Khajuraho Group of Monuments

2008-04-02T03:31:45Z

76.186.94.150:

{{Infobox World Heritage Site
| WHS = Khajuraho Group of Monuments
| Image = [[Image:Khajuraho5.jpg|275px|A typical temple at Khajuraho with divine couples. Note lace-like ornamentation on the major and the minor shikharas.]]
| State Party = {{IND}}
| Type = Cultural
| Criteria = i, iii
| ID = 240
| Region = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia|Asia-Pacific]]
| Year = 1986
| Session = 10th
| Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/240
}}

'''Khajuraho''' ({{lang-hi|खजुराहो}}) is a village in the [[States and territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Madhya Pradesh]], located in [[Chhatarpur District]], about 385 miles (620 kilometres) southeast of [[Delhi]], the capital city of [[India]].

The Khajuraho group of monuments has been listed as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].

One of the most popular [[tourist destinations in India]], Khajuraho has the largest group of [[medieval]] [[Hindu]] and [[Jain]] [[temple]]s, famous for their [[erotic sculpture]]. The name Khajuraho is derived from the [[Hindi]] word ''khajur'' meaning ''[[date palm]]''.

hi

==Geography==
Khajuraho is located at {{coor d|24.85|N|79.93|E|}}<ref>[http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/35/Khajuraho.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Khajuraho]</ref>. It has an average elevation of 283 [[metre]]s (928 [[foot (unit of length)|feet]])

== Architecture ==
The Khajuraho temples, constructed with spiral superstructures, adhere to a northern Indian [[shikhara]] temple style and often to a [[Panchayatana]] plan or layout. A few of the temples are dedicated to the [[Jain]] pantheon and the rest to Hindu deities - to God's Trio, [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]] and [[Shiva]], and various [[Devi]] forms, such as the [[Devi Jagadambi temple]]. A Panchayatana temple had four subordinate shrines on four corners and the main shrine in the center of the podium, which comprises their base. The temples are grouped into three geographical divisions: western, eastern and southern.

With a graded rise secondary shikharas (spires) cluster to create an appropriate base for the main shikhara over the sanctum. [[Kandariya Mahadeva]], one of the most accomplished temples of the Western group, comprises eighty-four shikharas, the main being 116 feet from the ground level.

[[Image:Khajuraho-Lakshmana temple.JPG|left|thumb||275px|Lakshmana temple at Khajuraho, a [[panchayatana]] temple. Two of the four secondary shrines can be seen. [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Khajuraho_tempel_india.jpg Another view] ]]
These shikharas -- subordinate and main -- attribute to the Khajuraho temples their unique splendor and special character. With a graded rise of these shikharas from over the [[ardhamandapa]], porch, to [[mandapa]], assembly hall, [[mahamandapa]], principal assembly hall, [[antarala]], vestibule, and [[garbhagriha]], [[sanctum sanctorum]], the Khajuraho temples attain the form and glory of gradually rising [[Himalaya]]n peaks. These temples of Khajuraho have sculptures that look very realistic and are studied even today.

The [[Saraswathi]] temple on the campus of [[Birla Institute of Technology and Science]], [[Pilani]], India is modeled after the Khajuraho temple.
<br>
<br>
<br>

==Chronology==
The temples have been assigned the following historical sequence by Dr. Kanhaiyalal Agrawal <ref>Khajuraho, Kanhaiyalal Agrawal, Macmillan India, 1980 (in Hindi)</ref>.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
| '''Sequence'''
| '''Modern name'''
| '''Original Deity'''
| '''Note'''
|-
| 1
| Chausath Yogini
| 64 Yoginis
| Est 9th c.
|-
| 2
| Brahma
| Vishnu
| Eastern group
|-
| 3
| Lalgun Mahadev
| Jina?
| Contemp to 2
|-
| 4
| Matangeshwar
| Siva
| In active worship
|-
| 5
| Varaha
| Varaha
|
|-
| 6
| Lakshman
| Vaikuntha Vishnu
| Lakshavarma Inscription
|-
| 7
| Parshvanath
| Adinath
| Pahil inscription 954 AD, [[Jain temples of Khajuraho|Jain Compound]]
|-
| 8
| Vishvanath
| Shiva
| Dhanga inscription Sam 1059
|-
| 9
| Devi Jagadambi
| Vishnu
|
|-
| 10
| Chitragupta
| Surya
|
|-
| 11
| [[Kandariya Mahadeva]]
| Shiva
| Largest
|-
| 12
| Vamana
| Vamana
| Eastern Group
|-
| 13
| Adinath
| Jina
| Jain compound
|-
| 14
| Jawari
| Vishnu
| Eastern group
|-
| 15
| Chaturbhuja
| Vishnu
|
|-
| 16
| Duladev
| Shiva
| South end
|-
| 17
| Ghantai
| Jina
| Only some columns remaining
|}

==Landscape==
The Khajuraho temples are now set in a parkland landscape. When India gained independence from Britain in 1947 the landscape setting was semi-desert and scrub. The archaeological park now has something of the character of an English public park, with mown grass, rose beds and ornamental trees. This may be popular with visitors but has no relationship with the historic landscape at the time the temples were built.

