Famous Temples in India

Architecture

The name Khajuraho is derived from its Sanskrit nomenclature ‘Kharjuravahaka’ which is the confluence of two Sanskrit words ‘Kharjur’ meaning date palm and ‘Vahaka’ meaning bearer. There are about 25 temples spread over an area of approximately 6 square Km. The temples are grouped into three categories depending on their orientation – the Western Group of Temples, the Eastern Group of Temples and the Southern Group of Temples. These temples are dedicated to several Hindu Gods and Goddesses along with deities in Jain beliefs. Among the temples that are standing till now, 6 are dedicated to Lord Shiva, 8 to Lord Vishnu, 1 each to Lord Ganesha and the Sun God, while 3 are dedicated to Jain Tirthankaras. The temples are famous for their Nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculptures. Built upon granite foundations, these temples are made using sandstone. Like most Hindu temples, the shrines at Khajuraho follow the Vastu-Purusha-Mandala design plan. Another characteristic feature of these temples is that the sculptures are arranged in symmetric repeating arrangements, even though every image is unique. Highly ornate carvings adorn the walls, pillars, ceilings of these temples. Barring one, every temple at Khajuraho faces the east and has an entrance in this direction. 

Mandapa is a hall in the temple, forming a transitional space between the Mahamandapa and Ardhamandapa. Mahamandapa is the temple's main entrance-hall, separated from the garbhagriha by an antarala. At Khajuraho, a mahamandapa is indiacted by the bumped-out portions which are perpendicular to the temple's main axis. Antarala is a transitional space between a temple's main hall and the inner sanctum. The exterior panels on these elements are the primary sites for large panels with erotic sculptures. Garbagirha is the temple's inner sanctum that contains the image of the temple's primary deity. It is found in almost all large Hindu temples, in the world. Urushringa are the smaller towers on the temple's exterior that would lead the eye up to the highest point. Adhishsthana is the raised base on which a temple was built. These are high especially in the temples at Khajuraho. Khajuraho Temples are made mostly with sand-stone of variety of colours from pale buff, yellow and pink and brown. There are certain temples in which Granite stone is also used. Carving work on Granite is comparatively tough. On the other hand as Sand-stone is softer than Granite, sculpturer might have considered this property also while choosing the stone for most of the Temples. In ancient times, sulpturers are known by the name of “Shilp-shastri” or “Shilpi” means one who do sculpture art. Finishing of Sand-stone is much fine and accurate. Sculpture of Khajuraho can be divided into five broad categories.

• Cult images
• Family, attendant and enclosing divinities
• Heaven Nymphs
• Animals & other Species
• Miscellaneous themes like teacher & disciples, dancers, musicians etc

INSCRIPTIONS - Inscriptions at the Khajuraho temples indicate that these shrines were constructed from the period of 950 to 1050 A.D. The construction of the temple is attributed to the rulers of the Chandela dynasty. It is believed that the temple site, covering an area of 20 sq. km had around 85 temples during the 12th-century. However, only 25 temples out of these have managed to defy the test of time and survive till date. These temples are spread across an area of 6 sq. km today. It’s interesting to note that the Khajuraho group of temples are linked to two religions – Jainism and Hinduism. The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is the largest and the most famous one among the surviving temples. It is adorned with innumerable sculptures exhibiting intricate details that mirror the richness of ancient Indian architecture.

WESTERN GROUP OF TEMPLES - The western group of temples comprising of the Lakshmana Temple, Kandariya Mahadev Temple, Devi Jagadambi Temple, Chausat Yogini Temple, Chitragupta Temple, Matangeshwara Temple, and Vishwanath Temple.

DEVI MANDAP : Opposite the large Lakshman Temple are two small shrines. The one directly opposite is called Devi Mandap, its cemented peaked roof an indication that it has been renovated during the last century. 

