Khajuraho- Expressions in stone

Khajuraho Group of Monuments is a group of temples of Hindu and Jain Religion  It is about 175 kilometers from Jhansi, they are included in UNESCO world heritage sites. The temples are famous for their Nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculptors.

Most Khajuraho temples were built by the Chandels dynasty. Each temple temple is decorated with a profusion of sculptures with intricate details, symbolism and expressiveness .

                                          image source-google maps

We started from Jhansi for Khajuraho, reached the bus stand by 5:30am, but the bus was full by now. And we were left with two choices, either travel by this bus standing all the way or catch the next bus an hour later.

 We boarded the first bus as we were eager to get to khajuraho, and moreover, it was more than 36 hours we’d left Pachmari and our next destination was yet out of our reach.

So, after this somewhat tough four hour journey ( must say, I missed my bike a lot) , we reached Chatrapur ( khajuraho was still 45 kms away), and here, the local body elections again came into picture, and the bus was not allowed to go further.

 And to top it all, no other transport was available. We roamed for sometime before we found a cab to khajuraho.  Finally, reached khajuraho at 12:30 pm and the things got surprisingly better ….

Checked in Hotel Jain near western group of Temples, it was a nice staying option, nice tidy rooms with all the facilities viz tv, running hot water etc available ( tariff, INR 375 For four of us). Got ready in short time, and left for lunch.  Had sumptuous lunch at Agarwal – marvari bhojanalaya,  after all we hadn’t taken even a tea since morning  ,and adding to this, the food was good and was priced at Rs.50 a full meal. so,we eat our fill.

Went to visit southern group of temples first

Chaturbhuj Temple: The temple has a huge statue of Lord Vishnu in its sanctum.

Duladeo temple: Dedicated to lord Shiva the temple has a unique serenity and the place is beautifully maintained. Locals call it  dhula- dulhan mandir

 

  

Eastern Group of temples-

Jain temples:

Parsvanath temple- is the largest among jain temples having an idol of  Parsvanath.

Adinath temple-Its also a beautiful temple.

Vamana temple: Dedicated to Vamana, an incarnation of lord Vishnu , the temple is built upon a high masonry platform .

Came back to square near Western group of temples, roved around for sometime before going to watch , sound and light show.

Day2: western group of temples

Despite our best efforts, we managed to enter western group of temples only by 7:45 am .

Temples are just so beautiful that  they rendered me immobile for a while, standing there I engrossed myself in the thoughts of the era when these temples would be at their glorious peak.

  

                                           Image source- Wikipedia (architectural explanation)

The temples look golden under sun and the carvings on the temples look as if they are made up of gold.

First temple we visited was The Laxmana temple, dedicated to Vishnu. The sanctum has a three headed idol of Vishnu’s avatars , Narasimbha and Varah. Then we visited Varaha temple situated in front of the Laxmana temple

Visited Kanderia mahadeo temple, the grandest among all the temples the sanctum sanctorum enshrines a Lingam  . up next was the Jagdemba temple built on same platform .

Finally visited the Chitragupt temple, dedicated to Sun god facing east.

We left the temple compound and moved hurriedly to our hotel to pickup our luggage , we’d to reach the khajuraho railway station an soon as possible to catch the khajuraho- jhansi passenger train which was scheduled to depart at 12:20 pm . Reached station in time.

   Khajuraho Railway station

The whole experience of visiting Khajuraho was beyond words. Loved the place

Khajuraho ke nidar kaladhar; Amarshila mein gaan tumhara

 (O! bold and fearless artist of Khajuraho, your eternal creations sing your glory)