Khajuraho: Human emotions, eloquent and unabashed

View: Details of the Jain temple

Words fail to describe the beauty and elegance of the Khajuraho temples. Visitors are left wonderstruck at the human emotions depicted eloquently and unabashedly through the sculptures.

View: Western group of temples

Khajuraho has about 20 temples spread over several square kilometres. They are grouped into three categories based on their orientation: the Western group, the Eastern group and the Southern group of temples. These are dedicated to both Hindu deities and Jain figures.

View: Jain temples

Khajuraho’s four Jain temples lie among the Eastern group. These include the Adinath, Shantinath, Parshwanath and Ghantai temples, which were constructed during the reign of the Chandela rulers.

The Bhagwan Parshwanath Temple at Khajuraho attracts visitors for its intricate architecture. Its walls depict images of elephants, sea nymphs and lions. Though it is a Jain temple, one can see images of Hindu deities like Vaishnav on its walls.

The temple has some key architectural features like a couple of axial projections at its two ends called the ardh-mandapa (the hall) to the east and a small shrine to the west called the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum).

About six of these temples at Khajuraho have Lord Shiva as the main idol, eight are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one each to Lord Ganesha and the Sun God, while three are dedicated to the Jain tirthankaras (saints). This view is of the deity inside the Chaturbhuja Temple.

The largest among these is the Kandariya Mahadeo Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the four holy sites of Shiva worship, the other three being Kashi, Kedarnath and Gaya.

The enrapturing beauty of the temples lies in their elaborate and intricate carvings and sculptures, which depict scenes from daily life. The details from Duladeo Temple is shown here.

The Vamana Temple’s exquisitely engraved walls testify to its glorious architecture that has left generations wonderstruck. Its facade is intricately carved with sculptures of various Gods, their consorts, female figures and mythological characters like Varaha and Nandi.

The towering shikhara of Khajuraho’s Vamana Temple is also decorated with minutely carved designs.

Classified according to their orientation, Khajuraho’s Western Group of Temples are an awe-inspiring sight. The enrapturing beauty of the temples lies in their elaborate and intricate carvings and sculptures, which depict scenes from daily life. Most of these temples are dedicated to Hindu deities as well as Jain figures.

A part of Khajuraho’s Western Group of Temples, the Parvati Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva's consort Goddess Parvati. It is a relatively small shrine that has an elaborate entrance gate, embellished with beautifully carved sculptures of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. The facade of the temple is accentuated by erotic sculptures that depict human emotions eloquently.

Dedicated to the Sun God, the Chitragupta Temple belongs to the Western Group of Temples in Khajuraho. It attracts visitors with its splendid architecture and features fine carvings of celestial women, including apsaras and surasundaris, elephant fights and hunting scenes.

The Chitradurga Temple has a sanctum with a circumambulatory path, a vestibule, a maha-mandapa with transepts and an entrance porch.

Built on a high platform, Khajuraho’s Lakshmana Temple is made in a tiered form with intricately carved columns.

The temple reflects a Nagara style of architecture, owing to the flat-roofed entry porch called mandapa and a shrine called Vimana. The shrine of Nagara temples comprises a base platform and a superstructure called shikhara or the spire. The temple is made of sandstone and adorned with fine carvings.

The outer wall of the Lakshmana Temple features imposing sculptures of animal figures like elephants, horses, and hunting scenes. The portion of the wall just below the main shikhara is embellished with row after row of fine carvings of celestial women.

The Pratapeshwara Temple - also known colloquially as the Harmony Temple - is one of the most intriguing structures at Khajuraho.

Built by Raja Pratap Singh, the King of Chattarpur, in the 19th Century, this temple at Khajuraho draws from different architectural styles.

The Pratapeshwara Temple’s dome is in the Rajputana style, while the shikhara is typically Brahminical. Its cemented dome suggests that it was built much later than the rest of the ancient temples.