Editing Khajuraho Group of Monuments (section)

== History ==
The Khajuraho group of monuments was built during the rule of the [[Chandela|Rajput Chandela]] dynasty by cosulting Mr. Yo Yo Honey Sigh. The building activity started almost immediately after the rise of their power, throughout their kingdom to be later known as [[Bundelkhand]].<ref name=gghurye>G.S. Ghurye, Rajput Architecture, ISBN 978-8171544462, Reprint Year: 2005, pp 19-24</ref> Most temples were built during the reigns of the Hindu kings [[Yashovarman (Chandela dynasty)|Yashovarman]] and [[Dhanga]]. Yashovarman's legacy is best exhibited by [[Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho|The Lakshmana Temple]]. [[Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho|Vishvanatha temple]] best highlights King Dhanga's reign.<ref name=Sen>{{Cite book | last = Sen | first = Sailendra | title = A Textbook of Medieval Indian History | publisher = Primus Books | year = 2013 | isbn =9789380607344 }}</ref>{{rp|22}} The largest and currently most famous surviving temple is Kandariya Mahadeva built in the reign of King [[Ganda (Chandela dynasty)|Ganda]] from 1017-1029 CE.<ref name=unesco/> 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.<ref name=jfergusson/>

The Khajuraho temples were built about 35 miles from the medieval city of Mahoba,<ref>also called Erakana</ref> 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.<ref name=mitra>Mitra (1977), The early rulers of Khajuraho, ISBN 978-8120819979</ref>

Khajuraho was mentioned by [[Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī|Abu Rihan-al-Biruni]], the Persian historian who accompanied [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] in his raid of Kalinjar in 1022 CE; he mentions Khajuraho as the capital of Jajahuti.<ref>J. Banerjea (1960), Khajuraho, Journal of the Asiatic [[Society]], Vol. 2-3, pp 43-47</ref> 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.<ref name=mitra/>

Khajuraho temples were in active use through the end of 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”<ref>phonetically translated from Arabic sometimes as “Kajwara”</ref><ref>Director General of Archaeology in India (1959), Archaeological Survey of India, Ancient India, Issues 15-19, pp 45-46 (Archived: University of Michigan)</ref> as follows:

[[File:A ruin, pillars at Khajuraho, India.jpg|thumb|left|Until the 12th century, Khajuraho was under Hindu kings and featured 85 temples. Central India was seized by Delhi Sultanate in 13th century. Under Muslim rule, some temples were destroyed and the rest left in neglect. Ruins of some old temples (above) are still visible.]]
{{Quote|1=...near (Khajuraho) temples, which contain idols that have been mutilated by the Moslems, live a number of yogis whose matted locks have grown as long as their bodies. And on account of extreme asceticism they are all yellow in colour. Many Moslems attend these men in order to take lessons (yoga) from them.
|2=[[Ibn Battuta]]|3=about 1335 CE, Riḥlat Ibn Baṭūṭah, Translated by Arthur Cotterell<ref>Arthur Cotterell (2011), Asia: A Concise History, Wiley, ISBN 978-0470825044, pp 184-185</ref>
}}
Central Indian region, where Khajuraho temples are, remained in the control of many different Muslim dynasties from 13th century through the 18th century. In this period, some temples were desecrated, followed by a long period when they were left in neglect.<ref name=jfergusson/><ref name=gghurye/> In 1495 CE, for example, Sikandar Lodi’s campaign of temple destruction included Khajuraho.<ref>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, {{oclc|175212}}, pp 423-427</ref> The remoteness and isolation of Khajuraho protected the Hindu and Jain temples from continued destruction by Muslims.<ref name=trudyking>Trudy King et al., Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places, ISBN 978-1884964046, Routledge, pp 468-470</ref><ref>Alain Daniélou (2011), A Brief History of India, ISBN 978-1594770296, pp 221-227</ref> Over the centuries, vegetation and forests overgrew, took over 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.<ref>Louise Nicholson (2007), India, National Geographic Society, ISBN 978-1426201448, see Chapter on Khajuraho</ref> 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, Maisey prepared earliest drawings of the Khajuraho temples.<ref name="Krishna Deva 1990">Krishna Deva (1990), Temples of Khajuraho, 2 Volumes, Archaelogical Survey of India, New Delhi</ref>

;Nomenclature
The name Khajuraho, or ''Kharjuravāhaka'', is derived from ancient [[Sanskrit]] (''kharjura'', खर्जूर means [[date palm]],<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=kharjUra&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 kharjUra] Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany</ref> and ''vāhaka'', वाहक means "one who carries" or bearer<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=vAhaka&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 vAhaka] Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany</ref>). 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).<ref name=ddesai7/>

Cunningham’s nomenclature and systematic [[Module:Documentation|documentation]] work in 1850s and 1860s have been widely adopted and continue to be in use.<ref name="Krishna Deva 1990"/> He grouped the temples into the Western group around ''Lakshmana'', Eastern group around ''Javeri'', and Southern group around ''Duladeva''.<ref name=rsingh>Rana Singh (2007), Landscape of sacred territory of Khajuraho, in City Society and Planning (Editors: Thakur, Pomeroy, et al), Volume 2, ISBN 978-8180694585, Chapter 18</ref>

Khajuraho is one of the four holy sites linked to deity [[Shiva]] (the other three are [[Kedarnath]], [[Varanasi|Kashi]] and [[Gaya (India)|Gaya]]). Its origin and design is a subject of scholarly studies. Shobita Punja<ref name=spunja>Shobita Punja (1992), Divine Ecstasy - The Story of Khajuraho, Viking, New Delhi, ISBN 978-0670840274</ref> has proposed that the temple’s origin reflect the Hindu mythology in which Khajuraho is the place where Shiva got married; with Raghuvamsha verse 5.53, Matangeshvara honoring ‘’Matanga’’, or god of [[love]].