Khajuraho was different from what I read in travel guides. The temples and their sculptures take the shape of your imagination, the way you think about them. Spiritual for some, erotic for others and splendidly master pieces carved in sandstone for many people like me.
I started my journey to Khajuraho with a group of friends from New Delhi Railway station on a Friday night, when the moon shone brightly and there was slight chill in the air, after all December in Delhi brings its share of fog and cold. Thankfully trains run on iron rails. Ours was just on time. Obviously the fog has stored its best for January. As it happens, travel guides do tell you about the destination. In that respect I fear I will have anything new to offer but then to title your travel piece ‘Trave
+ more about KhajurahoKhajuraho was different from what I read in travel guides. The temples and their sculptures take the shape of your imagination, the way you think about them. Spiritual for some, erotic for others and splendidly master pieces carved in sandstone for many people like me.
I started my journey to Khajuraho with a group of friends from New Delhi Railway station on a Friday night, when the moon shone brightly and there was slight chill in the air, after all December in Delhi brings its share of fog and cold. Thankfully trains run on iron rails. Ours was just on time. Obviously the fog has stored its best for January. As it happens, travel guides do tell you about the destination. In that respect I fear I will have anything new to offer but then to title your travel piece ‘Travel Guide…’ it’s mandatory to have an introduction.
But let me assure, it won’t be what you had read in travel guides. So, here is brief introduction of a place that celebrates human emotions – joys and sorrows, love and spirituality, victories and defeats - through the eyes of a traveller. Khajuraho is a small village with a big tourist attraction – its temples. The village has its name in almost all the travel guides that list places of tourist interest in India. Khajuraho is located in Madhya Pradesh, the central state of India. It is about 620 kilometers from Delhi. Jhansi is well known nearest town and railway station from where one can catch a bus to Khajuraho (180 kilometers away).
Those interested in tracing the origin and the story behind the temples in Khajuraho, there is nothing engraved in stone. There are stories and fables about the temples and the dynasty that ordered building of such masterpieces in stone. Most of the theories doing the round seem only partially true. One of the theories traces the origin of Chandelas (Chandolas), the dynasty that built magnificent temples in Khajuraho to the moon God and Hemawati, who was seduced by the moon god while bathing in a forest pool. The founder of the Chandela Dynasty - Chandravarman, was born of this union. To escape the castigation as an unwed mother from the society, Hemawati raised her son in the forest. It is said that when Chandravarman was established as a ruler, his mother asked him in his dream to build temples that would reveal human passions and desire. Thus born the idea of creating these temples. Historical records, however say, the temples were built between 900 AD and 1050 AD.
History does not throw much light on the rise and fall of Chandelas, who ruled the region of Bundhalkand, as the area is commonly known. There is another theory as well, which is primarily based on the erotic sculptures. It says the temples were built to prevent the rain God Indra from striking the holy place with lightning. It is based on the premise that Indra a keen voyeur, would have thought twice before striking the place of such a source of pleasure. There may be theories in abundance on the temples of Khajuraho but the truth lies somewhere inside. No matter how and how many erotic sculptures you may find in the maze of stone carvings, the bottom line - each temple is dedicated to a deity, which sums up the fine union between Love & God.
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