Hotel in Khajuraho Offers Ideal Location

Enjoy the following local attractions during your stay:

• Archaeological Museum (2.2 km)
  Experience the ancient art and history of India at this interesting and informative museum. Pieces on display include the Nritta Gansha, a depiction of the Hindu god Ganesha.
• Pandav Falls (34 km)
  Visit this picturesque waterfall said to be inhabited by the Pandava brothers from the Hindu epic Mahabharata during their exile.
• Panna National Park (27 km)
  This idyllic national park is composed of dense forests of teak and Indian ebony and is inhabited by tigers, Indian gazelle and sambar.
  07732/25-2135
• State Museum of Tribal and Folk Arts (1.6 km)
  This museum, housed in the Chandela Cultural Complex, displays over 500 pieces of Indian art, including terracotta, jewelry and masks.
• Western Group of Khajuraho Temples (1 km)
  This group of ancient temples is home to the epitome of temple art, the Kandariya Mahadev Temple, which features a total of 872 statues. If your Khajuraho travel plans allow the time, visit the Eastern and Southern Groups as well. It's located on Main Rd, opposite the State Bank of India.

Introduction to Khajuraho

Festivals

• Feb/March: Khajuraho Dance Festival
• March: Holi Festival
• Sep/Oct: Dussehra
• Oct: Deepawali Festival

History of the Indian Temples:
Located in the provincial state of Madhya Pradesh, India, Khajuraho is known all over the world for its temples, architecture and sculpture. The construction of these temples took a little over two centuries. In terms of architecture of these temples, they form the high peak of the north Indian 'nagara' style. Of the 85 temples believed to have been built between the 9th and 12th centuries only 20 have survived, many in splendid condition, others having given way to the ravages of time and nature.

Close to and around Khajuraho is forest land; a small clearing houses a village populated by no more than 15,000 residents, but visited each year by tourists from all over the world. Hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops mark the entrances to the two distinctive groups of temples.

The hub of tourist activity is the temples built by the Chandela Rajputs, who can be traced as descendants of the moon god. The head of the clan is believed to have been a valiant warrior who fought lions bare-handed (hence the emblem, frequently seen at the temples, of a warrior grappling with a lion); he is said to have ordered the building of the temples, as a means of salvation for his mother, Hemvati, who was ravished by the Moon god.

The spate of temple-building which began about the middle of the 9th century and continued until the early 12th century must have used the skills of thousands of sculptors, architects and masons; unfortunately, there is almost no record of this activity in the annals of Indian history.

By the time the last temple was completed the Chandela dynasty had sunk into oblivion. Khajuraho was the Chandela capital for only a brief period; they ruled for the most part from Kalinjar and other parts of the Bundelkhand region, with Khajuraho remaining their religious center.

The most important aspect of the temples is the abundance of sculptures that decorate the facades and interiors of the shrines. In this profusion of images attention has understandably been paid to divinities, less understandably to celestial beauties and the female form in general and, controversially, to graphic sexual representations. Over the years a number of explanations have been forthcoming for the presence of erotic sculptures at what was essentially a religious centre; no single theory, however, has been able to justify their profuse expression. Were these temple centers of tantric mysticism, which cites sex as an important component of human development towards the Absolute or were they merely a reactionary swing away from the austerities preached by the Buddha?

Perhaps the answer can be found as excavations in the region continue, but this much is certain: Buddhism did at one time have a strong presence here, just as tantric rituals enjoyed a wide adulation during the medieval period. As Chandela power diminished, the importance of capital also waned. Its heavily forested terrain could not provide much revenue, and served to deter invading Muslim armies (for whom the temples were of little interest, while the sculptures could only have appeared offensive they certainly did to T. S. Burt, the British engineer who is credited with their 'discovery' in the mid-19th century).