Ode to immortality
Celebrating 1000 years of celestial ecstasy
By Ashwini Bhatnagar

IT is a classical case of one beautiful thing leading to another. One summer night, Hemvati decided to take a dip in a pond near her house. As she bathed under the canopy of stars, her exquisite beauty caught the eye of the Moon God, who was on his daily journey across the heavens. The Moon God could not resist the charm of this young Brahmin widow and descended to earth. Hemvati submitted to the proposal of the Moon God. When the night ended, the Moon God rose to leave. He "blessed" his consort with a child who, he said, would start a dynasty of rulers who would be known not only for their valour and enlightened rule but also for their contribution to the culture and arts of Madhya Bharat. Chandratreya, the first Chandela, was born.

Thus about a 1000 years ago began a process of creation which has become a source of perennial joy. The Chandela dynasty’s handiwork carries this celestial quality with it -- the quality of timelessness and near-perfect beauty. Bold in relief and exquisitely fine in detail, the 20-odd temples in and around Khajuraho stand as majestically as they first did a millennium ago -- as mute testimony to divine inspiration.

It is said that originally the temple cluster comprised 85 edifices of which now only 20 remain. They were built by various rulers of the Chandela dynasty between 950 and 1050 AD. Of the many Chandela kings, the names of Yashovarman and Dhanga stand out for their contribution towards making Khajuraho what it is today. Yashovarman built the "Himalaya -high" Vishnu temple, known as Lakshmana temple now. The image of Vishnu, which was installed there, was received from the then king of Kangra, Sahi, who in turn had got it from "Lord of Tibet."

Yashovarman’s son, Dhanga, was the greatest king of the Chandela dynasty. He assumed the title of Kalanjaradhipati. He annexed the eastern portion of the Pratihara kingdom of Kannauj and had even challenged the might of the kings of Andhra and Kuntala. His influence was such that Jayapala, ruler of Punjab at that time, sought his assistance when he was attacked by Sabuktgin.

But Dhanga’s name is immortalised not for his exploits in battle. Rather, he is known for nurturing artistic activity with so much empathy that art and architecture flowered in their full glory during his reign. Most of the temples in and around Khajuraho were constructed under his personal supervision and represent the zenith of medieval art. He died around 1002 A.D.

The two questions which are often asked about Khajuraho are: Why were these temples built in the middle of nowhere? And why does erotica find such a prominent place on the outer and inner walls of the structures. There are a number of answers to both these questions. According to some scholars, Khajuraho ( known as Vasta in ancient times and Jejakabhukti during the medieval era) was the political capital of the Chandelas, though the fort was at Kalinjar. Ibn Batutah and Alberuni have recorded their visit to the town. However, there is very little archaelogical evidence around Khajuraho to support the theory that it was the capital of a flourishing empire. Apart from the temples, excavations have not yielded the remains of a town which would befit the size and grandeur of a capital. There is virtually no trace of large residential buildings or those used for public purposes. The Shivsagar lake at the edge of the town is barely a mile long, though it has ghats on the two sides which adjoin the town. Historians, therefore, believe that Khajuraho may have been the "cultural" or "religious" capital of the Chandelas.

The town is situated in a valley of sorts which is surrounded on all sides by rugged hills. The terrain is extremely difficult and it provides the site excellent protection against invasions. All around, rocks and thick jungles abound and water availability is scanty. There is very little agriculture and even date palms are absent from the scene. Historians argue that the Chandelas founded their capital here because of these natural conditions. Gwalior and Chanderi, too, are similarly located, they say.

