Khajuraho is a village located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh specifically in the Chhatarpur district, around 620km southeast of the capital of India, Delhi.
Khajuraho holds the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain Temples that were carved between 950AD and 1050AD under reign of Chandela Empire, being the best examples of the north Indian Nagda style of temple architecture.
Khajuraho is the best place to see if you want to proof that the Kama Sutra origins was in India. Eroticism abounds here with over 20 temples devoted to sexuality and sex. In this way the temples are known for their amazing vivid erotic sculptures and show a celebration of love, life and worship.
In addition they also provide an uninhibited peek into ancient Hindu faith and Tantric practices.
The woman is the one motif in the temples of Khajuraho. There are sculptures and images that represent a women grooming, dancing, playing with her child, applying kohl to her eyes, among other activities.
The infinite beauty of a woman has been wonderfully etched in stone. The sculptures delineate the joy of worldly wealth and sensual pleasure while they observe one’s dharma. It also believed that the temples were built keeping in mind a specific purpose.
As was customary in the olden days, the boys had to live in hermitages until the time they got matured and attained manhood. They found it a bit difficult to fit in with the role of a householder. Therefore, they studied these sculptures and understood human passions.
At the beginning they were a total of 85, but only 22 exist today and these have been segregated into three directional areas in which are located the major groups of temples: the western, the eastern and the southern.
No doubt these temples proof the superb workmanship and represented the imaginativeness of the Chandela rulers, asserting the splendid architectural growth in the medieval period.
The most celebrated of all three are the Western Group of temples with the largest and the most prominent ones. They are entirely Hindu and constitute some of the finest examples of Chandela art. Kandhariya Mahadev is the largest and dedicated to Lord Shiva has 31m height and it has a total of around 900 statues followed by Chaunsath Yogini, the oldest and a granite temple.
The Chitragupta Temple is dedicated to the Sun God and has an impressive image of the god, while the Vishwanath Temple sports a three-headed image of Brahma, the Creator of the Universe.
The Lakshmana Temple is superbly decorated, and the Devi Jagdambi Temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali. In addition other temples include in this group are the Varaha Temple with a nine-feet high boar-incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Matangeshwara Temple with an eight-feet high lingam and the Brahma Temple.
The Eastern Group has three Jain temple and three Hindu temples. The Parsavanatha Temple is the largest in the group, sculpted with charming detail. The Ghantai Temple displays a frieze portraying the 16 dreams of Mahavira's mother.
The Adinatha Temple is dedicated to Jain saint Adinathais embellished with sculpted figures. The Brahma Temple , the Vamana Temple and the Javari Temple that has a richly-carved doorway, are the three Hindu temples which include this group.
The Southern Group consists of two temples: the Duladeo Temple, one of the last temples of the Chandela era, dedicated to Lord Shiva and the Chaturbhuj Temple that stand at a distance of 5 km from the Khajuraho village with a massive, carved image of Vishnu.
Symbolising a medieval legacy, the Khajuraho temples of India are a perfect fusion of architectural and sculptural excellence, representing one of the finest examples of Indian art.