The temples of Khajuraho are the most sublime expressions of medieval Hindu architecture. Despite its currently remote location, Khajuraho was once the capital of the Chandela Dynasty which ruled most of central India from the 10th to 12th centuries. There were reputedly over 80 temples of which some 20 have survived scattered over a wide area. The most famous are the Western Group located in a spacious park sprinkled with brightly colored bougainvilleas.
Profile of the Chitragupta Temple — (click photos to enlarge)Soaring Temple Spires
The elaborately carved sandstone temples are elevated on high platforms like sculptures placed atop pedestals. Often four small shrines are added at each corner of the platform representing the cardinal directions, with the main building centered as the cosmic axis mundi. The interior layouts and famous silhouettes of Khajuraho typify the essential elements of a classical Hindu temple. Aligned on an east-west axis to face the rising sun, there is a covered entrance porch leading to a large pillared hall, followed by a vestibule preceding the sanctuary. The worshipers thus proceed through a series of increasingly sacred spaces, leaving the profane outside world in their symbolic journey to the center.
Spire and Rear View of Kandariya Mahadeva TempleCloseup View
The sanctuary contains the image of the deity to whom the temple is dedicated, and is customarily small, dark and unadorned, resembling a cave. Contrastingly, the structures above with their sculpted profusion of plants, animals, humans and deities, simulate a vast mountain range that rises to a peak. Each section of the temple has a separate roof structure, from the lowest over the entrance porch to the highest over the sanctuary. While the first three have roughly pyramidal shapes formed by superimposed horizontal tiers, the roof section directly above the sanctuary rises as a tall spire called shikhara (mountain peak); its soaring height emphasized by the repetition of vertical bands and other carved decorations.
Temple EntrancePeaks of the Sacred Mountain
Khajuraho is especially renowned for the exquisite sculptures that cover the outside of the temples with their graceful elongated forms. Not only deities but beautiful men and women are represented engaged in all the activities of worldly life. Many are shown as amorous couples whose acrobatic postures reflect an esoteric code, for Khajuraho was reputedly a center for Tantra, yogic practices exalting the goddess Shakti. Shakti is the creative life energy of the universe manifesting as the feminine principle, Mother Nature, the Great Goddess. Shakti energy can be expressed as sexuality but it can also be sublimated and channeled as spiritual power, for Tantric philosophy teaches to “use the senses to go beyond the senses.”
Detail of the Sculptures
At Khajuraho, sculpture and architecture meld together in a harmonious synthesis reminiscent of the great European Gothic cathedrals. With their serene expressions, graceful postures and refined gestures that recall the art of classical Indian dance, the sculptures of Khajuraho illustrate our inherent capacity for trans-cendence, from the human to the divine.
The verdant landscape of the state of Tamil Nadu in the southern tip of India is punctuated by the spectacular towers which rise above the rooftops of its fabled temple towns. The Muslim conquest of the north did not permanently extend into this southernmost region of the subcontinent; thus it was able to preserve intact most of its ancient temple buildings which have functioned uninterruptedly as centers of Tamil cultural life. These great southern temples were maintained, embellished and enlarged through the patronage of powerful ruling dynasties from the 10th to the 17th centuries; from the Pallavas of Kanchipuram to the Cholas of Tanjore the Rayas of Vijayanagar and the Nayaks of Madurai.
View of Kanchipuram — (click photos to enlarge)Ekambareswarar Temple
Temple towers of KANCHIPURAM dominate the skyline for miles around. As one of seven sacred cities of India and the capital of several southern dynasties, Kanchi’s ancient temples reflect its historical import-ance. The town is a traditional silk-weaving center famous throughout India. The Ekambareswarar temple dedicated to Shiva comprises five enclosures and a thousand-pillared hall. Its colossal gopura, built by the kings of Vijayanagar in the 16th century, is one of the tallest in India.