The development of [[landscape archaeology]] as an academic discipline raises questions concerning the earlier landscape of Khajuraho and the original relationship between the temple complex and the surrounding area. There are no records of what the original landscape might have been, but it is known that a large community of priests used the temple complex and that Indian gardens in the tenth century were predominantly tree gardens. They did not have lawns or herbaceous flowering plants.

==The statues and carvings of Khajuraho==
[[Image:Kandariya mahadeva temple.jpg|thumb|Kandariya Mahadeva temple]]

The Khajuraho temples do not contain sexual or [[erotic art]] inside the temple or near the deities; however, some external carvings bear erotic art. Also, some of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on the outside of the inner wall. There are many interpretations of the erotic carvings. They portray that, for seeing the deity, one must leave his or her sexual desires outside the temple. They also show that divinity, such as the deities of the temples, is pure like the [[Atman (Hinduism)|atman]], which is not affected by sexual desires and other characteristics of the physical body. It is also suggested that the portrayal of sexual practices so vividly and openly is meant to demistify sex and the act of the intercourse. Lovemaking is one of the purest forms of showing love and affection, and the temples depict that the society at that time did not have a problem in celebrating the art of lovemaking. It has been suggested that these suggest [[Tantric sexuality|tantric sexual]] practices. Meanwhile, the external curvature and carvings of the temples depict humans, human bodies, and the changes that occur in human bodies, as well as facts of life. Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes; those reportedly do not show deities, they show sexual activities between people. The rest depict the everyday life of the common Indian of the time when the carvings were made, and of various activities of other beings. For example, those depictions show women putting on makeup, musicians, potters, farmers, and other folks. Those mundane scenes are all at some distance from the temple deities. A common misconception is that, since the old structures with carvings in Khajuraho are temples, the carvings depict sex between deities.<ref>[http://www.liveindia.com/khajuraho/8a.html "Khajurajo", liveindia.com]</ref>

Between [[950]] and [[1050]], the Chandela monarchs built these temples when the [[Tantra|Tantric]] tradition may have been accepted . Adherents of Tantrism teach that gratification of earthly desires is a step towards accomplishing [[Nirvana]]. In olden days, before the [[Mughal]] conquests, when boys lived in hermitages, following ''[[brahmacharitva]]'' until they became men, they could learn about the world and prepare themselves to become householders through examining these sculptures and the worldly desires they depicted.<ref>[http://www.cultureholidays.com/Temples/khajuraho.htm Article on Khajuraho Temples] -- Accessed on March 06, 2007</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Kandariya Mahadeva]]
* [[Hemvati]]
* [[Kalinjar]]
* [[Beejamandal]]
* [[Jain temples of Khajuraho]]
* [[Temples in Madhya Pradesh]]
* [[Temples in India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Phani Kant Mishra, ''Khajuraho: With Latest Discoveries,'' Sundeep Prakashan (2001) ISBN 8175741015

==External links==
{{commonscat|Khajuraho}}
* [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/240 UNESCO World Heritage Site Listing ]
* [http://www.vishwakala.org/uniportal/info/index.asp?mi=82&xp=2731&xi=0&xl=3&o=0&t= Khajuraho Temple Sculpture and Carvings Research Project & Photo Exhibition ]
* [http://sss.vn.ua/india/madhya/khajuraho/indexen.htm 100 photos 1280x960 of Khajuraho]
*{{wikitravel}}

{{World Heritage Sites in India}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Hindu holy cities]]
[[Category:Bundelkhand]]
[[Category:Tourism in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Chhatarpur]]

[[bn:খাজুরাহ]]
[[cs:Khadžuráho]]
[[de:Khajuraho]]
[[es:Khajuraho]]
[[fr:Khajurâho]]
[[hi:खजुराहो]]
[[bpy:খাজুরাহ]]
[[kn:ಖಜುರಾಹೊ]]
[[ka:ქაჯურაჰო]]
[[ml:ഖജുരാഹോ]]
[[nl:Khajuraho]]
[[new:खजुराहो90]]
[[ja:カジュラーホー]]
[[pl:Khadżuraho]]
[[pt:Conjunto de Templos de Khajuraho]]
[[ru:Кхаджурахо]]
[[fi:Khajuraho]]
[[sv:Khajuraho]]

Zoophilia Wiki - User contributions [en]

Khajuraho Group of Monuments