Okay peeps am back!
Those of you who know me know the reason of my absence from this favorite blog of mine but for those who don't, well was caught up first with my Mythology blog and then research and exploration for my book VISHWAMITRA! Now that I am spending a rare Sunday at home, it is the right time to share with you some experiences from all the travel I have been doing!
It was a cloudy day when my friend called me and told me he was planning a trip to Khajuraho with some friends and if I wished to join. Knowing my interest in exploring all things related to Indian history he knew what my reply was gonna be and I jumped onto the plan like a dying man clutching a straw for I had always been fascinated by the enigma of Khajuraho.
Those of you who know me know the reason of my absence from this favorite blog of mine but for those who don't, well was caught up first with my Mythology blog and then research and exploration for my book VISHWAMITRA! Now that I am spending a rare Sunday at home, it is the right time to share with you some experiences from all the travel I have been doing!
It was a cloudy day when my friend called me and told me he was planning a trip to Khajuraho with some friends and if I wished to join. Knowing my interest in exploring all things related to Indian history he knew what my reply was gonna be and I jumped onto the plan like a dying man clutching a straw for I had always been fascinated by the enigma of Khajuraho.
I remembered a half-forgotten story from childhood that had enchanted me with its sheer beauty. It was about the Moon-god Chandra falling in love with a mortal woman on Earth and watching her every night with a longing he could not resist. One fine day he came down in the form of a human and introduced himself to the lovely lady who herself was mesmerized by his beauty.
The two spent many a night together in a grove of Date-palms by a small pond and in time the lady gave birth to a son as radiant as the moon itself. Chandra blessed him to become the progenitor of a new race and thus was born the Chandela Dynasty. To commemorate the union of his parents, the boy, who grew up to become a king, installed two golden date-palms at the entrance of his city giving it the name we know it with today and his successors commissioned the beautiful temples of Khajuraho.
It was time to see the actual landmarks related to the fable of my childhood and I was not gonna miss the opportunity! Unfortunately, going to Khajuraho directly from Mumbai is a royal pain in the you-know-what and we decided to take the route through Delhi. A short 2 hours flight to Delhi followed by an overnight journey on one of the two decent trains running the broad-gauge brings you to the quaint station of the tourist city which is itself shaped like a temple.
The two spent many a night together in a grove of Date-palms by a small pond and in time the lady gave birth to a son as radiant as the moon itself. Chandra blessed him to become the progenitor of a new race and thus was born the Chandela Dynasty. To commemorate the union of his parents, the boy, who grew up to become a king, installed two golden date-palms at the entrance of his city giving it the name we know it with today and his successors commissioned the beautiful temples of Khajuraho.
It was time to see the actual landmarks related to the fable of my childhood and I was not gonna miss the opportunity! Unfortunately, going to Khajuraho directly from Mumbai is a royal pain in the you-know-what and we decided to take the route through Delhi. A short 2 hours flight to Delhi followed by an overnight journey on one of the two decent trains running the broad-gauge brings you to the quaint station of the tourist city which is itself shaped like a temple.
Khajuraho Railway Station
We hopped into our cab and took the short drive to Taj Chandela where we were gonna be holed up for the weekend. Nice grounds and very courteous staff helped us feel comfortable right away and we availed an early check-in to make most of the day. As soon as we were done with the mandatory morning ablutions we changed and rushed to the temple complex.
Foyer of the Taj Chandela
The hotel, like most other big hotels in the town, is located on the straight road that leads right upto the temple complex. It is quite convenient to borrow bicycles to ride the short distance to the temples but since there weren't enough of those we hopped into our cab and drove there.
The first glimpse of the temples was quite mesmerizing and we got down next to a small pond filled with water-lilies and geese. The sun was bright yet not too overbearing and it was altogether a pleasant beginning to the day and I wondered if this was the same pond where Chandra and the mortal woman who gave birth to a dynasty used to frolic in.
Khajuraho layout map
The first thing that comes to anyone's mind on hearing the name is the world-famous erotic sculptures and rightly so.. for these are exquisite works of art in yellow and pink sandstone crafted by brilliant artists of a thousand years ago with such perfection that one can almost make out the expressions on the face of the rock figurines. Even the Jain temples are not bereft of these and due to their relatively smaller structure, should serve as the perfect introduction to Khajuraho's beauty for a novice.
