The beautiful and ornate temples of Khajuraho will mesmerize you with their intricate stonework and beguile your senses with the sheer eroticism depicted through its sculptures.
But this awe-inspiring UNESCO World Heritage Site is more than just its erotic sculptures.
The magnificence and splendour of these temples have to be seen to be believed! They are nothing but poetry written in stone!
The complex has 25 temples spread over an area of six kilometres. The entire area is extremely well-maintained and has beautifully manicured gardens.
Historically speaking....
Chandela Rulers got these temples made in the 9th century; they wanted to establish Khajuraho as the spiritual and cultural hub of their empire.
But the astounding fact is that these beautiful temples have withstood the ravages of time and even today one can feel the skill and grandeur of their art.
The temples are built on the Nagara or Northern style of Indian architecture as mentioned in our Shilpa Shastra.
This architecture is known for its characteristic features of a Garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum where the deity is placed, a large hall and a vestibule connecting the main hall to the inside of the temple.
In the absence of any written texts or scriptures, many theories about the origin of these temples have surfaced....
Theory 1
It is believed that the temples were made to depict the four cornerstones of the Hindu way of life comprising Dharma, Kaam, Arth and Moksha.
Dharma refers to upholding morals and righteousness in life.
Kaam refers to procreation, pursuing sensual pleasures, and creating progeny for the continuity of life and family.
Arth refers to the procurement of material comforts to provide for one's family.
Moksha refers to liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
These four facets of life are beautifully depicted on the outer facades of the temples.
Theory 2
The temples were made as a means to celebrate and propagate the Shiva-Shakti cult. The largest temple is the Kandariya Mahadev Temple where the presiding deity is Lord Shiva. Close by is the Devi Jagdambi Temple dedicated to Goddess Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva.
Theory 3
Another interesting theory has its roots in the belief system based on religious texts like Brihat Samhita that carvings of erotic sculptures, nymphs and mythical creatures on temple doors ushered in good luck.
Theory 4
And lastly, back in those days, young unmarried men lived a life of complete celibacy in many such temples. They had no interaction with the female tribe. These erotic sculptures were meant to prepare them for their future life as adult males fit to procreate.
There is also a common misconception about Khajuraho....
A belief among common folk is that these temples are all about erotic sculptures and explicit human forms. This is not entirely true.
Erotic sculptures comprise only 10% of the total temple complex.
The outer walls of Devi Jagdambi Temple and the Kandariya Mahadev Temple on the western side of the temple complex have the most ornate exteriors with explicit figures. Some other temples like Chaturbhuj Temple have no such sculptures.
Interestingly, I read somewhere that Mahatma Gandhi had once expressed his desire that the temple walls should be de-faced since he found these erotic sculptures vulgar and misplaced on the temple walls. It was only after the timely intervention of Rabindranath Tagore that this idea was dropped.
Many people also believe that the deities have been depicted in sensuous forms and poses. This is not true.
The deities are placed inside the sanctum sanctorum of temples while the explicit sensuous poses are depicted using human forms. Celestial beauties and beautiful nymphs called Apsaras are placed away from the deities, adorning only the outer walls of the temples, never the inner walls.
These nymphs, with their voluptuous bodies adorned with jewellery, are shown doing daily chores like bathing, washing their hair, applying makeup and indulging in acts of gratification. The significance of these sculptures is to celebrate human life on earth with all its needs and desires.
Before I discuss the temple complex in detail, here are a few things you should know before planning a visit to Khajuraho...
1. Keep at least 2 days to see all the temples. If you're going in Summer, then the best time to see the temples is early morning or evening. Since you will have to walk barefoot in the temple on stones, visiting in the afternoon can be very painful for your feet.
2. There is a Light and Sound show every evening on the lawns of the temple complex. The timings of the show change based on the weather and season. You can check the timings beforehand on the official website of Khajuraho Temples at
The show is not spectacular but it makes for a good watch. The sound was okay but the quality of light leaves much to be desired.
3. There are guides available at the entrance to the temple complex. I will discuss this later in this post.
4. The Khajuraho temples are divided into the Western, Eastern and Southern groups of temples.
The most popular tourist destination is the Western Group of temples which has the famous Kandariya Mahadev Temple. The Eastern and southern groups of temples are scattered all over the neighbouring Khajuraho village and are free to visit at all times.
None of these temples is actively used for worship except for the Matangeshwar Temple in the Western group.
