Khajuraho an erotic heat

Situated in a Madhya Pradesh which is rapidly becoming one of my favourite states, is Khajuraho. Khajuraho gained its name in all probability from the Sanskrit word Khajul which means date palm common to the area.There is romance in the way the place was built and erotic energy in what remains of it today.
Legend suggests that Khajuraho was built by the son of the moon god who came upon a beautiful maiden bathing in a stream. History points to the Chandela dynasty who built these beautiful temples in a burst of architectural uniqueness and expression. Only two groups remain today the western group and the eastern group.The western group temples are exquisite and are well worth a long walk in the beautiful grounds and then catching the interesting Sound and Light show in the evening. It tells the story of the dynasties at the time and uses the grounds to light up the temples superbly.

The temples were built around 950- 1050 and some took years to complete.They are adorned with fine sculptures of erotic art, hunting scenes and  processions. Bestiality and group sex scenes were not uncommon but most beautiful and enduring, at least in my eyes, are the women sculpted with full breasts, always twisting suggestively to the viewer, sometimes wearing diaphanous wrap-arounds which emphasize their curvaceous bodies and their allure.

The sculptures and the extent of detail is truly magnificent and it is still a question in my mind which has remained largely unanswered as to why the Chandelas wanted to show so much of the sexual side of life and how intricate, complicated and unconventional it was. Or was it ? Perhaps that was convention for them and perhaps with the passing of the ages, sexual mores, practices and religion have made us view these temples with our latter day eyes.These latter day eyes certainly saw these women who unbelievably were dusting the sculptures like any good housewives would be doing. It made me laugh.

The light was fading as we left the complex and the sandstone shimmered in golden hues. The night rapidly descending on them when the temples come alive again with all the intrigues and machinations of those who were holy and those mere mortals who relished life to the full.