The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho, a town in the Indian state of Madhya

Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about 620 kilometres (385 mi) southeast of New Delhi,
is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho has the largest group of
medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculptures.
Between 950 and 1150, the Chandela monarchs built these temples when the Tantric tradition
may have been accepted. In the days before the Mughal conquests, when boys lived in
hermitages, following brahmacharya until they became men, they could learn about the world
and prepare themselves to become householders through examining these sculptures and the
worldly desires they depicted.
[1]

The name Khajuraho, ancient "Kharjuravhaka", is derived from the Sanskrit words kharjura =
date palm and vhaka = "one who carries". Locals living in the Khajuraho village always knew
about and kept up the temples as best as they could. They were pointed out to the English in the
late 19th century when the jungles had taken a toll on the monuments. In the 19th century,
British engineer T.S. Burt arrived in the area, followed by General Alexander Cunningham.
Cunningham put Khajuraho on the world map when he explored the site on behalf of the
Archaeological Survey of India and described what he found in glowing terms. The Khajuraho
Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered to be
one of the "seven wonders" of India.
Town
Khajuraho
city

Khajuraho
Coordinates: 24.85N 79.93ECoordinates:
24.85N 79.93E
Country India
State Madhya Pradesh
District Chhatarpur
Elevation 283 m (928 ft)
Population (2011)
Total 19,282
Languages
Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Khajuraho is a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District,
about 620 kilometres (385 mi) southeast of New Delhi, the capital city of India and about 63 km
from an important rail head Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh. According to the 2001 India census,
[2]

Khajuraho has a population of 19,282. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%.
The town has an average literacy rate of 53%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male
literacy is 62%, and female literacy is 43%. In Khajuraho, 19% of the population is under 6 years
of age. Khajuraho is located at 24.85N 79.93E
[3]
and has an average elevation of 283 metres
(928 feet).
Khajuraho is served by Khajuraho Airport and there is a railway station approximately six km by
car from the town centre.
History
In the 27th Century of Kali Yuga the Mlechcha invaders started attacking Northern India, some
Bargujar moved eastward to central India; they ruled over the Northeastern region of Rajasthan,
called Dhundhar, and were referred to as Dhundhel or Dhundhela in ancient times, for the region
they governed. Later on they called themselves Chandelas; those who were in the ruling class
having gotra Kashyap were definitely all Bargujars; they were vassals of Gurjara - Pratihara
empire of North India, which lasted from 500 CE to 1300 CE and at its peak the major
monuments were built. The Bargujars also built the Kalinjar fort and Neelkanth Mahadev
temple, similar to one at Sariska National Park, and Baroli, being Shiva
The city was the cultural capital of Chandel Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty that ruled this part of India
from the 10 to 12th centuries. The political capital of the Chandelas was Kalinjar. The Khajuraho
temples were built over a span of 200 years, from 950 to 1150. The Chandela capital was moved
to Mahoba after this time, but Khajuraho continued to flourish for some time. Khajuraho has no
forts because the Chandel Kings never lived in their cultural capital.
The whole area was enclosed by a wall with eight originates, each flanked by two golden palm
trees. There were originally over 85 Hindu temples, of which only 25 now stand in a reasonable
state of preservation, scattered over an area of about 20 square kilometres (8 sq mi). The erotic
sculptures were crafted by Chandella artisans. The temples, maintained by the locals, were
pointed out to the English in the late 19th century when the jungles had taken a toll on the
monuments. Today, the temples serve as fine examples of Indian architectural styles that have
gained popularity due to their explicit depiction of sexual life during medieval times.You can see
the erotic sculptures on Kandariya Mahadev Temple.
Architecture


Lakshmana temple at Khajuraho, a panchayatana temple. Two of the four secondary shrines can
be seen. Another view


Devi Jagadambi Temple


Duladeo Temple
The temples are grouped into three geographical divisions: western, eastern and southern.
The Khajuraho temples are made of sandstone. The builders didn't use mortar: the stones were
put together with mortise and tenon joints and they were held in place by gravity. This form of
construction requires very precise joints. The columns and architraves were built with megaliths
that weighed up to 20 tons.
[4]