Jain Temples, Khajuraho
The temples follow traditional North-Indian architecture called the Nagara style that sees the temple as a reflection of the Mount Meru, the abode of the Hindu gods and all except one face East such that the first rays of the rising Sun bathe the deity in a golden light.
Architectural elements of Khajuraho temples
As we headed towards the Western complex we took the services of a guide. Trust me, you wouldn't enjoy the experience without having someone knowledgeable to guide you through the maze of sculptures and their proper understanding so stop trying to save money and hire a good guide! You can find multi-lingual guides that can take care of an entire mixed group and are fluent with many European languages. For a solo tourist an automated audio-guide should do the trick.
It was quite sunny and hot by the time we reached the main site and the first temple you see as you enter is the Lakshmana Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu with a massive Varah facing the temple in the manner in which Shiva Temples have a Nandi facing them. For those who do not know, Varah is one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, one that saved a drowning Earth. {If you wish to know more about the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and their scientific meaning you can check out this link - Evolution in Dashavatar}.
The one thing that amazed me the most was its incredible symmetry and massive yet perfect proportions! The entire structure rests on a humongous platform that is symbolically supported by kneeling elephants and presents a very pretty sight.
As I mentioned earlier, just about 10% of the sculptures in Khajuraho deal with eroticism while the rest show people in the market, soldiers going to war, traders, kings, horsemen, camel-riders, women applying make-up, taking care of children, playing with pets - in short, the stuff an average day in the life of a citizen of Chandela Kingdom in the 10th century. Gods, demons, soldiers, kings, nymphs, monsters and animals all vie for attention on theses beautifully sculpted monuments!
The same pattern is followed in the other temples the biggest of which is the Kandariya Mahadev Temple dedicated to the patron deity of Chandelas - Lord Shiv and we see on the temple exterior people going about their daily lives in a variety of ways.
Our guide could tell us the significance of each and every noteworthy sculpture and showed the distinctive features to identify each god - Shiva has a head-dress of matted locks and in most sculptures would be holding a trident with Nandi sitting at his feet; Vishnu would be in the four-handed avatar with chakra and other paraphernalia alone or along with Lakshmi looking adoringly at his face; Brahma was the bearded guy with two auxiliary heads showing above his shoulders and was not to be confused with the other bearded guy Agni who had a single head. Anyone who knows a little about mythology would appreciate the details just mentioned above.
The most eye-catching sculptures however, even more than those of the deities, are of gorgeous women - human as well as celestial - shown in a variety of moods and one can only marvel at the dexterity of the artisans who have painstakingly carved out each lift of the eyebrow, each bead of the necklace and each fold of the diaphanous clothing to make them look so gorgeous!
Acts of Love are as much a part of daily life as is haggling with a merchant for the best price or taking care of children. But one thing the sculptures make abundantly clear is how liberal our society was even a 1000 years back! Besides the usual Maithuna or love-making couples, there are orgies as well as sexual deviations of all kinds showing that human desires haven't changed much even in a thousand years.
One of the most enlightening sculptures was the depiction of Lord Vishnu in the middle with a heterosexual and homosexual couples on either side of Him - Talk about equal rights for LGBT!
A lot has been written about the real significance of having these sculptures on a temple and people have come up with explanations ranging from presence of Tantrik sects to the temples originally being devoted to Kama-deva, the God-of-Love but I got the best reply from the priest in the temple who brought my attention to one significant detail - 'the OUTER walls of Khajuraho temples portray every single thing that humans indulge in but the INTERIOR only contains idols of the deities'.
Getting the point? The real significance of these sculptures is to remind us that when we enter the temple, we ought to leave the three principles of Dharma (Daily conduct), Artha (Monetary transactions) and Kaam (Love and Lust), followed in our daily life outside since the moment you step inside, only one goal remains, that of Moksh or Nirvana.
It is only when you leave behind the attachments and trappings of the outer world depicted on the exterior that you can appreciate the value of spiritual pursuits and become eligible to enter the Inner Sanctum or the Garbha-griha of the temple where Lord awaits His devotee. And the best glimpse of it I found in the only west-facing temple of Khajuraho - the Chatur-bhuj Temple.
The significance of the idol lies in its complexity for it is a mix of Hari-Har and Krishna! Half of the head-gear of the deity is made of matted locks and serpents along with a crescent moon representing Shiva while the other half is the jeweled crown of Vishnu! The three surviving hands hold Lord Vishnu's weapons while the fourth was supposed to have held the flute of Krishna. The arrangement of feet also shows the typical stance of Krishna while he plays the flute. As far as I know, it is the ONLY composite idol of the three deities together and deserves much more importance than it currently receives!
