The Khajuraho Group of Monuments are a group of Hindu and Digambara Jain temples in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh, India. They are about 46 km (28.6 mi) from Chhatarpur city, the district headquarters, 283 km (177 mi) from Gwalior, southeast of Jhansi, from Khajwa and from Rajnagar. The temples are famous for their Nagara-style architectural symbolism and a few erotic sculptures.Philip Wilkinson (2008), India: People, Place, Culture and History, , pp 352-353
Most Khajuraho temples were built between 885 CE and 1000 CE by the Chandela dynasty. Historical records note that the Khajuraho temple site had 85 temples by the 12th century, spread over . Of these, only about 25 temples have survived, spread over . Of the surviving temples, the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is decorated with a profusion of sculptures with intricate details, symbolism, and expressiveness of ancient Indian art.Devangana Desai (2005), Khajuraho, Oxford University Press, Sixth Print, The temple complex was forgotten and overgrown by the jungle until 1838 when Captain T.S. Burt, a British engineer, visited the complex and reported his findings in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.Slaczka, Anna. “Temples, Inscriptions and Misconceptions: Charles-Louis Fábri and the Khajuraho ‘Apsaras.’” The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 60, no. 3 (2012): 212–33. See p. 217.
When these monuments were built, the boys in the place lived in hermitages, by being brahmacharyas (bachelors) until they attained manhood and these sculptures helped them to learn about the worldly role of 'householder'. The Khajuraho group of temples were built together but were dedicated to two religions, Hinduism and Jainism, suggesting a tradition of acceptance and respect for diverse religious views among Hindus and Jains in the region.James Fergusson, Northern or Indo-Aryan Style - Khajuraho History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, Updated by James Burgess and R. Phene Spiers (1910), Volume II, John Murray, London Because of their outstanding architecture, diversity of temple forms, and testimony to the Chandela civilization, the monuments at Khajuraho were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986.
Etymology The name Khajuraho, or Kharjuravāhaka, is derived from ancient Sanskrit (kharjura, खर्जूर means date palm,kharjUra Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany and vāhaka, वाहक means "one who carries" or bearervAhaka Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany). Local legends state that the temples had two golden date-palm trees as their gate (missing when they were rediscovered). Desai states that Kharjuravāhaka also means scorpion bearer, which is another symbolic name for deity Shiva (who wears snakes and scorpion garlands in his fierce form).
Cunningham's nomenclature and systematic documentation work in the 1850s and 1860s have been widely adopted and continue to be in use. He grouped the temples into the Western group around Lakshmana, Eastern group around Javeri, and Southern group around Duladeva.Rana Singh (2007), Landscape of sacred territory of Khajuraho, in City Society and Planning (Editors: Thakur, Pomeroy, et al), Volume 2, , Chapter 18
Location
The Khajuraho monuments are located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, in Chhatarpur district, about southeast of New Delhi. The temples are located near a small town also known as Khajuraho, with a population of about 24,481 people (2011 Census).
Khajuraho is served by Civil Aerodrome Khajuraho (IATA Code: HJR), with services to Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Mumbai.Khajuraho airport AAI, Govt of India The site is also linked by the Indian Railways service, with the railway station located approximately six kilometres from the entrance to the monuments.
The monuments are about ten kilometres off the east-west National Highway 75, and about 50 kilometres from the city of Chhatarpur, which is connected to the state capital Bhopal by the SW-NE running National Highway 86.
The 10th-century Bhand Deva Temple in Rajasthan was built in the style of the Khajuraho monuments and is often referred to as 'Little Khajuraho'.
History The Khajuraho group of monuments was built during the rule of the Chandela dynasty. The building activity started almost immediately after the rise of their power, throughout their kingdom to be later known as Bundelkhand.G.S. Ghurye, Rajput Architecture, , Reprint Year: 2005, pp 19-24 Most temples were built during the reigns of the Hindu kings Yashovarman and Dhanga. Yashovarman's legacy is best exhibited by the Lakshmana Temple. Vishvanatha temple best highlights King Dhanga's reign. The largest and currently most famous surviving temple is Kandariya Mahadeva built in the reign of King Vidyadhara. The temple inscriptions suggest many of the currently surviving temples were complete between 970 and 1030 CE, with further temples completed during the following decades.
The Khajuraho temples were built about 35 miles from the medieval city of Mahoba,also called Erakana the capital of the Chandela dynasty, in the Kalinjar region. In ancient and medieval literature, their kingdom has been referred to as Jijhoti, Jejahoti, Chih-chi-to and Jejakabhukti.Mitra (1977), The early rulers of Khajuraho,
The first documented mention of Khajuraho was made in 641 by Xuanzang, a Chinese pilgrim who described encountering several dozen inactive Buddhist monasteries and a dozen Hindu temples with a thousand worshipping brahmins. In 1022 CE, Khajuraho was mentioned by Abu Rihan-al-Biruni, the Persian historian who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni in his raid of Kalinjar; he mentions Khajuraho as the capital of Jajahuti.J. Banerjea (1960), Khajuraho, Journal of the Asiatic Society, Vol. 2-3, pp 43-47 The raid was unsuccessful, and a peace accord was reached when the Hindu king agreed to pay a ransom to Mahmud of Ghazni to end the attack and leave.
