KHAJURAHO

Of the love of man and woman, these are few representations anywhere, so tender and full of charm as those on the temple of Khajuraho.

In the maze of each wall, one can search for immortally in certain images, which are 'as though breathing', according to the highest ideals of imaginative skill of Indian ancient craftsmen. It is very difficult to create these types of masterpieces and the best part is that not a single statue is look alike to other statue.

I have described few of the best imagination of the people who build these immortal temples.

"Mohini (a young girl) looks into the mirror with her head inclined in the narcissus mood of a young girl awaking her own beauty"

"A hero, with the lion shoulders and the profiles of a got, is bending his head graciously over the beloved, who looks up to the lover, until their four eyes meet"

"The body of another lover is fused in coition with that of the heroine, in the most sensitive adoration, where each is both"

"Still another male is protecting his frightened female companion against a monkey"

"A dancer with a cylindrical body is tying the bells on her feet, to get ready for the sway of her limbs in dance"

"The musician plays on the flute, the drams and cymbals"

There are orgies of love-making in palaces of kings, with the shy maids-in-waiting, standing or helping, with faces slightly averted from the privacy of the union. The play-function of sex, which Vatsayayana (who wrote the 'Kamasutra') had insisted upon, apart from sex for the procreation of new life, is shown with an abandon of ecstasy everywhere.

But if people bring to Khajuraho, the cold stare of erotic curiosity from a prurient curiosity, without any heart, then the whole panorama on the walls, congested with the lush imagery of love-play will fall flat on their empirical egos.

Ostensibly, the intention of the builder was not to afford to the vulgar, compensatory pleasure, such as they have never enjoyed in life, but to celebrate the happiness of loving.

There are certainly a number of postures, which looks odd to those who have never been possessed by passion. There are some conjugation which only adepts, with full control on their minds and bodies and hearts could perform. And there are a number of jokes, such as the inferior craftsman in all the temple and cathedrals of the world perpetuated from their lowest consciousness.

But the dominance of Gods and Goddesses Brahma and his consort, of Vishnu and Laxmi, Shiva and Parvati provided the key symbolism of sacred love. Thus the heroes and heroines, approaching each other for consummation of marriage, are only the prototypes of perfect couple, achieving, through god had, by union with his consort, created the whole universe. Every pair of human beings has the corresponding desire to fuse themselves into each other and become one.

There is some mystery about how, in the 10th and 11th century (from 950-1050 A.D.), in a flat plateau of the Vindhya Mountains, there came to be the eighty great temples, out of which only nine important ones have survived.

The holiness of physical connection implied in this interpretation had given sanctions to the poets of the Renaissance, opened their sensibilities to each feeling, emotion and mood. Being part of god, everything is man's heart was an expression of the nature of god. And in making of his images was liberation. As against the yoga of prayer and contemplation, to achieve fusion with reality, there was Bhoga, the tasting of the flavors of food, wine and body, to seek union.

There are million of forms of making love is described on the walls of the temples here in Khajuraho. These images may look vulgar but it is the art of making love that is adopted and appreciated by the whole world.

The temples of Khajuraho are divided into three geographical groups: Western, Eastern and Southern.

The Western group is certainly the best known, because it is to this group that the largest and most typical Khajuraho temple belongs: The Kandariya Mahadev. Perfectly symmetrical, it soars 31 km high. Though the four temples that stand at the corners of the main shrine are now in ruins, the main shrine has an exquisitely carved entrance arch with a multitude of themes. Celestial beings, lovers serenading musicians... movements captured in stone, frozen in time, yet retaining a quality of warm, pulsating life. The very stone seems to have taken on the living, breathing quality of the carved figures.

Lakshmana Temple is closest to the entrance of the complex. Various incarnations of the Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi and the planets can be seen on the sanctum doorway. Popular legends from Krishna's life are engraved on the walls. One of the main niches enshrines a three-headed and four-armed image of Vishnu.

The comparatively small Jagdambi Devi temple shares the same plinth as the Kandariya Mahadev but is older. Its square ceiling is richly embellished and the external walls have some of the finest figures of gods and goddesses, surasundaris and erotic couples.

The Southern Group : This group comprises Duladeo Temple with its strikingly large mandapa and exquisite figures, and Chaturbhuj Temple to the southwest of the Jatkira village that houses a huge image of the four-armed Dakshinamurti Shiva.

Just behind Chaturbhuj, the Archaeological Survey of India has begun excavating a new site in March 1999 which has revealed a temple with a plinth of 34 meters, pointing to a temple larger even than the Kandariya Mahadev. Known as Bijamandala, this mound lies 4 kms to the southeast of the Western Group. A broken marble yonipatta pedestal with a marble Shiva linga caps the mound. Several carvings of the Jain Tirthankaras have also been discovered in the temple which seems to have been abandoned before completion.

Art historians have conjectured that the plan of the sanctum of the temple at Bijamandala has similarities with that of the Kandariya Mahadev. The mound has also yielded a treasure trove of antiquities including sculptures of Mahishasuramardini, Vamana, yamuna and figurines of bulls, besides a graceful image of the goddess Saraswati.

Airports : Khajuraho is well connected with prominent domestic cities by major airlines.

Railways : Khajuraho has its own railway stations and have very good trains connecting to practically Agra and Delhi.

Roadways : Khajuraho is 590 KMS from Delhi via Gwalior and Jhansi.

Climate : Summer is very hot and temperature can reach to 47`C. The winter is pleasant and temperature can go down to 04` C. Rainfall is 114 cm. And mostly in the month of July and August.

Further Connections : Agra, Bhandhavgarh National Park and Panna National Park.