The paradox of Khajuraho temples

Posted by yashi ganguly on July 20th, 2017

Khajuraho is indeed one of the finest examples of Indian architecture. The Khajuraho temples were built about 35 miles from the medieval city of Mahoba, the capital of the Chandela dynasty.

Tucked in remote central Indian region they were lost for many years in the palm trees. In the 1830s, locals guided a British surveyor, T.S. Burt, to the temples and they were thus rediscovered by the global audience. Khajuraho gets its name from the palm trees that are abundant in the area. Khajuraho temples have often been dubbed as temples of love.

The Khajuraho group of monuments was built during the rule of the Rajput Chandela dynasty. 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 the 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.
They are one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. The temples are famous for their nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculptures.

Khajuraho temples were in active use through the end of 12th century. Until the 12th century, Khajuraho was under Hindu kings and featured 85 temples. Ruins of some old temples are still scattered around. 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. If one wants to understand the Khajuraho one would do well to download Khajuraho Architecture Images that can be downloaded from Imagecourt.com

They are indeed controversial and amusing at the same time for the erotic figurines that are all over the walls of the temples. These figurines cherish Kamasutra the ancient Indian book of the art of love making. Indeed one wonders what that has to do with the love of almighty and the rationale of putting them on the temple walls. After all, if someone wanted to talk about Kamasutra he could have done it elsewhere.

Some experts hold that one can reach God only when he has overcome his desires, hence the figurine on the walls before you enter the temple. Another theory suggests that it was a conscious effort to bring back the attention of people to worldly things as people were turning to religion in large numbers. Whatever be the reason we would never know for sure but that indeed gives one of the unique temples in the world that is about reaching out to God as well as to be grounded in the worldly desires.

The Hindu symbolic mandala design principle of square and circles is present each temple plan and design. 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. Khajuraho Architecture Images depict the intricacies of the Khajuraho architecture.

The temples have a rich display of intricately carved statues. While they are famous for their erotic sculpture, sexual themes cover less than 10% of the temple sculpture. Further, most erotic scene panels are neither prominent nor emphasized at the expense of the rest, rather they are in proportional balance with the nonsexual images. The statues cover numerous aspects of human life and values considered important in the Hindu pantheon. Khajuraho Architecture Images are available on Imagecourt.com which is indeed one of the premier stock photo websites for Indian Monuments Images.