The Saraswati temple on the campus of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani,
India, is modeled after the Khajuraho temples.
Chronology
The temples have been assigned the following historical sequence by Dr. Kanhaiyalal Agrawal.
[5]

Sequence Modern name Original Deity Note
1 Chausath Yogini 64 Yoginis Est. 9th century
2 Brahma Brahma Eastern group
3 Lalgun Mahadev Shiva Contemp to 2
4 Matangeshwar Shiva In active worship
5 Varaha Varaha

6 Lakshmana Vaikuntha Vishnu Lakshavarma Inscription
7 Parshvanath Adinath
Pahil inscription 954 AD, Jain
Compound
8 Vishvanath Shiva Dhanga inscription Sam 1059
9 Devi Jagadambi
Initially Vishnu but currently
Parvati
10 Chitragupta Surya

11
Kandariya
Mahadeva
Shiva Largest
12 Vamana Vamana Eastern Group
13 Adinath Jina Jain compound
14 Javari Vishnu Eastern group
15 Chaturbhuja Vishnu Southern
16 Duladeo Shiva South end
17 Ghantai Jina Only some columns remaining
The Beejamandal temple is still under excavation. It has been identified with the Vaidyanath
temple mentioned in the Grahpati Kokalla inscription.
Statues and carvings
The Khajuraho temples contain sexual or erotic art outside the temple or near the deities. Some
of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on the outside of the inner
wall. It has been suggested that these suggest tantric sexual practices. Some 10% of the carvings
contain sexual themes and those reportedly do not depict deities but rather sexual activities
between people. The rest depict the everyday life. For example, those depictions show women
putting on makeup, musicians, potters, farmers, and other folk. The mundane scenes are all at
some distance from the temple deities. A common misconception is that, since the old structures
with carvings in Khajuraho are temples, the carvings depict sex between deities.
[6]

Another perspective of these carvings is presented by James McConnachie. In his history of the
Kamasutra,(KamaSutra Ebook Download) McConnachie describes the zesty 10% of the
Khajuraho sculptures as "the apogee of erotic art":
"Twisting, broad-hipped and high breasted nymphs display their generously contoured and
bejewelled bodies on exquisitely worked exterior wall panels. These fleshy apsaras run riot
across the surface of the stone, putting on make-up, washing their hair, playing games, dancing,
and endlessly knotting and unknotting their girdles....Beside the heavenly nymphs are serried
ranks of griffins, guardian deities and, most notoriously, extravagantly interlocked maithunas, or
lovemaking couples."
While the sexual nature of these carvings have caused the site to be referred to as the Kamasutra
temple, they do not illustrate the meticulously described positions. Neither do they express the
philosophy of Vatsyayana's famous sutra. As "a strange union of Tantrism and fertility motifs,
with a heavy dose of magic" they belief a document which focuses on pleasure rather than
procreation. That is, fertility is moot.
[citation needed]

The strategically placed sculptures are "symbolical-magical diagrams, or yantras" designed to
appease malevolent spirits. This alamkara (ornamentation) expresses sophisticated artistic
transcendence over the natural; sexual images imply a virile, thus powerful, ruler.
[7]

Between 950 and 1150, the Chandela monarchs built these temples when the Tantric tradition
may have been accepted. In the days before the Mughal conquests, when boys lived in
hermitages, following brahmacharya until they became men, they could learn about the world
and prepare themselves to become householders through examining these sculptures and the
worldly desires they depicted.
[8]

While recording the television show Lost Worlds (History Channel) at Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a
contemporary stonemason and sculptor gave his expert opinion and forensically examined the
tool marks and construction techniques involved in creating the stunning stonework at the sites.
He also recreated a stone sculpture under 4 feet that took about 60 days to carve in an attempt to
develop a rough idea how much work must have been involved.
[9]
Roger Hopkins and Mark
Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to
quarry about 400 tons of stone.
[10]
These temples would have required hundreds of highly trained
sculptors.