Khajuraho

Khajuraho, an Indian village in Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India.

It has the largest collection of Hindu and Jain temples and is famous for their erotic sculptures. It is also considered to be one of the seven wonders of India and is listed in UNESCO world heritage site.

Architecture of Khajuraho Temple

The khajuraho temples were among the most important monuments in India and is built in a span of 200 years, ranging from 950 to 1150. The complete area is enclosed by walls. Originally it had over 80 Hindu temples but now only 25 remains that are built over an area of about 21 square kilometers.

The temples there are fine examples of Indian architecture styles which are popular due to their explicit depiction of the traditional way of sexual life during medieval times.

The architecture of khajuraho temples can be related to northern Indian shikhara temple style or a panchayatana plan. Besides a few Jain temples, the various Hindu temples are dedicated to god’s trio Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and various Devi forms.

Temples Famous for Erotic Art

Though the temples are famous for erotic art, there are no sexual or erotic images inside the temples near the figures of deities. Only the external carvings bear some of those. It is believed that to portray the arts there, one must leave their sexual desired outside the temple premises. The deities of the temples are portrayed as atmas and do not refer to any physical body. People suggest that the images there give an idea of tantric sexual practices. Some 10% of the images depict sexual art whereas others show the common life of normal Indian man and their activities.

Because of the erotic art forms here, the site is often referred to as Kama sutra temple. But they do not illustrate the positions of the Vatsyayana’s famous sutra’s philosophy. They just focus on pleasure rather than procreation.

It is also believed that the Chandela monarchs built this temple between 950 and 1150. At that time, Tantric tradition was practices. In those times, boys lived in brahmacharya until they became men and they can learn about household works by examining these images. All the sculptures present here clearly tells that these temples would have required a number of trained sculptors.

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Tags: Architecture, INDIA, Khajuraho Temple, Madhya Pradesh, Monuments