PROFILE OF A SACRED SPACE: BY SHAHERZAAD GILANI

KANDARIYA MAHADEVA TEMPLE
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
Khajuraho is located in the heart of India in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. It is a fascinating village that used to be a prominent temple town during 900 AD and 1200 AD. Supposedly from the 85 temples built during this time period only 25 stand today, Kandariya Mahadeva is one of them. While researching about this sacred place I found that every source has a different date range for the building of the temple but the closest one I found is 1025-1050 AD. This temple sits west to Lakshmana temple. It is the 30 meters tall and the largest and most complex of the Khajuraho temples. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and was built by Vidyadhara, one of the Chandela Kings. The temple’s name consists of the word Kandariya, meaning “cave” and Mahadeva, another name for Lord Shiva.
ARCHITECHTURAL DESIGN:
As mentioned earlier, Kandariya Mahadeva temple is 30 m (100 feet) above the platform which it shares with the older Devi Jagadambi temple. Even though the four subsidiary shrines do not exist anymore, the middle one is still intact and is in a great condition. The temple has about 900 statutes; around 226 are inside the temple while nearly 464 are outside. These sculptures cover every part of the temple and include beautiful carvings of gods, goddess, dancers, musicians and beautiful women. The basic symbols used in these sculptures are of male and female sexuality. As mentioned in our text book: “Many of the carvings on the structure are openly erotic... The Hindu religion openly celebrates sexual love as erotic coupling and self-pleasuring reflect the divine union with the Unbounded.”
HARMONY WITH NATURE:
The temple was built to resemble the rising peaks of Himalayan Mountain. In the history of Hindu culture people believe that Lord Shiva loved nature. The surroundings of the temple look pretty quiet and away from the noise of daily life. People who come to visit the temple can peacefully connect with god and relate themselves in one way or other with the day to day life depicting sculptures.
SYMBOLISM AND SACRED OBJECTS:
The main topic of discussion amongst the visitors is, what is the purpose of carving such erotic/erotic sculptures on the building of a temple. Different theories are found in the literature that justifies the sculptures in different ways. One of the theories says that during that period of time boys had to follow the Hindu law of being “brahmacharis” until they attained manhood. The only way for the boys to prepare themselves for the worldly role of “householder” was through the study of these sculptures. A different theory states that the reason for showing such details of the day to day activities in the form of art is to portray what normal people did in their lives every day. Another theory states that art was used as an effort to bring followers back from the aesthetic Buddhism to normal Hindu life.
HOW IT IS USED BY WORSHIPPERS:
The temples of Khajuraho suffered destruction by early Muslim invaders, visible through the disfigured figures at the temple. Khajuraho lost its importance in 1500 AD. The temples of Khajuraho were restored back in the nineteenth century. Out of the 85 temples built during that era only 25 have been restored and preserved. Kandariya Mahadeva temple is not used for worship anymore. Only two of the twenty five temples restored are used for worship today. Today, Kandariya Mahadeva temple is an ultimate tourist stop. Khajuraho has a rich cultural heritage and it also serves as an example of Indian architectural styles. Kandariya Mahadeva temple has gained popularity due to the depiction of the traditional portrayal of sexual life in medieval times.
SOURCES:
http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/khajuraho/khakan2.html
http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit04172000/history.asp
http://www.indianetzone.com/1/khajuraho_india.htm
Exploring Art, A Global, Theamatic Approach