The development of the southern temple style reflects the expansion of the temple precinct into the surrounding town and its growing involvement in community life. The original sanctuary eventually became hidden inside a series of concentric walled enclosures (prakara) covering a vast area. These enclosures follow a progressive hierarchy from the outside toward the center, with the holiest and most restricted areas being those closest to the inner shrine housing an image of the deity to whom the temple is dedicated.
Plan of Srirangam Temple
The enclosure walls are topped at each cardinal direction by colossal multi-storied gateway towers (gopura) which can rise to 200 ft. in height but diminish in size as they approach the inner shrine. Gopuram have tapering rectangular profiles capped by huge barrel vaults. The brick cores are covered by thousands of figures from the vast Hindu pantheon molded in stucco and painted in brilliant colors. Theydepict a vibrant, crowded and colorful celestial realm mirroring the panorama in the streets below.
Golden Roof of Vishnu’s Shrine Within the Enclosures at Srirangam
The town of SRIRANGAM occupies an island in the Kaveri River near the city of Tiruchirapalli. The seven walled enclosures of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple cover 156 acres and extend into the sur-rounding town. The first three enclosures are thronged with shops and houses for the sacred precincts only start at the fourth enclosure where visitors must leave their shoes. Non-Hindus may not proceed beyond the second enclosure surrounding the gold-roofed shrine dedicated to the god Vishnu in a reclining form known as Ranganatha.The temple is a major pilgrimage destination for Vishnu devotees, filled with shrines to his various avatars including Rama and Krishna.
Rare View Inside the Shrine at Kanchipuram Where the Bronze Image of Shiva Nataraja (Clothed and Garlanded) is Flanked by Those of His Consort Parvati and Their Son Ganesh
Every day a series of rituals is performed by priests to awaken, bathe and clothe the image in the sanctuary, while devotees recite prayers and present offerings of food and flowers (puja) to receive the blessing (darshan) of the deity. Only Hindus are allowed inside the innermost sacred enclosures. In contrast, the outer enclosures are a maze of pilgrim hostels, houses for temple workers, stables for the temple elephants, souvenir shops, food stalls and flower vendors in what amounts to a bustling small city within a city.
Meenakshi Temple Gopura
MADURAI, of legendary antiquity, is the most famous temple town in Tamil Nadu. The great Meenakshi temple was built over hundreds of years, achieving its present dimen-sions in the 17th century. It is a Shiva temple dedicated to his consort the goddess Parvati, who is worshiped here as her avatar Meenakshi. The temple is entered through twelve gateways topped by astonishing gopuram covered with thousands of painted stucco figures, rising 170 ft. above the town.
Detail of Gopura
The Meenakshi temple also boasts several exquisitely carved pillared halls; one hall houses a bustling bazaar where merchants ply their trade under the benevolent gaze of the deities. The temple remains the geographic and social center of Madurai, crowded with worshipers and tourists by day; while in the cool of the evening locals congregate around the water tank to socialize, relax, and enjoy the chanting and devotional music.
Gopuram of Madurai Are Repainted Every 12 Years
Another architectural feature of southern temples are the so-called “thousand pillared halls” where the supporting stone columns have been carved in the round with figures of deities, mythological beasts and rearing horses. These spacious halls served a variety of purposes, like recitations of Hindu scriptures and epics and performances of sacred music and dance. At the height of their glory the temples of Tamil Nadu were renowned centers of learning and culture maintaining their own corps of scholars, artists, dancers and musicians.
The Goddess MeenakshiCrowded Temple BazaarHorses and Warriors
Over time, the patron deity of each locality took on the guise and assumed many of the functions of a ruler, such as granting audiences, accepting tribute and presiding over a busy calendar of religious festivals. Temple festivals often include processions where images of the gods are paraded in elaborate chariots (ratha) through the town. Beautiful bronze images were created especially for such festivals. Cast in the lost-wax process they are unique pieces which, like the famed Chola bronzes (c. 850-1250 CE) represent the height of South Indian sculpture. The best known subject to emerge from this tradition of Chola processional bronzes is Shiva Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance. This graceful yet powerful image synthesizes profound philosophical concepts: the god tramples the demon of ignorance while performing the cosmic dance of creation and destruction within a halo of fire. His serene countenance and hand gesture banishing fear represent the enlightened acceptance and resolution of opposites.
