The Adinath Temple is a Jain temple in the south-eastern cluster of which only the garbha griha and antarala have survived. The antarala roof is saptaratha in plan and elevation. Its outer walls are covered with idols drawn from Hindu mythology, with the ashtadikpalakas - Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirriti, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, and Ishana standing guardians over the eight points of the compass. These is a band of flying Vidyadharas which form the top band of the jangha.

The Shantinath Temple is marked as Temple No. 1 (of a total of sixteen temples in this cluster) and is in active use. It has three spires in Nagara style, with two taller ones flanking a shorter one in the center. The doorjambs and lintels are covered with exquisite carvings, while images of Jain tirthankaras are installed in the sancta.

The Dulhadeo Temple is also known as the Kunwar Math, and is of a more recent vintage than the other heritage temples in Khajuraho, and was probably built in the period 1110-1150 CE. It is a Shiva temple in the Nirandhara style. It has the usual sections - mukha mandapa, maha mandapa, antarala, and garbha griha. Its shikhara has been built with three row chariots of miniature shikhara. The octagonal maha mandap of this temple has 20 brackets with statues of apsaras.

The Chaturbhuj Temple is a Vishnu temple built in the nirandhara style, with the usual four chambers - mukha mandapa, maha mandapa, antarala, and the garbha gruha. The sanctum has a large idol of four-armed Vishnu in tribhanga pose. The shikhara is of nagara style and is devoid of any significant ornamentation. The outer walls of the temple are profusely decorated with deities, surasundaris, flying vidyadharas, vyalis, floral, and geometric patterns. The images of Ardhanareeswara (north), Narasimha (south), and Shiva (west) are noteworthy. The rear (western) wall features an image of Surya, the sun god, seated in cross-legged pose with seven small horses below the platform on which he is seated. This is an unusual depiction of a Hindu god in a cross-legged pose, as this is usually the pose in which the Buddha and Jain Tirthankaras are more usually depicted, with Hindu gods either in standing pose, or sitting with one (or both) legs on the ground.