VARAHA MANDAP : This open pavilion stands to the south of the Devi shrine on a high platform. The mandap stands elevated above the ground with 14 short pillars that support the high pyramidal roof capped with an amalaka and kalash. As you ascend the stairs and enter, the beauty of this little pavilion become evident. A low parapet wall forms the side of the mandap, and here you can sit on the soft smoothened stone and admire the image of Varaha. Directly under the pyramidal roof stands an enormous monolithic image of the Varaha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, lord of preservation. The image is made out of a single block of sandstone that measures 2.6 metres long and 1.7 metres high. The stone shines like burnished metal and is one of the most unusual sculptures of Khajuraho. This powerful image of Varaha represents this cosmic event. Varaha stands firm on all four feet, and near his front feet are the remains of a lovely pair of female feet where once stood the figure of the graceful earth goddess. of the Khajuraho temple design. The Vishvanath Temple profile reveals that the purpose of the balconies is to create a double cross and an undulating ground plan that does not even hint at monotony. The balconies also provide light and ventilation to the inner mandaps. From the outside, as light streams through the balcony openings, they appear to hoist the upper levels, the roofs and shikhara, off the base, making the whole temple seem weightless as if it were floating in space. Another remarkable architectural achievement of the design is the interplay of opposites. There is a balance achieved in the play of macro and the micro, the monumental and the subtlest detail, of light and shadows, of horizontals and verticals. The sculptural bands accentuate the earth-bound horizontals of the building while the recesses and projections steer the temple skyward. In bringing together these opposites the artists have succeeded in creating a sense of perfect balance, controlled equilibrium and creative harmony. This harmony is one of the highest canons of art and has been fully realized in the architecture and sculpture of Khajuraho.

LAKSHMAN TEMPLE : This striking temple stands facing the Varaha and Devi mandaps. lt is one of the.three largest temples of Khajuraho and the Western Group and is considered to be the earliest (c. AD 954) to have been built by the Chandella rulers. The temple faces the east and is dedicated to Vishnu, by a rather inappropriate name of Lakshman, the brother of Ram, the hero king ofthe epic poem Ramayana. The temple is as tall as it is long, measuring approximately 25.9 metres in lengtlh. lt is raised on a high platform which also has some interesting sculptures (royal processions, Court scenes) that you can see before ascending the temple stairs. The lakshman Temple stands like a gaint mountain of stone at the centre, and is unique in khajuraho for its four subsidiary shrines at the four corners of its rectangular platform. Above the elephants, the moulded adhishthana has flower and leaf motifs, a narrow panel depicting court life and erotic scenes. This tall base of the temple is punctuated by ornamental niches, with an adorable figure of dancing Ganesh in the first followed by images of the seven principal male deities of the Hindu Pantheon and ending on the north side with a gorgeous image of the goddess. Above the adhishthana are two bands offigurative sculptures that wind in and around the projections and corners ofthe temple. 

lt is estimated that there are over 230 figurative sculptures on these bands and each band is about a metre high. There are images of the dikhpalas placed at and facing the ditections that they Protect. One band has figures of Vishnu Rhile another has those of shiva. Beside the deities are the voluptuous figures of women, each engaged in some worldly activity before she realizes the presence of the divine surrounding her. The large erotic sculptures adorning the main body of the temple are placed, as in all the other temples in Khajuraho, on the south and north sides, between the two balconies. On the south side (also seen from the staircase of the Matangeshvar Temple) the top panel depicts a bearded god, identified as Agni; beneath is the figure of the divine bridegroom walking in procession accompanied by musicians. Belo, on the lower panel is Shiva with his top-knot still secure, embracing his wife Parvati and sharing a passionate kiss that has lasted a thousand god years! The temple has only one entrance on the east side, Set at the top of the stairs. The porch has a pretty toran or stone garland above the enttance. Cemented along the porch wall is the Challdella stone inscription found in the vicinity of tlhe temple. The inscription, written in A.D. 954, records that Yashovarman, the seventh Chandella ruler, constructed a temple to Vishnu and was succeeded by his son Dhangadeva. It is therefore assumed that Lakshman Temple was built just before A.D. 954.

