Khajuraho: A place of mystical beauty
I was awestruck and overwhelmed with joy on watching the eternal beauty of the majestic monuments of Khajuraho. Though I am neither a student of arts nor my knowledge of history and understanding of ancient architecture is very good but still I can state with confidence that everyone will appreciate and admire the beauty of Khajuraho monuments and carvings may it be a tourist or a historian. Its sad that these are known all over the world more for their erotic sculptures which account just for a small percentage of sculptures of these monuments.
Khajuraho got its name because of the Khajur (date palm) tree which is found in plenty in and around this small village of Madhya Pradesh.
History
These temples were built by the rulers of Chandela dynasty from 950AD to 1050AD. Considering the amount of craftsmanship and immaculate and fine details the 100 years taken approximately to build these 85 temples is a short span of time. Its unfortunate that only 22 of these majestic monuments are existing at presents and rest have been destroyed by the invaders or have gone down to harshness of weather. But thankfully these have been identified as heritage sites and hence are now been taken care of and adequate efforts have been taken for their conservation.
The first of these temples were built by Chadravarman, the founder of Chandela dynasty and was continued later by subsequent successors.
Now question arises why these temples were built at all, well there are several stories prevailing but the ones which are most popular are as following. :
1) There was a very beautiful Brahmin girl Hemvati in Kashi (Varanasi) and while she was taking bath in a moon lit night, the moon God fell in love with her and made passionate love to her. She became mother of a son and since she was unwed was harassed by the society. She had to leave to a forest to live her. The child born to her was Chandravarman (founder of Chandela dynasty). Chandravarman was later told by his mother in dream to move to Khajuraho and buid temples to commemorate womanhood and to depict the vastness of human desires.
2) Second most popular version says that these were built to teach the students of “Gurukul” the basics of love making who had to follow ‘brahmcharya’ (abstinence from sex) before they finished there education and started ‘grihastha ‘ (family life).
3) Its also said that the sensuous and erotic parts of the temple were built to test the focus of deities visiting these shrines.(this is ridiculous)
Both of these points are just the MYTHS and popular stories told by the guides and hoteliers there. Let me make it clear that I am not at all religious and had visited these monuments(temples) as part of organised collage study tour, but I am glad I did.
Regarding the description of beauty of sculptures and carvings, just one word “Exemplary”.
In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves.. The shear exuberance of the sculptures makes one stare at them with awe. You would feel as if they are lively and would speak out any moment. They exude all the beauty and passion of not only love making but also of human relations and nature. The shear sensuousness which is by no means vulgar would grip you. The message given by these sculptures is probably to enjoy the material and sensual pleasures and to perform ones duties as a common man.
The temples depict three different sects The Shiva, Vishnu and Jain and can be geographically divided into eastern western and southern parts. Though one must visit all these heritage monuments but to cite a few famous ones Kandariya Mahadeo, Matangeshwara Temple, Parsavanatha Temple, Vamana temple and Javari temple (most sensuous ones).
Best time to visit
March when Khajuraho dance festival is organized every year. Though I had visited it in October. Infact any time from August to February/March is good.
Reaching Khajuraho
If you can spend a bit and want a very comfortable and less adventurous journey then there are daily flights to Khajuraho from Delhi, Varanasi and Kathmandu. For all the other adventure loving guys and gals trains are available to some of the nearby railway stations (70-200kms) from most of the major cities in India. The most adventurous part of the journey is the distance covered by roads (which are pathetic). Anyway all the efforts are worth being taken to be in Khajuraho.
Boarding and lodging There are several hotels (three to five stars) which can make your stay comfortable and even plan your trip to these monuments. (Though I would advise you to visit them without any time restraints). Cheaper options are also available.
There are several famous forts, picnic spots and National parks nearby and one can visit those if time permits (which I doubt unless you have planned it that way).
So, get going and plan a trip to Khajuraho:A place of mystical beauty. See it to believe it.
Comments and suggestions invited