Do Khajuraho temples contain illustrations of Kamasutra?
Is it really true that this was a place for free love?
Let us be done with all the misconceptions and uncomfortable questions related to sculptures of Khajuraho temples. Let us (unlearn to) learn the true legacy of the Khajuraho group of monuments.
What is cultural heritage?
In the evolution of Nature, mankind is considered Nature’s most perfect creation. The reason is: man is the only sentient being who can feel the wonders and beauty of Nature and can also express it variedly. The interaction of mankind with Nature has been recorded as a cultural heritage – man-made and natural.
Among the man-made, the earliest is that of the cave paintings. In India, the Bhimbetka in MP is among the oldest and has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has confirmed continuous human settlements here from Stone Age through the late Mesolithic age to 2 Century BCE. Cave art is considered as the earliest cultural imprint as they signify a huge leap in the evolution of mankind. Simply put: cave art is the first awakening coming from the sacred space of consciousness and therefore expressions of beauty. They capture the essence of the earliest man’s urge to communicate his intelligent skills transcending Time. The paintings on walls of caves also etch early man’s existence in Space. Although their art may not have any direct cultural impact in the present, their historical significance carries an evolutionary value that classifies it as cultural heritage.
Temples as cultural heritage
In the context of evolution, the next leap in the passage of time can be attributed to agriculture. As agriculture grew as an industry, social settlements increased and expanded. This helped more nuanced expressions of culture to emerge. These included pottery, weaving and even extended to worshipping. During the early medieval times in India, prayer places were observed sacred that were then later orchestrated as cultural expressions of human consciousness. The coming together to collective consciousness acknowledging purity as a specific attribute of the Creation makes the object (maybe a space or form) worthy of devotion.
Interestingly temple culture is conceived to invigorate sensory perceptions and counter the various complexities of the body and mind. In a sense, on one hand, medieval temple art and architecture were new technologies that were designed to restore the ecological balance of rampant transformation of Nature due to agriculture; on the other hand, they were a collective effort to keep the society intellectually skillful and emotionally rich. The idea was that if customs and disciplines were created to keep a space sacred, then it would provide society a place to revisit that will aid a direct link with those people who have contributed to adding beauty to the collective consciousness of the land. In this way, the past and present could engage in existential truths and the nature of true beauty and reality. The effort that is made to connect or to preserve the wisdom and the beauty of a past carrying a cultural value also becomes worthy as heritage.
Tangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage
A man-made cultural heritage can be both tangible as well as intangible. That which can be possessed, seen, and touched is tangible; and that which can only be realized or relished from unraveling an esoteric is intangible culture.
Temples are an intangible cultural heritage, as the cult icon of a temple (in stone or bronze) although is a tangible art, when consecrated it acquires intangible qualities. Hence, cult icons are more alive when housed in a temple rather than when displayed in a museum.
This is how museums are functionally different from cultural heritage monuments.
Legacy of Khajuraho Monuments
Although the antiquity of the site can be traced back to prehistoric times, there is no evidence of a township at Khajuraho till 900 CE. Khajuravahaka as it was known earlier, became a religious township for the Chandella-s, a dynasty that had amassed wealth and rose as a major political power in the Bundelkhand region of India during the early medieval times. The temples were commissioned by the Chandella rulers and built between 900 – 1150 CE.
Historical Background of Khajuraho
Until the 14th Century, there have been accounts of even Muslim travelers. ‘The historian Alberuni, who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni during his raid on central India in 1022 CE mentions ‘Khajuraho’ as the capital town of Jejahuti, the region ruled by the Chandellas. In 1335 CE, the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta visited Khajuraho to witness the ‘Jogis’ (mendicants) and their magic. In his memoirs, he describes a large pond, one mile in length, surrounded by tall temples’, writes Prof Devangana Desai, an art historian. This description fits the landscape, as the Western Group of temples stands tall surrounding the Shivsagar, a large naturally formed water body. However, by the time of the 16th Century, the existence of this temple completely vanished.
In the year 1838, when a British engineer, Captain T. S. Burt was on a day trip from Chhatarpur, he came across the monuments engulfed by a jungle. He wrote in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Vol 8), ‘…before finally taking leave of the seven temples, I shall state in my opinion, that they are most probably the finest aggregate number of temples congregated in one place to be met with in all India, and all are within a stone’s throw of another.’ His reference was also to the Western Group of Monuments. But it was not until Alexander Cummingham of ASI, in 1852, took notice of its historical and cultural importance as the largest group of Hindu monuments in Northern India. Despite its growing popularity, only in 1904, nearly sixty years after it was rediscovered, could ASI introduce the systematic conservation and protection program for the Khajuraho group of monuments, which was undertaken by the plans drawn by Sir John Marshall and Henry Cousens. It has been under the direct charge of ASI since then, and in the year 1986, UNESCO declared it as a World Heritage site.
At Khajuraho, legend has it that there were more than 80 temples, however, there are 25 temples that have stood the test of Time. The Western Group of Monuments (14) is nestled near the Shivsagar tank; the Eastern Group of Monuments (9) is sandwiched between the Khajursagar tank and Khajuraho village; and the Southern Group of Monuments (2) is near the Khuddar River. Contrary to the popular misconception that Khajuraho contains only erotic sculptures, of the twenty-five temples, ten enshrine Vishnu in his various forms like Varaha, Vamana; eight are dedicated to Siva, one to Surya, one to 64 Yogini-s and five to Jain faith. Only 10% of the sculptures are worldly and sensual. Located in the Southern group is the Chaturbhuja temple. While other temples of Khajuraho face the East, this is the only temple that faces the West. In classic tribhanga pose, the charming God stands majestically 2.75m high in an ascetic form with matted hair and minimal ornaments. Some scholars believe it resembles the Krishna Yogeshvara, the lord of Yoga; some say it is the abstract idea of God: Narayana associated with the panchayat cult; one archeologist R. Sengupta alone believes it may be Siva in his Dakshinamurti form, preaching knowledge. Whichever form of God, artistically the statue is so captivating that any Rasika will want to drink the beauty of the form to feel intoxicated by it.
Religious Significance of Khajuraho Temples
From a religious point of view, at the turn of the first millennium, the religion at Khajuraho was Tantric-Puranic. Interestingly when we talk about Tantric practices, usually the Shaiva and Shakta cults will only cross our mind; however, at Khajuraho, the Lakshmana temple houses the esoteric icon of para Vasudeva in the form of Vaikuntha. This icon is associated with the Tantric Vaishnavism of the Kashmir school (Pancharatra) and the Vaikuntha image was a war trophy of a Chandella king from the Kashmir-Chamba region. The largest and grandest temple at Khajuraho is the Khandariya Mahadev temple, which was affiliated to the moderate Tantric Shaivite tradition: Siddhanta. Both the Vaishnavite and Shaivite tantric orders have existed side-by-side and functioned within the Brahmanical fold, unlike popular misconception.
Duration: 4 days 3 nights | Start/End Point : Chennai |
Participants - Yoga practitioners | Age - Between 18-45 years |
Date - Jan 25-28 2024 | Destination: Tharangambadi |
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Duration: 6 (+6) hours | Purpose: South Indian Temple Art appreciation |
Participants: Art enthusiasts & connoisseurs | Destinations: Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram |
Date: Dec 3, 10; Dec 17, 24 | Group Size: Min 10- Max 20 registrations only |
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