Moreover, though the temple town may appear to be remotely located today, it is situated virtually at the hub of one of the most ancient regions of the country which had the richest art traditions. This is the region which comprises modern Ujjain on and around Shipra river, Mandsaur on Chamba, Pawaya on Padmawati, Vidisha on Betwa and Dhasana on Dasarna. It is in this region that the greatest and the most ancient cultural centres from third century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. flourished. Notable sites were Sanchi, Vidisha, Besnagar, Udaigiri,Kadawaya, Gwalior, Mitaoli, etc on the western side; Sagar, Bheraghat, Amarakantak, Sirpur and Eran on the south and south-eastern side and Chitrakoot, Kannauj and Varanasi on the north-east side.Many of the best and ancient monuments of India are situated in this region which was always famous for the development of stone art to "its most sophisticated standards." This was conditioned as much by the cultural traditions as by geological factors. " A wide variety of stones suitable for various techniques of chiselling, eg, incised, low, high and round relief, were abundantly available and the artisans of this region had acquired extraordinary proficiency in stone art since the earliest times." Thus, it is no wonder that under the patronage of enlightened art-loving rulers, plastic arts found their full glory in Khajuraho.

The answer to the question as to why erotic images adorn the walls of these temples is still being hotly debated amongst scholars. Some of them contend that the temples commemorate the wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati. As evidence they point to a very large number of images of Shiva and Parvati in these temples. Till today, Shivratri is celebrated with much fervour by the locals and the only temple where worship continues is the Matangeshwar Temple located just outside the precincts of the western cluster of temples. It is, therefore, believed that the sculptures depict the union of Shiva (consciousness, a male principle) and Parvati (energy, a female principle). Scholars are of the view that many of the sexually explicit statues in various yogic postures are actually tantric symbols and convey a meaning which we are yet to decipher. Another view is that the sculptures were made to convey that one must rid oneself of kama, krodh, lobh and moh before venturing to enter the sanctum sanctorum .

There is yet another school of thought that associates the erotic carvings with the decadence which may have prevailed at the beginning of the millennium, though others refute this by saying that they could have been a protest against the austere and celibate credo of Buddhism which was reigning at that time. Whatever may be the truth, the fact remains that the sculptures are indeed a celebration of the beauty of the female form in one way or the other. There are hundreds of finely crafted statues of women in the shingara mood. Though carved in stone, each of them is alive and vibrant. Whether it is a statue of a woman waiting for her lover, or in union with him or going about the daily chores, each panel holds one spell-bound. It celebrates the concept of the naikya in all its splendour. Indeed, it is love’s labour dedicated to the centre-piece of love — woman.

But apart from the images which adorn the walls of these finest manifestations of human imagination, is the development of the art of temple architecture. As one enters the precinct of the western group of temples, the grandeur of scale and design of these structures takes one’s breath away. Though the art of temple building in India dates back to very ancient times, it was in the 7th century that it reached an altogether new stage of development. The architects had evolved an integrated temple building pattern with a stylised personality of its own. Its essential components were the mandapa, the antarala and the garbhagriha. However, by the 10th century they began to realise that for the fullness of a temple ardha mandapa, mandapa, antarala, garbhagriha and mahamandapa were also also essential elements. Elaborately ornamented spires (shikars) over temples were also being built by the 10th century A.D. The Kandariya Mahadeva temple at Khajuraho is the best specimen of the medieval era’s architectural aspirations.

In fact, the striking, and perhaps the most distinguishing, quality of these odes (in stone) to immortality is the development of shikhars (spires). The main spire is surrounded by a number of miniature spires, which, rising in a series, culminate in the gracious purity of the main shikhar.

They may be said to represent the never-ending human urge to soar higher and higher. Interestingly, there has been virtually no improvement on this practice of shikhar-building in India after the completion of the temple clusters in and around Khajuraho. Moreover, it is perhaps only at this site of Madhya Bharat that we see the creative processes transcend religious boundaries. The main cluster, the western group which comprises 12 temples, comprises Vaishnav, Shaiv and Jain temples. However, it is in the eastern group of temples that one finds most of the Jain temples. The best of these are : the Parsvanath temple, Ghantai temple and Adinath temple. Though the Chandela dynasty virtually disappeared from the political horizon of the area now known as Bundelkhand in the later half of the 14 century, its "Himalaya-high" creative aspirations have withstood the test of time. The heat and dust of 10 centuries of existence has not dimmed the joyous spirit that propelled the minds and hands of yore to put stone on stone and carve out a fantasy which, though present in the mind’s eye of ordinary mortals, is never actualised.