August 5 - India: Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
When we were in Delhi, we arranged for a driver to come to get us today. (Remember that we weren't supposed to arrive until today because we should have been in Orchha for the past 2 days). So Sacco came to pick us up at 10:00 this morning. We are feeling better, but definitely not 100% yet. Regardless, we're going to hit the town and see the sights in Khajuraho.
Western Group of Temples
The population of Khajuraho is only 10,000 people, and the only thing to see here are the temples. But they are truly a sight to see! The Western Group is the main group of temples, and are arranged in an enclosed park-like structure. Within the park, there are 9 different temples, most made of sandstone with gorgeous carvings and each devoted to different Hindu Gods. The interesting mystery about these temples is why they were built here in Khajuraho in the first place. It's never been near anything, and there has never been a large population in the area to worship at the temples. However, its remoteness prevented Muslim invaders from desecrating the temples long ago, and this is why Khajuraho is such a wonderful place to visit now.
We had to remove our shoes before going into each temple, because it's considered inappropriate to wear shoes inside a holy place. The interior of the temples were not as exciting as their outsides, and we got tired of climbing steps in our bare feet so we only went into about half of them. Also, the bats that sleep in the inside of the temples make them smell very badly.
The nine temples in the Western Group are:
Lakshmi Temple - dedicated to Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and fortune
Lakshmana Temple - dedicated to Vishnu, the god of "right action"
Kandariya Mahadev Temple
Mahadeva Temple
Devi Jagadamba Temple - dedicated to Vishnu
Chitragupta Temple - dedicated to Surya, the sun god
Parvati Temple - dedicated to Parvati (or Vishna)
Vishvanath Temple - dedicated to Shiva, "the destroyer"
Nandi - Shiva's vehicle, the bull.
In front of Kandariya Mahadev, Mahadeva, and Devi Jagadamba Temples
Every detail of these temples was beautiful. The carvings on the side of each structure were so intricate and detailed, and they all celebrated the joy of day-to-day life. This includes the simple acts of putting on make-up, playing with children, picking thorns out of their feet, and - yes - sex. Khajuraho is apparently a place where the Kama Sutra was studied and practiced. What's interesting, though, is that the society was clearly unhindered by the conservativeness and morality of the Old Testament, and how this affected the temples. It's hardly pornography, but rather a way that these people enjoyed life. And the fact that they carved these figures into sandstone - along with other activities of daily life - means that they celebrated it openly rather than the "hidden" way we Westerners are taught to.
Sorry. I'll get off my soapbox, now. I just love observing the difference in cultures. Each of us is so sure that our own culture has dictated the "correct" way of doing things, and yet each culture has such fascinating ways of looking at life. Here's an example of the beautiful carvings, and you'll notice that most of them are just normal activities:
But for those of you who are really wondering, here's one of the erotica. Some of them got a lot more explicit, but it's not for the faint of heart nor for our PG-rated (now PG13-rated) website.
Eastern Group of Temples
We were incredibly exhausted and hot by the time we'd completed the Western Group of Temples. Our coughs are so bad that we fell out of breath every time we climbed up the steps to each temple. But since we were out, we decided to take a quick trip to the group of eastern temples. These were a bit newer, and not nearly as intricate or exquisite as the western group. But we walked around for a little while, looking at the difference in the Jain temples versus the Hindu temples. The Jain temples have more elaborate interiors than the Hindu temples, and have sculptures of Mahavira (I believe) who is much like Buddha.
Interior of the Jainism temple of Adinath
After the eastern group of temples, we also visited the Temple of Dunladeo but we were all "templed out" by this time so it was a quick visit.
We had lunch at Mediterraneo, a cute little Italian restaurant, and stopped by buy more water and some soap. Then we went back to the hotel and crashed for the rest of the day. We've seen all there is to see in Khajuraho in just a few hours. So was it worth the 4 1/2 hour bus ride from Hell? Absolutely!