KANDARIYA MAHADEV TEMPLE : This is without any doubt the largest and most magnificent temple in Khajuraho. Kandariya Mahadev shares its high platform with the small Mahadev shrine and the medium - sized Devi jagdambi Temple, thereby accentuating its height and grandeur. After the Kandariya Mahaddev temple, the artist of khajuraho never again attempted to build a strcuture so high or ornate. The temple measures about 30 metres in lenght and 20 m width. The temple shikhara rises 35.3 metres in length above the ground. The name Kandaya Mahadev refers also to Shiva, the ascetic who dwells in a mountain cave, lost in meditation. In profile the pyramidal porch, mandap roofs and conical shikhara looks like a range of mountain staraining upwards till it meets the sky, or shiva. The shikhara of the kandariya Mahadev Temples is borad at the base and in graceful curve grow narrower as it reaches the pinnacle. It is built up of over righty replica shikharas that appear to be clambering up the central tower, giving it bothe force and momnetum on its skyward journey towards divinity. The Plan of the Mahadev Temple is similar to the Lakshman and Vishvanath Temples with all the rooms aligned east to west on a central axis. Two balconies project on the south and north sides giving the shape of a double Cross. The adhisthana or base of the temple is three metres high and made up of a series of architectural mouldings. On this area of the building thre is a narrow band depicting court life. the nine niches around the temple contain images of Ganesh, the seven mother goddesses or sapta Matrikas.

MAHADEV SHRINE : Between the Kandariya and the Devi Jagdambi Temples is a small shrine whose purpose is difficult to ascertain. It is called the Mahadev Shrine and consists of a small open - pillared porch and sanctum, the structure has suffered further through renovations during the last century. A figure of the rampant lion fighting with a kneeling figure, presumed to be the emblem of the chandellas, has some reason been installed in the porch, there are two similar rampant lion figures on the platform of the Kandariya Madadev and Devi temples.

DEVI JAGADAMBI TEMPLE : This is much smaller than the magnificent Kandariya Mahadev Temlple. lt has a cross plan with only on set of balconies, only one mandap and no inner pradakshina patha. The little niches on the south, west and north sides have endearing images of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma embracing their consorts. The south side lower niche has an image of Varaha, depicted with a human body and a boar head, emerging from the primeval waters carrying the earth goddess Bhudevi on his arm. There are several such depictions and each visitor soon identifies his or her favourite masterpiece. On the west side are most facinating sculptures, one depictling a woman with her beautiful back turned to the on looker. She is preoccupied in gazing at her beauty in the mirror, her scarf falling over her. shoulder most provocatively.

EASTERN GROUP OF TEMPLES - The Eastern Group of Temples includes the Parasvanath Temple, Ghantai Temple, Adinath Temple, Hanuman Temple, Brahma Temple, Vamana Temple and Javari Temple. 

BRAMHA TEMPLE - It is located on the banks of Khajur Lake or Khajuraho Sagar. The temple is believed to be named after the Hindu Lord Brahma owing to the presence of a four-faced linga in the sanctum that represents the Creator of the World. However, historians are of the view that the temple was wrongly named, and it was actually dedicated to the Hindu Lord Vishnu. The reason for this belief is the presence of Vishnu's image on the lintel of the door of the sanctum. Adding to the marvellous architecture of the sanctum is a pyramid-shaped sikhara or apex. Constructed using sandstone and granite, the temple is beautiful and awe-inspiring. The brahma temple symbolizes one of the principal problems in studying Khajuraho. When captain Burt discovered the temples he records that they had been abandoned and left to ruin. Many of the original names of the temples had been forgotten. Today this shrine is called Brahma, but it has a Shiva linga in the Sanctum and the lintel above the sanctum door clearly indicates that it once was dedicated to Vishnu. It is a robust little structure that stands on a square plan that consists of only a sanctum and a porch. The walls of the temples are unadorned with heavy figurative work. The stone latttice windows project a little from three walls, a mere suggestion of the dramatic balconies of the larger temples of the Western Group. The roof, instead of being in the characteristic conical shikhara form, is like those above the large temple mandap-pyramidal and unique and carries the five manifestations of shiva, a composite image of his powers and potentialities.

