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awoman’s foot, while in another, aman staves off amonkey as a
woman embraces him in fear. Somewhere, brave soldiers set out
for war, proudly carrying their swords, while an elephant turns its
head aside to laugh at their foolishness, while elsewhere, a pair of
mendicants sing and dance in joyful abandon. Acharyas or teach-
ers are evidently held in great respect. They are often seen on the
base, either presiding over a session, or talking to their disciples.
Besides, there are the fantastic,mythical beings, the Vyalas and
theMakaras, which are seen both, on the templewalls as well as
on arched door frames. Each one is an exquisitework of art.
And yes, there is the erotic art as well. However, what is usually
forgotten is that it accounts for less than 10%of the sculptural
scheme. Erotic art, as has been pointed out by Dr. Desai in her
book on Khajuraho, features only in that part of the templewhere
themain sanctumand themandapa or the pavilionmeet.
This is where the devotee stands, as heworships the lord.
It is thus possible that the erotic scenesmean something so
muchmore thanwhat they appear to be, that they could, in fact,
represent the union of the humanwith the divine.
Even as tourists around us stared andmade comments about
the erotic panels, it was easy to ignore them, since therewas so
much to see and appreciate. However, I couldn’t help but wonder
what it was like, back in the 11th century, when the temples were
still new. Did people, even then, come here to see andmarvel
at the scenes? Or were they aware of their significance, and
understood thembetter thanwe ever can?
After three full days in Khajuraho, I thoughtmy sonwould be
tired of temples, and their iconography. However, as we got into
our auto to drive to the station, he insistedwemake a short halt,
to see the Varaha, one last time.
As I watched himstand in front of the gorgeous sculpture in
utter silence, as if committing every detail tomemory, I thought
of thosewho had questionedmy intent in bringing himhere. I
wished they could see himnow, for the answer lay in his utter
absorption.
This, after all, is what the temples at Khajuraho are all about –
our eternal quest for the divine.
Over the three days that we stayed at
Khajuraho, we returned to the temples
again and again, content to just walk
around, noticing some newdetail, admir-
ing somethingwe hadn’t seen before.
Whileweweremost fascinated by
the sculptures of deities and their
iconography, the other sculptures were
no less impressive. The sculptures of
beautiful women, called Apsaras or
Surasundaris, have been thought to be
added for auspicious reasons, since they
were associatedwith fertility, as well as to
add an element of beauty. However, they
also had symbolic references.
For example, a palmtree appearing
behind a pair of women appears to relate
to the name of the town–Kharjura
vahaka, which comes fromtheword
Kharjura, or ‘date palm’.
Everyday life
The emblemof the Chandelas – aman
fightingwith a lion - is another common
motif through the temples. It is believed
that the first Chandela king (the one from
themyth), when hewas a child, fought a
lionwith his wooden sword, and emerged
victorious! Sculptures depicting this
scene are seen at almost all the temples,
especially at the higher levels of the spire,
and amajestic sculpture today stands in
one of the smaller shrines.
There are social scenes as well, showing
us glimpses of everyday life. In one
panel, a physician pulls out a thorn from
Awoman, probably
a dancer, speaks to
an Acharya.
The architect has
presented the
temple as Mount
Meru, the centre of
the universe, around
which the planetary
deities revolve.