Feline Musings

At a distance of 176 kms from Jhansi, a three-hour’s drive by car is the modern hamlet of Khajuraho. Khajuraho, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, is a curious mix of modern amenities, laid-back rustic life, and tourist hustle and bustle around the more than thousand-year old group of Hindu and Jain temples. The Khajuraho monuments is the largest group of medieval temples and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The name Khajuraho is derived from the Hindi word khajur meaning date palm. The city was once the original capital of the Chandela Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty that ruled this part of India from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of a hundred years, from 950 to 1050. There were originally over 80 Hindu temples, of which only 22 now stand in a reasonable state of preservation, scattered over an area of about 8 square miles.

It is believed that Khajuraho was originally a lake-temple city, with lakes surrounding the massive shikara style temples dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, Siva and various Devi forms. After the Muslim invasions of Northern India, the Chandela religious city lay abandoned and slowly the fecund jungle overpowered the tall-shikaras of these temples. It was in the 19th century that a British officer was led to these temples by one of his orderlies. By the time the temples were retrieved from the thick overgrowth, the jungles had taken a toll on the lavish sculptures and exotic architecture. What remains today, is passionately protected and maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India and as the word spreads about the great splendor of these places of worship and historical treatise, tourists flock from all around the world to capture the various facets in their cameras and mind’s eye.

Khajuraho has been misinterpreted by tourists as the “kamasutra temples” because of some of the erotic sculptures and sexual postures depicted on the external walls of the temples. It is noteworthy that while erotic sculptures form only one-tenth of the total sculptures, the greatest emphasis is on the celebration of womankind, in her myriad moods and facets. Hence, there are carvings of a woman writing letter, applying makeup to her eyes, combing her tresses, dancing, picking a thorn from her foot, and playing with her child – all depicted in intricate detail, sharply etched, sculpted with consummate skill. There are scenes from daily life, of warfare, of musicians and potters, and various forms and facets of animal and human life. These temples are built to commemorate life of the commoners, and sexual union being one of the important aspects of existence, receives an apt representation on the temple walls.

According to one line of thought, the Chandelas were followers of the tantric cult, which believes that gratification of earthly desires is a step towards attaining the infinite liberation, Nirvana, and hence the erotic depictions on the exteriors of the temples. Another school of thought believes that the sculptures portray that to pay respect to the deities, one must meditate and leave the worldly desires outside the temple walls. Yet another theory is that the erotica of Khajuraho, and indeed of other temples, were designed to prepare student celibates or “brahmacharis” for the worldly role of householder or “grihastha”. The Incredible India publication on Madhya Pradesh, gives another view that the erotic and in some instances distasteful cohabitation imagery is depicted in between scenes of warfare and victory, to show that how soldiers would involve in such practices to relieve stress and for entertainment.

Whatever, be the concept behind the sculptures and the carvings, one thing is evident that each panel deserves in-depth analysis and appreciation. One day, one week, a month, or even a year, is not enough to go into the great depths of the intricate and aesthetic work of art and extreme passionate involvement of the artists. Everything about Khajuraho is magical. Even the legend surrounding the precipitator of the temples is mystical.

Hemavati, the beautiful young daughter of a Brahmin priest was seduced by the Moon god while bathing in the Rati one evening. The child born of this union between a mortal and a god was a son, Chandravarman. Harassed by society, the unwed mother sought refuge in the dense forest of Central India where she was both mother and guru to her young son. The boy grew up to found the great Chandela dynasty. When he was established as a ruler, he had a dream-visitation from his mother, who implored him to build temples that would reveal human passions, and in doing so bring about a realization of the emptiness of human desire. Chandravarman began the construction of the first of the temples, successive rulers added to the fast growing complex.

The mystery, mysticism, myth and magnitude of the temples of Khajuraho are overpowering. I got an opportunity to visit these great monuments during a long weekend in October, and my next post will relate my experiences from a traveler’s perspective. Till then, my ears echo with the words of the narrator of the Khajuraho Sound and Light show – “Oh bold artist, you have carved your song in stone!” Indeed, Khajuraho is a song in stone!

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