JAVARI TEMPLE - Down the path from the Bramha Temples and situated to the east, in the middle of a field, is the small platform on which this temple stands. The name Javari is derived from the one time owner of the land, or so it is assumed, for there is no hindu deity bearing this title. The temple is diminutive and its proportions are attractive, measuring 11.88 meters in length and 6.4 meters in breath. The temple, though substantially renovated, has the characterstic exterior walls lined with bands of sculptures, niches on the cardinal points, but all in miniature form. The dainty roof over the porch grows to meet the pyramidal mandap roof and this leads the eye to the elegant shikhara above the sanctum. The temple, dedicated to Vishnu, consists of a long porch entered through a nice stone toran. The Makara - Toran has four decorated loops crowned by a kirtimukha. The mandap is small as is the garbha griha. This structure is similar in style to the chaturbhuj Temple.

VAMANA TEMPLE - The Path from the Brahma Temple leads north to the Vamana Temple enclosure. The temples looks out on the surrounding feilds and every season it has a different aspect, whether against a foreground of a ripening green crop or the golden - yellow harvest. The temples is of mediun size and the western group. Unfortunately the porch of the temple has collapsed, and without it tooks a little stunted. It measures 19.1 meters in lenght and 13.9 meters in breath ( while the Devi Jagadambi is 23.4 meters long and 14.9 meters wide). The Vamana temple consist of a mandap and garbha graha which contains the Drawf images of vamana, an incarnation of vishnu. Vamana Temple is dedicated to the Dwarf incarnation of Vishnu. Around the temple are two band of sculptures with almost 3000 figures, though this is only half the number to be found in any of the larger temples of the western Group.

SOUTHERN GROUP OF TEMPLES - The Southern Temples Group include the Dulhadev Temple, Beejamandal Temple and Chaturbhuj or Jatkari Temple.

DULADEO TEMPLES : The temple, judging from a 1904 photograph, was severely damaged, its shikhara had all but collapsed and the mandap roof caved in, but the entire porch and a wide open madap with an amazing circular corbelled inner replicas. The dancing figures on the pillars and pilasters of the mandap are noteworthy for their vigour and energetic stances. The temple is also called the kunwar math, and along with the term Dula is associated with notion of the Bridegroom's temple. The exterior walls of the temples have repeated the images of the Divine Bridegroom and his consort. The western wall, which is the part of the temple that is better preserved, has three distinct bands of sculpture. The top most level is decorated with celestial musicians and garland bearers, the next two lower levels have magnificent images of shiva the Bridegroom, the other deities, mythical creatures and in the deep recesses are portrayals of lovers and maithuna couples. The sculptures of the duladeo temple are refined, slim and well proportioned. The shikhara begins its upward journey from a transitional bas of small shikharas, and then rises up in a dramatic conical form surrounded by miniature replicas of itelf along the sides. This temple is considered by historians to be one of the the last monuments to be built in khajuraho.

CHATURBHUJ TEMPLES: This stands off the main Khajuraho Airport or Bamitha road. It is approximately three kilometers south of Khajuraho and is approached by a motorable road. The temples stands lonely and serene on a high platform against the backdrop off the Lavanya hills. This is the only important temple in Khajuraho that faces west and it is worth saving your sunset to visit this little shrine. The temple is similar to Javari of the eastern group of temples but like all temples in Khajuraho, it is too unique. The temple has a shallow porch, a little mandap surmounted by a peaked roof and a small square garbha griha above which rises a tall, slim shikhara. The outer walls of the temple are organized into three bands of sculpture and there are a number of unusual niche figures, including the consort of Narasimha, on the north side. Entering the temple one is overpowered by the ornamental doorway and the enormous image within the sanctum. The image is carved out of a single stone and stands 2.75 meters high. The figures stands of the magnificent male torso, slim but firm limbs, the calm expression of the face, dominant chin, large meditative eyes and full lips are breathtaking. At sunset the sun comes streaming in and falls on the figure, lighting it in such a way that it appears to be pulsating with life.