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Besides the temples
exemplary for their architecture and bold artistic statement, Khajuraho
is just a small modest village with no more than 3000 residents surrounded
by the forestland. As Khajuraho gets a fair number of tourists from all
over the world every year, hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops have
sprung up in large numbers at the entrances to the two distinctive groups
of temples here. Aeroplanes are not a thing of curiosity for the villagers
anymore and the emblem of a warrior fighting a lion single-handedly and
with his bare hands seen frequently at the temples is said to be the depiction
of the valiant warrior-king who was the head of the clan of the Chandela
Rajputs who built the temples. Chandelas are believed to be the descendants
of the Moon God himself. The construction of the temples is said to have
started in the mid- 9th century and continued until the early 12th century
and due to the lack of records of the building activity, the names of the
thousands of sculptors, architects and masons, who must have contributed
in their construction has been lost forever into obscurity.
Chandela dynasty had already
lost its glory by the time the last temple was completed. Khajuraho was
the capital of the Chandelas for a brief period but for most of the part,
it was their religious center. However, there have been many theories regarding
the sculptures adorning the facades and interiors of the Khajuraho temples.
Some of them believe these temples to be centers of tantrik mysticism,
which regards sex as an important part of human development and the attainment
of the Absolute. Others believe that they were constructed as such to lure
men and women back to the family and worldly life, which play an important
part in Hinduism, from the austerities preached by the Buddha that were
gaining favor with people of that time. Since thick forests surrounded
these temples thus shielding them from the Muslim armies. T. S. Burt, the
British engineer who re-discovered the temples in the mid-19th century
found the sculptures offensive. However, the local villagers and tribals
have regularly used the temples ever since they were constructed, especially,
the temple of Matangeshwar Mahadev for worshipping. It was General Alexander
Cunningham who worked hard to gather details about them for the first time
in his Survey of India reports. It was his efforts that stirred interest
in people about the place. Later, the roads were constructed, facilities
were provided for and luxury hotels were planned here and thus, started
the resurrection of Khajuraho
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