Shrine on the Temple Grounds
SRIRANGAM is the largest temple complex in India and the largest active Hindu temple in the world (only Angkor Wat in Cambodia which no longer functions as a temple surpasses it). Many ruling dynasties of south India contributed to its construction and decoration over the centuries. Most structures date between the 14th and 17th centuries, from its reconstruction after occupation by the Sultans of Delhi in 1371 to its great expansion under the kings of Vijayanagar.
Fine Ancient Carvings Lie Under the Paint
Srirangam boasts twenty-one huge gopuram covered in brightly painted sculptures. This vast temple is an amazing architectural achievement. Yet, off the beaten path, it is seldom visited by tourists adding to the unsophisticated genuineness of the place. Wandering the labyrinth of shrines, gardens and halls, visitors encounter both the garish and naive, and the refined and exquisitely crafted, in a heady juxtaposition of dazzling color and shadows.
The famous temples of Tamil Nadu with their numerous festivals attract multitudes of visitors, for undertaking pilgrimages to sacred places (tirtha-yatra) is a tradition for devout Hindus. Pilgrimages attest to the enduring power of the spirit of place inherent in all sacred locations, with their unique manifestations of energy capable of profoundly affecting and transforming all who visit them.
The Ganges is the longest river in India, flowing for some 1,600 miles from its source in the Himalayas to its mouth at the Bay of Bengal. All along its length the river is considered holy by Hindus and personified as the goddess Ganga, who descended to earth through the magical intercession of the great god Shiva. The Ganges is a link to the Himalayan abode of the gods, an ever-flowing manifestation of Shiva’s energy or Shakti. Having descended from heaven, the river is likewise a vehicle of celestial ascent where planes of existence intersect; hence its importance in Hindu funeral rites. Flowing water purifies and the Ganges is believed to cleanse the sins of a lifetime granting release from the cycle of reincarnation. Thus, for Hindus, cremation on the banks of the Ganges imparts salvation.
Pilgrims — (click photos to enlarge)
Varanasi (Benares), built along the southern riverbank of the Ganges, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth. It is known as Kashi, City of Light, already a great cultural and trading center when the Buddha preached there in the 6th century BCE. The city prospered until falling to the Muslim invaders who conquered northern India in the 12th century. Innumerable Hindu temples were destroyed and mosques often built over the ruins. Yet, despite the devastation, a positive legacy of the Mughals was their promotion of silk weaving and the exquisite brocades for which Varanasi is still famous. Varanasi eventually reverted to the rule of Hindu kings who rebuilt the city in its present form in the 18th century, including the famous ghats, or stone steps leading down to the Ganges.
Dashashwamedth GhatThe Largest and Busiest Ghat
Every dawn an ancient ritual is reenacted as crowds emerge from the dark narrow lanes of the old city to congregate on the ghats for morning prayers and ablutions. It is one of the great spectacles on earth, filled with the colorful cacophony of India. Bathers appear oblivious to the throngs of people talking gregariously or in silent contemplation, making flower offerings or filling small brass pots with the holy water. For despite the increasingly alarming levels of pollution, the river’s sanctity remains undiminished for the devout. As the morning progresses, boats load and unload passengers making the rounds of famous pilgrimage sites. Pandits consult under mushroom shaped umbrellas, ash-smeared sadhus display their yogic prowess, beggars beg, vendors sell, pilgrims pray and tourists gawk, while everyone ignores the cows ambling about. Life and death commingle as cremation pyres are set ablaze while children splash nearby and colorful saris are laid out to dry.
On the StepsCremation Ghat
The ghats challenge our affluent western notions of hygiene, pro-priety and personal space — we gasp, recoil, laugh in disbelief at the shocking incongruities and, in the end, are deeply moved. We leave the ghats with senses heightened and assaulted, having plunged into a far more raw and ancient way of living, exposing the heights and depths of our humanity and all its myriad manifestations in a way that is unforgettable.
