Temple Architecture at Khajuraho – The Chandela School
The history tells us that in the ancient India, the kings did not sponsor directly the making of rock-cut caves, stupas or temples. None of the stupas have sculptures of the Kings and rulers of those times. None of the Mathura school or Gandhara School has made many images of the kings of those times, except one statue of Kushana King Kanishka in the Mathura school. The kings provided only indirect support to monasteries and shrines of all faiths. But with the arrival of the medieval period, rulers began to patronise personally the making of temples. In fact many of the temples were made to commemorate a victory or to fulfil the order of the deity which came in the dream of the King and asked him to make a temple for him or her.
The personal attention of the rulers led to the making of the larger temples, especially from the 10th or 11th century onwards, under the Cholas in South India. Similar changes were seen under the rule of the Chandelas in the central India.
About Chandela Dynasty
Bundelkhand was known as Jejakabhukti, which roughly corresponds to the old Mahajanapadas of Chedi. This region has a long history of temple building and art. It witnessed the making of the Bharhut stupa, with its sculpted railings; in the 2nd century B.C. Exquisite temples were made here at Deogarh and Nachna during the 6th century A.D. during the Gupta period.
In medieval period, these countries had two dynasties named Chandelas and Kalachuris. Both of them had marital relations and were constantly in touch with each other either as foes or as friends.
Chandela dynasty was well established and there was peace and prosperity in 10th and 11th century. Art and culture flourished there as the kings were great patrons of poetry and theatre. The culmination of their cultural achievements was at their capital city of Khajuraho (in present-day Madhya Pradesh), where, between the 10th and 12th centuries, one of the most splendid temple cities in the history of the world was created. There were originally 85 temples at Khajuraho, of which 25 remain today.
The first king who started construction in Khajuraho was Harsha who built the 64 Yogini Temples. The most notable prince of this dynasty was King Dhanga whose time is known for building the most beautiful Khaujraho Temples of Parsvanath and Vishwavanath. His grandson Vidyadhara built the Kandariya Mahadev Temple.
Why all temples at a single place?
The group of temples at Khajuraho is a strikingly homogenous group. All the temples there were built within a relatively short period. The concerted effort of making numerous grand temples at a single place hints that the one place speaks of the dynasty’s desire to create a grand centre of worship and learning at Khajuraho.
Important Temples at Khajuraho
Chausath Yogini Temple
It is dedicated to Goddess Durga, it is the first temple built at Khajuraho. In this temple, goddess Durga is shown attended by 64 yoginis or female mystics. The lawa stone idols were plundered and disfigured by Muslim invaders.
Lakshman Temple
Lakshmana temple is dedicated to Vaikuntha Vishnu. It was built by the Chandela Ruler Yashovarman (aka. Lakshavarman) during c. 930-950 CE. This temple is made up in Panchayatan style. A temple is a Panchayatana one when the main shrine is surrounded by four subsidiary shrines at four different corners.
Visitors enter the temple from the east, passing through an ardha-mandapa entranceway, followed by a mandapa and a larger maha-mandapa en route to the Garbha-griha. The Garbha-griha is surrounded by a Pradakshinapatha. Here, you must note that the Lakshamana temple shows a distinction from the Panchayatan temples of Odisha because here, the Garbha-griha and the Maha-mandapa are fused together. In Odisha temples, and also other temples at Khajuraho such as Kandariya Mahadev Temple, there is a interregnum between the Garbha-griha and Maha-mandapa. This is how a local style at Khajuraho is different form of the Nagara Style, showing a departure from Kalinga Architecture.
On the plinth of the Lakshmana temple is the victorious celebration of Yashovarman’s powerful armies. An inscription reads: “He easily conquered the Kalinjara mountain, the dwelling place of Siva, which is so high that it impedes the progress of the sun at midday.”
The apsaras and nayikas depicted here have won universal admiration for their grace and charm.
The deity here is the Vishnu Chaturmurti, which has four faces. Under a canopy in front of the temple stands a monolithic Varaha, an avatara of Vishnu. Exquisitely finished, the Varaha has 674 figures carved on its body.
Kandariya Mahadev Temple
The largest and most ornate temple at Khajuraho is the Kandariya Mahadeva, dedicated to Siva. It was probably constructed by King Vidyadhara between A.D. 1017 and A.D. 1029. This temple is considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India.
The towering shikhara and its subsidiary replicas, clustered at varying heights, present a grand analogy to Mount Kailasa, Siva’s abode. The temple is over a hundred feet (30 metres) tall. Its monumentality is in keeping with the trend in all parts of India at this time.
The Kandariya Mahadeva temple is adorned on all sides with celestial nymphs, mithunas and many deities. Over 600 figures are carved on the exterior of the temple and more than 200 inside. It is built on Panchayatana style. In its layout plan, it is similar to the Kalinga architecture style.
Chaturbhuja Temple
This temple is located five kilometres from the village of Khajuraho is the southern group of temples. The temple is simple consisting of a sanctum without pradakshinapatha, vestibule,mandapa and an ardhamandapa. It is built on a modest platform.
The Chaturbhuja temple is a magnificent temple of the beginning of the 12th century. Its finely sculpted figures provide an ordered view of the world and transport one to a realm of grace.
Why erotic art at Khajauraho?
- By the time of prominence of Chandelas, the Indian temple form had fully developed. The objective of the temple was that a devotee comes to it with the aspiration of the self-transcendence and to receive the grace of the deity in the garbha-griha.
- The devotee came to the temple to awaken the best of them within themselves and to realise the whole creation of the world is the manifestation of the deity in the garbha-griha. This was to realise the truth of the oneness of the whole creation.
- While visiting the temple, as the devotee circumabulated the temple, he / she would come across those worldly figures which were familiar to him. He came across all the manifestation of the divine reality. Each sculpture gives its own message and all of them together create a vision of the cosmos, whose everyone is a part.
- Thus, the temple at Khajuraho was a complex form in which the numerous parts were seen as the manifestation of the deity’s creation. Every sculpture is beautiful in its own place, but every one has its related and own meaning in context with the deity within the garbha-griha.
At the same time, some believe that the erotic art suggest tantric sexual practices. It’s worth note that only 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes and rest of the sculptures depict the everyday life of the common persons such as women putting on makeup, playing games, dancing, knotting and unknotting their girdles, and others themes such as musicians, potters, farmers etc. Thus, these massive platforms have ornately carved depictions of contemporary life. On the walls of the temples of Khajuraho, there is a profusion of depictions of women in every possible posture. As in ancient stupa railings and in later art, they portray the rich abundance of nature and the joy of life as Yakshikas and Mithunas; this depiction reaches at its climax at Khajuraho!
On the temple walls, one can see Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, Indra, Agni and their spouses. There are celestials around them bearing garlands and offerings. The multifaceted walls of the temple provide a vast canvas for the depiction of these innumerable manifestations of the divine.