As the Sun started its journey towards the western horizon, we took our blessings from this divine creation and left marveling at the perseverance of the ancient artisans and their skill in bringing to life the yearnings of the heart. Perhaps that is the reason that the small cross-section near our hotel had an ode dedicated to these unknown sculptors whose names are lost in the mists of time yet their work remains for the world to admire with awe...
It was quite sunny and hot by the time we reached the main site and the first temple you see as you enter is the Lakshmana Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu with a massive Varah facing the temple in the manner in which Shiva Temples have a Nandi facing them. For those who do not know, Varah is one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, one that saved a drowning Earth. {If you wish to know more about the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and their scientific meaning you can check out this link - Evolution in Dashavatar}.
The one thing that amazed me the most was its incredible symmetry and massive yet perfect proportions! The entire structure rests on a humongous platform that is symbolically supported by kneeling elephants and presents a very pretty sight.
Our guide could tell us the significance of each and every noteworthy sculpture and showed the distinctive features to identify each god - Shiva has a head-dress of matted locks and in most sculptures would be holding a trident with Nandi sitting at his feet; Vishnu would be in the four-handed avatar with chakra and other paraphernalia alone or along with Lakshmi looking adoringly at his face; Brahma was the bearded guy with two auxiliary heads showing above his shoulders and was not to be confused with the other bearded guy Agni who had a single head. Anyone who knows a little about mythology would appreciate the details just mentioned above.
Kandariya Mahadev Temple
Click on each picture to see the amazing details!
One of the most enlightening sculptures was the depiction of Lord Vishnu in the middle with a heterosexual and homosexual couples on either side of Him - Talk about equal rights for LGBT!
Lord Vishnu flanked on two sides by a heterosexual and same-sex couple each
A sexual orgy from a 1000 years ago
Getting the point? The real significance of these sculptures is to remind us that when we enter the temple, we ought to leave the three principles of Dharma (Daily conduct), Artha (Monetary transactions) and Kaam (Love and Lust), followed in our daily life outside since the moment you step inside, only one goal remains, that of Moksh or Nirvana.
It is only when you leave behind the attachments and trappings of the outer world depicted on the exterior that you can appreciate the value of spiritual pursuits and become eligible to enter the Inner Sanctum or the Garbha-griha of the temple where Lord awaits His devotee. And the best glimpse of it I found in the only west-facing temple of Khajuraho - the Chatur-bhuj Temple.
Chatur-bhuj Temple
The significance of the idol lies in its complexity for it is a mix of Hari-Har and Krishna! Half of the head-gear of the deity is made of matted locks and serpents along with a crescent moon representing Shiva while the other half is the jeweled crown of Vishnu! The three surviving hands hold Lord Vishnu's weapons while the fourth was supposed to have held the flute of Krishna. The arrangement of feet also shows the typical stance of Krishna while he plays the flute. As far as I know, it is the ONLY composite idol of the three deities together and deserves much more importance than it currently receives!
As the Sun started its journey towards the western horizon, we took our blessings from this divine creation and left marveling at the perseverance of the ancient artisans and their skill in bringing to life the yearnings of the heart. Perhaps that is the reason that the small cross-section near our hotel had an ode dedicated to these unknown sculptors whose names are lost in the mists of time yet their work remains for the world to admire with awe...
I feel lucky to have witnessed the ancient glory of India in such magnificently preserved temples and would urge every art enthusiast to give it a dekko. If nothing, just give it a visit to understand how glorious and free ancient Indian society was. The day-time spectacle is followed by a beautiful light and sound show in the night with voice over in the impressive baritone of Mr. Amitabh Bacchan. It is a must-visit as are two amazing waterfalls - one about 20 and other 35 kms each from the town.
Location of Raneh Falls and Panna Tiger Reserve
Both can be covered on the next day along with Panna tiger reserve and Diamond mines and the ride can be arranged with the help of any local auto-wallah at a reasonable price - ours charged just Rs. 1000 for covering all the spots besides acting as a guide!
Raneh Waterfalls
Panna Tiger Reserve
Pandav Falls in Panna
Trust me just over a weekend you shall be able to refresh yourself physically, mentally and spiritually and come back with a sense of amazement at the rich natural and cultural beauty of India in general and Bundelkhand especially.. Hope you enjoy the journey :)
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