Khajuraho group of monuments

Also called: Khajuraho temples · Topic: Early Medieval North India: Harsha to the Rajputs · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 4 "Turning Tides: The 11th and 12th Centuries"

Meaning

The Khajuraho group of monuments is a group of Hindu and Jain temples in Madhya Pradesh. The Chandella kings built them, mostly when their power was at its height, between 950 and 1050 CE [2]. The temples are in the Nagara style and are famous for their tall towers and rich carving. Khajuraho is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1986) [2][3]. It shows that early medieval India was not a "dark age": even while North India broke into many smaller kingdoms, its kings still built some of the finest temples in the country.

Explanation

Background: who built it and why

• The Pratiharas broke up. In the 10th century the Gurjara-Pratihara empire fell apart.
• Its old governors and vassals (junior rulers who obeyed a bigger king) became kings in their own right.

• These ruling families were later called Rajputs.

• The Chandellas were one of these new kingdoms. Their land was in central India (Bundelkhand, in today's Madhya Pradesh).

• A strong king built big temples. A large temple showed a king's wealth, his faith and his right to rule. The Chandellas built dozens of temples at Khajuraho.
• They also fought invaders. The Chandellas resisted Mahmud of Ghazni. So Khajuraho was built by a dynasty that was strong in war as well as rich.

Main features: style, plan and sculpture

• Nagara style. This is the north Indian temple style. A curved tower called the shikhara rises over the main shrine.

• Khajuraho is a rare surviving example of Nagara-style temple building [2].

• Towers like a mountain range. Each temple has a row of porches and halls. Their roofs climb step by step towards the main spire, so the whole building looks like a mountain range.

• Material. The temples are built of sandstone, which is easy to carve finely.
• Sculpture. The walls are covered with carved figures: gods and goddesses, heavenly maidens, musicians, animals and scenes of daily life. Some couples are shown in loving poses. These are the carvings Khajuraho is best known for.
• Two religions side by side. The Hindu and Jain temples stand together on the same site [2]. This shows that the same rulers supported different faiths.

Key temples

• Kandariya Mahadeva
• It is the largest and grandest temple at Khajuraho. It is credited to king Ganda (AD 1017–29) [2].
• It is Shaivite (dedicated to Shiva) and dates to around c. 1000 [3]. These dates are approximate, and the sources give slightly different ones.

• It is about 31 metres (102 feet) high. Porches and small turrets pile up towards one tall spire [3].

• Lakshmana temple is another major Chandella temple at the site.

What survives today

• Of the dozens of temples once built, only about 20–23 survive [2].
• They are spread over about 6 sq km, in three clusters: western, eastern and southern [2].
• In 1986 the site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site [2][3].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: early medieval North India. Chandella power was at its height between 950 and 1050 CE [2].
• Dynasty and rulers: the Chandellas. King Ganda (1017–29) is credited with the Kandariya Mahadeva temple [2].
• Place: Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. The temples are in three clusters (western, eastern, southern) over about 6 sq km [2].
• Religions: Hinduism (Shaiva and Vaishnava temples) and Jainism [2].
• Heritage status: UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1986 [2][3].
• How we know:
• The surviving temples and their sculpture are the main evidence.
• Dates and patrons are worked out from the style of the buildings and from Chandella records. So most dates are given as "c." (about).
• The Kandariya Mahadeva temple appears in NCERT Class 7 as an example of a royal temple of this period.

Don't confuse with

• Konark Sun temple: built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I in Odisha, about 1250. It is shaped like Surya's chariot, with 24 wheels and 6 horses [4][5]. Khajuraho is Chandella, in Madhya Pradesh, and mostly dates to 950–1050.
• Bhojeshwar temple (Bhojpur): built by Bhoja Paramara of Malwa and never finished. It is also in Madhya Pradesh, but it belongs to a different dynasty and is a single temple, not a group.
• Kandariya Mahadeva vs Lakshmana temple: both stand at Khajuraho. Kandariya Mahadeva is the largest, Shaivite, about 31 m high, and credited to Ganda [2][3].
• Nagara vs Dravida style: Khajuraho is Nagara (north Indian, with a curved shikhara over the shrine). Dravida is the south Indian style, with a pyramid-like tower called a vimana and large gateways (gopurams).

Prelims Hooks

• Khajuraho → Chandellas → Madhya Pradesh. Their power was at its height between 950 and 1050 CE [2].
• UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. About 20–23 temples survive in three clusters (western, eastern, southern) over about 6 sq km [2][3].
• Trap: Khajuraho is not only Hindu. It has both Hindu and Jain temples [2].
• Kandariya Mahadeva: the largest Khajuraho temple. It is Shaivite, from c. 1000, about 31 m (102 ft) high, and credited to king Ganda (1017–29) [2][3].
• Style: Nagara (north Indian style with a curved shikhara), not Dravida or Vesara [2].
• Chronological order: Khajuraho (950–1050) → Mount Abu battle against Ghuri (1178) → Konark Sun temple (c. 1250).

Mains Points

• Political break-up was not cultural decline. After the Pratiharas collapsed, mid-sized kingdoms like the Chandellas spent heavily on temples. Khajuraho, Bhoja's Dhara and Konark all show that North India stayed culturally rich in this period. Use this to argue against calling early medieval India a "dark age".
• Temples as political statements.
• Kandariya Mahadeva (c. 1000, about 31 m) was a statement of royal power as well as a place of worship [2][3].
• Its size and carving advertised the Chandella king's wealth and his right to rule.

• The same kings also resisted Mahmud of Ghazni, so the temple and the war were two sides of one royal image.

• A shared sacred space. Hindu and Jain temples stand side by side at Khajuraho [2]. This shows that royal patronage was not limited to one faith. It is good material for GS-I questions on Indian heritage and the variety within Indian religious art.

Related concepts

• Agnikula legend
• Paramaras
• Raja Bhoja
• Bhojeshwar temple
• Bhojshala
• Samarangana Sutradhara
• Chandela dynasty
• Kandariya Mahadeva temple
• Chaulukya dynasty
• Modhera Sun temple

Read more

• Rajput kingdoms and eastern India