5. A lot of people have apprehensions about taking their kids along to Khajuraho. If your focus is not just the temples but also the surrounding areas of Khajuraho, then you can plan a family vacation to visit the beautiful Panna forest sanctuary that is just an hour's drive away. About 15 km away from Khajuraho is the Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary.
But if you wish to see only the temples, then I would say you can avoid bringing them along.
There is nothing of any particular interest for children in the Khajuraho temples.
There are six main temples in the Western Group
Chausath Yogini Temple - This temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali and her 64 attendants.
Kandariya Mahadev Temple - The presiding deity is Lord Shiva, and the inside of the temple has a massive Lingam. The outer facade of the temple has beautiful, voluptuous sura-sundaris or celestial beauties depicted in sensuous poses.
Devi Jagdamba Temple - The temple is dedicated to the Mother Goddess. The inside sanctum has a figure of Lord Vishnu.
Chitragupta Temple - Dedicated to the Sun God, Surya, this temple has an eleven-headed image of Lord Vishnu, symbolizing his ten incarnations.
Vishwanath Temple - The presiding deity is Lord Shiva seated on Nandi, his vehicle the bull.
Laxmana Temple - This is also known as the Chaturbhuj Temple. This temple is different from the rest as it has no erotic figures adorning its outer facade.
Apart from this, there is Varaha Temple, Parvati Temple, Nandi Temple and Mahadev Temple. As I've mentioned earlier, the Southern and Eastern Group of temples are scattered all over the Khajuraho village and can be visited free of cost.
And, now about our visit to the Khajuraho Temple Complex....
Day 1
We flew from Delhi and arrived in Khajuraho in the evening. The airport is about 3 km away from the city centre. We checked into a hotel and headed straight to the temple complex for the Light and Sound show.
The show is organised every evening inside the temple lawns by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department.
It tells you the history of the Chandela rulers, their love for sculptures and how they made Khajuraho the spiritual and cultural capital of their kingdom.
The show was average. The sound and acoustics were okay but the lighting part of the show was dull. Since the show is held when it gets dark, some brighter lighting and better seating arrangements can do wonders for it.
Go for the show only if you have ample time on hand. You might not want to make a rush for it. Nothing spectacular about it.
Day 2
Early the next morning, like most tourists, we started our journey with the Western Group of temples.
We reached the temple complex early, bought tickets and hired a local guide at the entrance.
He took us on a 2-hour tour of the temple. He seemed knowledgeable about the architecture of the temples but the contextual facts that we got from him about that architecture, especially the erotic figures on the temple walls were very different from what we were actually seeing all around.
He kept asserting throughout his 2-hour commentary that these erotic sculptures were placed on temple walls so that people shunned these 'vices' and led a life of complete abstinence. But the temple architecture seemed to suggest otherwise.
The temples, on the contrary, were a celebration of the human form and its many facets. It certainly did not show any shame or preach abstinence. I told him that such figures are found even in the temples of Konark but he was not aware of it.
We came back, albeit a bit perplexed about what we had seen and heard.
Day 3
We had assigned the last day of our Khajuraho trip to see the Southern and Eastern Group of temples around the village but we decided to go back to the main temple complex in the Western group.
We started our day with a visit to the Matangeshwar Temple to offer our prayers. Instead of hiring another local guide, we opted for the audio guide provided at the entrance to the temple complex.
Taking the audio guide was the best thing we did on this trip. It was on-point, minus the personal biases of anyone and gave a clear and concise commentary about the architecture and sculptures and led us through the entire layout of the Khajuraho Temple Complex.
My honest advice to anyone visiting the temples is to take the pre-recorded audio guide. If you still want to hire a local guide, then pick a guide with a recommendation. I have seen many forums exchanging contact numbers of good, knowledgeable guides.
A lot of foreigners who come to visit the temples depend totally on the version and interpretation of these local guides. If someone, like the guide we hired, has such a skewed and narrow opinion of the erotic sculptures on the temple walls, then it can potentially tarnish the image of something so divinely artistic and aesthetic.
To celebrate these divine temples, the Khajuraho Dance Festival is organised annually from February 20th to 26th. This week-long festival showcases the many traditional dance forms of India with performances by many leading and renowned dancers from India and overseas.
To sum up, I would say that Khajuraho is a rare gem, unparalleled in the intricacy of stonework on the landscape of Indian architecture. It would be unfair to see the erotic sculptures on its temple walls in the context of the sexual symbolism of today.
Though it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, I wish that the Khajuraho Temples get more recognition and prominence, somewhat along the lines of the world-famous Taj Mahal.
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