The more sane view is that the sculptures represent the Hindu view of life, as a composite whole, in which a balance is struck between the requirement of the present world and the next. They symbolise the spiritual ecstasy of the soul merging with the divine, contends R.C. Kathpal

Splendours of Chandela art

KHAJURAHO is a small village in the Chhattarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. This small village has got the unique distinction of having an air link with Agra, Delhi and Varanasi and a chain of hotels. Hordes of foreign and Indian tourists, art lovers, historians, scholars and dancers come here throughout the year. In the medieval times the place enjoyed the status of the capital of Chandela Rajput of Bundelkhand for over there centuries. But now the area is devoid of any royal palace, fort or any such edifice worth the name. Khajuraho is replete with magnificent Hindu temples, representing the creative examples of medieval Hindu architecture.

The construction work of temples is stated to have started by the first Chandela prince Chandraverma in the ninth century. For over 200 years subsequent rulers constructed 85 temples spread around Khajuraho. With the ravages of nature and centuries of neglect, only 22 temples now survive. Fragments of sculptures of the remaining temples have been found spread over the territory, which have now been shifted to various museums and private collections. The main reasons for their good condition and state of preservation is that the temples are located away from the mainstream of political turmoil. Geographical isolation of Khajuraho was one of the reasons that no invader took any notice and were saved from the onslaught of Muslim invaders.

With the decline of the Chandela empire and shifting of their seat of power to Mahoba, Ajeygarh and Klinjer forts for strategic reasons, Khajuraho remained the religious capital, and the construction of temples continued up to first half of the 12th century. For centuries the temples remained neglected and were covered with vegetation. Only recently, with the clearing of forest cover, these temples were rediscovered. Some of the best preserved and worth visiting temples are located in a radius of 2-3 km and clustered into three groups — western group, eastern group and southern group.

The western group, by far the most popular and centrally located, comprises Lalguan Mahadev, Parvati, Varha, Laxmana, Chausanth Yogni, Vishvanath, Nandi, Matangeshwar, Chitragupta, Jagdambadevi and Kandariya Mahadev. The eastern group consists of seven temples. The group is famous for four Jain temples of Parasnath, Adinath, Shantinath and Ghantai. The other three temples are Vamana, Brahma and Javari. The smallest southern group comprises two temples — Duladeo and Chaturbhuj. The customary religious rituals of prayers and worships are held only at the Matangeshawara temple, which has a highly polished, monolithic lingam of about eight feet.

The Kandarya Mahadev temple has the loftiest basement with numerous and elegantly, ornamented sculptures in three rows on its wall. The interiors are also spacious with a lavish wealth of sculptures. Vishvanath temple has got the most shapely and proportionate figures with remarkable poise and balance. The Varah temple has got 674 figures of Hindu gods and goddesses engraved on the body of Varah.

The temples of Khajuraho are quite different and unique from the temples found elsewhere and have their own individual characteristics. They are famous, not only for their unique architecture, but more for their decorative and exquisite erotic sculptures.

Khajuraho temples are in the Nagara style of architecture and have been built with fine grained pink, pale yellow, or buff-coloured sandstone. Chausanth Yogni temple was built exclusively by granite, the material which lost favour with the artistes due to its hardness. They favoured sand stone in its place. All the temples of Khajuraho have the same feature and design, peculiar to the period. The temples do not have any enclosing wall and stand on a solid and raised platform. The essential elements are Ardhmandapa (entrance porch), Mandapa (hall), Antrala (vestibule) and Garbha-Griha(sanctum). Temples have only one entrance facing east with a flight of steps. Each succeeding chamber is placed higher, so that the Garbha Griha is at the highest level. Every facade of the temple is sculpted with figures of religious, mythical and historical origin.

One is surrounded by statues of gods, goddesses and other celestial beings, like Gandharvas, Apsaras, Surasundaries, men and women, animals, trees and flowers in gorgeous royal processions. All these are arranged in an intricate and meaningful pattern. In this universe, beautiful females occupy a dominant place. Indeed, feminine beauty is the central theme of the exquisite sculptures.

The keen observer is lost in the temples of Khajuraho, rich with the gifts of grace, youth and beauty.One simply marvels over the figures. Thousands of images of celestial beauties or Apsaras are depicted in the dancing posture.

A variety of ornaments and jewellery has been used to decorate every part of the body from head to toe. The elaborate and varied designs of ornaments used can even inspire the present-day goldsmith to craft costume jewellery fit for a queen. Hairstyles further add attraction to women’s charms.

The erotic sculptures of Khajuraho are the tourists’ main attraction. However, there is much dispute and controversy surrounding Khajuraho. Various explanations have been put forward by the scholars from time to time. Some think the sculptures depict low moral standards. Others say such sculptures were made to advertise and attract commoners to the temples and gradually get them initiated to the spiritual atmosphere. The more sane view is that the sculptures represent the Hindu view of life, as a composite whole, in which a balance is struck between the requirement of the present world and the next. They symbolise the spiritual ecstasy of the soul merging with the divine. Sex, in those days, was not frowned upon as today. Kama (pleasure), Dharma (religion), Artha (wealth) and Moksha (salvation) are the sanctioned four ideals and ends of everyone’s life in the Hindu religion.