Khajuraho : A Celebration Of Love & Life

Khajuraho, a small town located in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh state is famous for groups of Hindu and Jain temples with erotic wall carvings — from voluptuous nymphs to men having their way with horses and orgies, it is all here! Built between 950-1050AD by the Chandela Dynasty, the world famous Khajuraho temples depict numerous aspects of human life and values considered important in Hindu religion including erotic art. There are several theories about these sculptures — some suggest that these are tantric sexual practices and others believe them to be part of the Hindu tradition of accepting sex or kama as part of everyday life. Khajuraho temples were in active use through the end of the 12th century until the Delhi Sultanate attacked and seized the Chandela kingdom. Under the Muslim rule, many temples were destroyed and the rest left in neglect and were under the cover of dense date palm trees for many years, which gave the city of Khajuraho(Khajur-date) it’s name. In the 1830s, local Hindus guided a British surveyor, T.S. Burt, to the temples which is how they were rediscovered by the world but by then only 20 of the 85 temples had survived. The temples are considered an architectural marvel! They are made of sandstone, with a granite foundation that is almost concealed from view and the stones were put together with mortise and tenon joints that were held in place by gravity. The pillars, walls and ceilings have highly ornate carvings of the 4 just and necessary pursuits of life - Kama, Artha, Dharma and Moksa. As exotic as the carvings are, on the outside walls, inside the temples it’s completely stark and bare. Meaning, to attain moksha one has to rise above or overcome all worldly pleasures and trappings. The erotic carvings show a stark paradox with the current, more conventional Indian ideals about eroticism where the topic of sex is taboo. All current torch bearers of the so called Indian culture who go around thrashing couples in broad daylight, it’s high time you visit Khajuraho to know what true Indian culture is. Unfortunately India was more modern in medieval times up until the Muslim invasion and then later the British Invasion. Modern India has lots of catching up to do, to be as cool as medieval India again. Music Credit: T.H.Vinayakram(Bhagyada Lakshmi)