Introduction of Khajuraho

Located in the provincial state of Madhya Pradesh India., 
Khajuraho is known the world over for its temples, sex, architecture and sculpture. 
The construction of these Temples are thousand-year old  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
3,000 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; little boys switch from Spanish to French
to German in rapid succession as they peddle
handicrafts or mineral water; signboards, too, are
posted in various languages, and the villagers now
seldom bother to look up when they hear the thunder
of airplanes overhead.
The hub of tourist activity are 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 centres of
tantrik 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
their sometime-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 offensivethey certainly
did to T. S. Burt, the British engineer who is credited
with their 'discovery' in the mid-19th century). The
temples were never, so to say, lost', for
villagers and tribal inhabitants of the region were
familiar with them; they continued to use one temple
in particular  Matangeshwar Mahadev  for
worship, especially on the occasion of Shivratri. While
early travelers such as Alberuni and lbn Batuta had
reported the presence of the temples, they were not
dwelt upon in depth, possibly because of there
being abandoned and overgrown by bushes and weeds.
Burt announced their presence to the world, and the
first major data on them was collected by General
Alexander Cunningham in his Survey of India reports.
Early this century there was some interest in the
temples, but their inaccessibility made their study and
regular travel to the site impossible. Over the years,  roads
were laid and the minimal facilities provided; then, a
couple of decades ago, the first luxury hotel project
revived interest in the region, and the resurrection of Khajuraho began.

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