Tuesday, 25 November 2014

What To Learn From KhajurahoTemple Sculptures

The ancient Indian sculptures from KhajurahoTemple are renowned for rare beauty and awe-inspiring artistry. In fact, the serene town of Khajuraho has the best sculpture and medieval temples in India. Located in the state of Maharashtra, Khajuraho is known all over the world for its erotic sculptures. These sculptures are also one of the greatest tourist attractions of the state.

The temples were built out of sandstone and adorned with the graceful curved of the stone sculptures of unparallel beauty. The temples were created by the Chandela rulers in the Indo Aryan style. Originally there had been 85 temples, out of which only 22 survive today. The site was forgotten for centuries before it was rediscovered in 1838.                                              

The Khajuraho temples mark the highest development of Indian architecture design. The sculptures represented at Khajuraho Temple include the cult images, Parivara devatas (Family deities), Apsaras or Sura-Sundaris, secular & animal sculptures can be seen at Kandariya Madadeva Temple which displays tall & slender figures with distinctive physiognomy.

Khajuraho Temples are the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples. The temples are known for the erotic sculptures within.The Khajuraho Temples were built during the Chandela Dynasty of Central India. After the fall of the dynasty, the temples were abandoned and forgotten and only 22 of the original 85 temples survived when they were rediscovered by a British army engineer, Captain T.S. Burt.The temples are grouped into western, eastern, and southern sections. Inside the temples are detailed carvings and sculptures depicting scenes from life, such as war, marriage, symbols of spirituality, every day life, and all kinds of life forms. Various temples are dedicated to gods like Shiva, Surya, and Lord Vishnu.

The remnants of the temples and their unique sculptures were restored and today they attract a large number of visitors and art aficionados from all over the globe. The sculptures of Khajuraho famous temple include statues of gods and goddesses, warriors, celestial dancers and animals, besides those of couples in erotic poses. The Hindu philosophy of Yoga (meditation) and Bhoga (physical pleasure), the two paths leading to final liberation, seem to be the underlying theme of these sculptures. All life was seen as an expression of divinity, including human love. The union between man and woman was viewed as the culmination of devotion, symbolic of the union of the devotee with god and divinity.

The Falling in line with all the other ancient religions of the world, these sculptures too celebrate the sacred union of the male and the female the Yin and the Yang. The erotic sculptures depict human beings in the act of making love and thereby reaching the final union of two opposite yet complementary forces of nature that is creative origin of all.

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