Khajuraho temples were in active use through the end of the 12th century. This changed in the 13th century; after the army of Delhi Sultanate, under the command of the Muslim Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak, attacked and seized the Chandela kingdom. About a century later, Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller in his memoirs about his stay in India from 1335 to 1342 CE, mentioned visiting Khajuraho temples, calling them "Kajarra"phonetically translated from Arabic sometimes as "Kajwara"Director General of Archaeology in India (1959), Archaeological Survey of India, Ancient India, Issues 15-19, pp 45-46 (Archived: University of Michigan) as follows:
The central Indian region, where Khajuraho temples are, was controlled by various Muslim dynasties from the 13th century through the 18th century. In this period, some temples were desecrated, followed by a long period when they were left in neglect. In 1495 CE, for example, Sikandar Lodi's campaign of temple destruction included Khajuraho.Michael D. Willis, An Introduction to the Historical Geography of Gopakṣetra, Daśārṇa, and Jejākadeśa, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 51, No. 2 (1988), pp. 271–278; See also K.R. Qanungo (1965), Sher Shah and his times, Orient Longmans, , pp 423-427 The remoteness and isolation of Khajuraho protected the Hindu and Jain temples from continued destruction by Muslims.Trudy King et al., Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places, , Routledge, pp 468-470Alain Daniélou (2011), A Brief History of India, , pp 221-227 Over the centuries, vegetation and forests overgrew the temples.
In the 1830s, local Hindus guided a British surveyor, T.S. Burt, to the temples and they were thus rediscovered by the global audience.Louise Nicholson (2007), India, National Geographic Society, , see Chapter on Khajuraho Alexander Cunningham later reported, few years after the rediscovery, that the temples were secretly in use by yogis and thousands of Hindus would arrive for pilgrimage during Shivaratri celebrated annually in February or March based on a lunar calendar. In 1852, F.C. Maisey prepared earliest drawings of the Khajuraho temples.Krishna Deva (1990), Temples of Khajuraho, 2 Volumes, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi
Description
The temple site is within Vindhya mountain range in central India. An ancient local legend held that Hindu deity Shiva and other gods enjoyed visiting the dramatic hill formation in Kalinjar area. The center of this region is Khajuraho, set midst local hills and rivers. The temple complex reflects the ancient Hindu tradition of building temples where gods love to pray.
The temples are clustered near water, another typical feature of Hindu temples. The current water bodies include Sib Sagar, Khajur Sagar (also called Ninora Tal) and Khudar Nadi (river).Ibn Battuta in his 1335 CE memoirs on Delhi Sultanate mentioned the temples to be near a mile-long lake, modern water bodies are much smaller and separate lagoons; Director General of Archaeology in India (1959), Archaeological Survey of India, Ancient India, Issues 15-19, pp 45-46 (Archived: University of Michigan) Local legends state that the temple complex had 64 water bodies, of which 56 have been physically identified by archeologists so far.The number 64 is considered sacred in Hindu temple design and very common design basis; it is symbolic as it is both a square of 8 and a cube of 4.
All temples, except one (Chaturbhuja) face the sunrise – another symbolic feature that is predominant in Hindu temples. The relative layout of temples integrate masculine and feminine deities and symbols highlight the interdependence.Shobita Punja (1992), Divine Ecstasy - The Story of Khajuraho, Viking, New Delhi, The artworks symbolically highlight the four goals of life considered necessary and proper in Hinduism – dharma, kama, artha and moksha.
Of the surviving temples, six are dedicated to Shiva, eight to Vishnu and his affinities, one to Ganesha, one to Sun god, three to Jain Tirthankars. For some ruins, there is insufficient evidence to assign the temple to specific deities with confidence.
An overall examination of site suggests that the Hindu symbolic mandala design principle of square and circles is present each temple plan and design.Brahma temple is 19 feet square; Kandariya Mahadev has a four fused square grid; Matangeshvara temple is a 64 grid square; etc. See G.S. Ghurye, Rajput Architecture, , Reprint Year: 2005, pp 19-25; and V.A. Smith (1879), "Observations on some Chandel Antiquities", Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 48, Part 1, pp 291-297 Further, the territory is laid out in three triangles that converge to form a pentagon. Scholars suggest that this reflects the Hindu symbolism for three realms or trilokinatha, and five cosmic substances or panchbhuteshvara. The temple site highlights Shiva, the one who destroys and recycles life, thereby controlling the cosmic dance of time, evolution and dissolution.