Historical Experiences at Khajuraho
While in India, feel the sculptures and experience the monuments. This is the best travel tip that could be given to any interested tourist who comes to this lovely subcontinent. While here you would surely enjoy the pleasures of being in a totally different land filled with the best tourist delights.
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in the district of Chhatarpur is a beautiful town in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. Located around 620 kilometres to the southeast of the city of New Delhi, this is a popular tourist hub in this part of India. This is in fact the largest group of medieval temples belonging to the Jain and Hindu religions. The place is famous for the most erotic structures that form the mainstay of this place.
The word Khajuraho comes from the word Khajuravahaka which in Sanskrit means the one who carries the date palm. Khajur in Sanskrit means dates and vahaka means one who carries. T.S.Burt was the British engineer who came here in the 19th century and he was followed by the General Alexander Cunningham who was the main person to have put Khajuraho on the Indian map. He explored the entire area on behalf of the Indian Archaeological department and then described the entire place with a lot of adulation Khajuraho has been recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site and is also one of the seven wonders of India.
There were some bargujar Rajputs who moved to the central part of India and then they ruled over the entire Rajasthan region. This was then called Dhundhar. They also used to call the region Dhundela, Dhundel and they started calling themselves Bundelas or Chandelas too. These were the vassals of the Pratihara Empire in the northern part of India and they ruled from 500 CE to 1300 CE. This was the peak where the major monuments were constructed. The Neelkanth Mahadev temple and the Kalinjar fort were built here on the lines of the temples found in the Sariska National park and Baroli.
This was thus the capital of the Chandel Rajputs which was a Hindu dynasty which ruled in India in the 10th to 12th centuries. With Kalinjar as the political capital the Khajuraho temple were constructed over a period around 200 years from 950 to 1150. Then Mahoba became the capital and Khajuraho continued to progress for a long time. It has no forts as the Chandel Kings never used to inhabit in the cultural capital.
The entire area was surrounded by a wall with around eight gates which is bordered by golden palm trees. Initially there were 80 temples for the Hindus, out of which around 25 stand in a preserved state and is spread over around 20 square kilometers. The temples are great examples of the architectural styles of Indian culture that have had a lot of popularity and depicts the sexual life that existed in those medieval times. The people living in the village of Khajuraho used to take care of the temples to the best of their ability.
The Lakshmana temple in the region of Khajuraho is a greatly fascinating structure and has the best visual delights for an architecture lover. Today one can see tow of the four temples that are found here.
The temples here are grouped into three divisions of western, southern and eastern groups. The temples are made totally of sandstone and do not have mortar in them. The stones were joined with tenon and mortise joints and were held by gravity. Very precise joints are needed for this kind of construction and there are archtraves and columns everywhere.
India is a land of sculpted delights and carved ecstacies. The country showcases some of the best architectural feats and the most beautiful monuments and caves. Khajuraho is a group of lovely temple delights and provides the best cave sights to the tourist coming to this part of the world.
