The Khajuraho Monuments are a group of
Hindu temples in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, about 175 kilometres
southeast of Jhansi. They are one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India.
The temples are famous for their nagara-style architectural symbolism and their
erotic sculptures.
These temples were built
during the Chandella dynasty, between 950 and 1050. Only about 20 temples
remain; they fall into three distinct groups and belong to two different religions
– Hinduism and Jainism. They strike a perfect balance between architecture and
sculpture
Rich in historical myths, stories,
artistic creativity and architectural marvel, these temples are a
representative of the art and architecture of ancient India These sculptures depict
various scenes from everyday lives and various human emotions.
They also seem to celebrate women in her
varied forms. They are depicted as yawning, scratching, disrobing, removing thorn
from feet, playing with babies and pets like parrot, looking at mirror to do
make-up etc.
These temples are often mistakenly
depicted as erotic temples and other nuances are over looked. In fact erotic
art constitutes only 10% of the total sculptures of Khajuraho. This is an interesting
case where the 10% overshadows the remaining 90%!
In this presentation I am not presenting
any aspects of erotic art or even of the female form but of other varied
aspects.* Take a look:
This show an intriguing scene. What are they carrying- a baby? No, a load of stones? Any guess.
I could not decipher this one. Two holy men in a discussion? Perhaps!
Narashima.
Lord Vishnu
Depicting camels in a temple in the midst of thick forests showing fairly extensive human movements between various areas.
After this one, move over to the next photo showing a closer view from a slightly different angle.
Crows will be crows! I 'caught' this one doing his thing atop one of the temples.
(Write up based on information from UNESCO &
MPtourism websites)
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