Sublime Love in Cold Stone. Review on Khajuraho

Khajuraho is a picturesque village in the state of Madhya Pradesh of Central India. This village is the abode of unique, richly carved and astoundingly glorious temples, renowned for their inimitable architecture and fabulous sculpture. The artistic minded and imaginative kings of the “Chandela” dynasty, during 950-1050 A.D, built these temples and presented them as a gift to the world. Those kings probably believed that the fulfillment of the desires on this earth was the way for the ultimate liberation of the soul, “Nirvana”. This theory, therefore, might justify the theme of “erotic love” of the sculptures found on the exterior walls of the temples. The beautifully carved images on stone depict men and women engaged in their daily lives of love, desire and conjugal union, in various positions.

Only 22 temples of the 85 built in those days withstood the rage of time and in the year 1838, Captain T S Burt discovered them from an abandoned state. He categorized them as “extremely indecent and offensive”, as he could not fathom why the sculptors had explicitly selected the theme of love in their carvings. Every art has a purpose and so has the art of Khajuraho and why the Chandela kings had chosen to engrave the art of love may be justified thus: In Indian books on performing arts of music, dance and drama; and temple making, it is said that the purpose of art is to evoke in the beholders a taste for a particular human emotion. The nine human emotions listed are erotic love, humour, compassion, anger, courage, fear, disgust, wonder and peace. So on the walls of these temples, the artists have carved very splendidly those images to evoke in the audience an experience of the subtle moods of love, various and different from one another, and in turn they instill an emotion of wonder and not “erotic love”.

These temples are the second most visited tourist complexes after the Great Taj Mahal.

How to reach here

There is an airport in Khajuraho with convenient daily flights from Agra and Delhi. There are flights from Bombay also. Those who wish to travel by train can do so from the railheads of Jahnsi, Satna, and Mahoba. Buses also ply to Khajuraho from these places.

Climate

It has hot summers and cold winters and the best time to visit this place is from July to March.

Places to see

The temples are divided into three groups Eastern, Western and Southern, each of them having breathtaking architectural features and sculptures.

There is an archaeological museum displaying sculptures and panels in stone and huge statues.

There is a sprawling complex in the centre of Khajuraho where craftsmen from all over India work to produce handicrafts of various ethnicities, for sale.

Kalinjar Fort: About 100 km from the temple complex, this is a fort built in the 10th century.

Dhubela Museum: About 65 km from Khajuraho, this is another old fort which has an exceptional anthology of art works.

Pipraghat: There is an excursion spot, 24 km away. Boating and swimming can be done in the KEN River.

Pandav Falls: This is situated at 34 km away. It is a scenic waterfall into a valley of the shape of a bowl, on the river KEN.

Ken Gharial Sanctuary: About 24 km from the temples, this is a home for crocodiles.

Benisagar Lake and dam: This is a beautiful picnic spot 11km from Khajuraho. Boating is famous here.

Ranguan Lake: 25 km from Khajuraho, this is another scenic picnic spot with boating facilities.

Panna National Park: This is 32 km from Khajuraho. On the banks of river KEN, this picturesque park has jungles housing a variety of species of wild life like tigers, leopards, wolves, bluebills, etc.

Hotels

There are many hotels in Khajuraho of different ranges. Some of them are:

De-Luxe: Jass Oberoi, Clarks Bundela, Taj Chandela, Holiday Inn

Medium: Casa De William, Hotel Payal, Hotel Jhankar, Hotel Zen

Budget: Hotel Gem Palace, Hotel Jain, Hotel Lakeside, Hotel Surya, Hotel Sunset View.

A few more words: I had visited these temples a number of years back with my friends, when I was a bachelor. I could only identify the sculptures as images depicting erotic love. But when I visited them in October last year, with a more matured mind having seen the world with a broader outlook, those images evoked in me an awe, a bliss and a wonder and I saluted those kings and the artists of the past glorious days for their magnanimous vision and imagination. I couldn’t help overhearing one European couple, probably honeymooners. “ Well we have tried the Indian curry, why not we try some Indian positions?”

I bet they must have had a wonderful time.

Cheers!!!