DAY 186 - SANCHI

186) FRIDAY, 30 DECEMBER 1977 : 302KMS. - SANCHI

 

From GULGANJ we drove  through HIRAPUR, BANDA to SANCHI , where we found the stupa of King Asoka (2 BC).

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There is a carved stone  arch of the Lord Buddha’s life and the Jataka stories and also ruins of temples and stupas scattered  around the hill. At the SANCHI stupa No. 3, relics of monastic disciples, Sariputta and Mokkallana  were discovered.  It was from SANCHI, in 2 B.C., the son of King  Ashoka  named  Mahendra went to Sri Lanka to propagate Buddhism. 

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WIKIPEDIA : Sanchi known for its "Stupas", is a small village in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state. of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 12th CE and is one of the important places of Buddhist pilgrimage. It is a nagar panchayat in Raisen district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Toranas surround the Stupa and they each represent love, peace, trust, and courage. This world heritage site is well maintained and is open to public viewing from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It takes about an hour and a half for a non-research visit of the site. Photography is allowed and audio guides are available.

The 'Great Stupa' at Sanchi is the oldest stone structure in India and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. It has four profusely carved ornamental gateways and a balustrade encircling the whole structure.

 

DAY 185 - GULGANJ

185) THURSDAY, 29 DECEMBER 1977 : 187KMS. - GULGANJ

 

In the morning, we started to visit the temple group in the west of KHAJURAHO. They were constructed likely of carved sandstone  or granite, yellow, green and pink mixed together on the outer surface. They had been cleaned and we could see the carved works very clearly.

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The group of  4-5 temples was built in the reign of King Chandellas (between AD 950-1050), The sculptures around the temples depict most of the gods and goddesses of various important forms of Shiva and Vishnu. The carved art works are also as human being in different gestures and animals as well as musicians, etc.. 

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There are myths and questions about the causes of building KHAJURAHO temples. What was the motivation to create such a beautiful monuments of rock sculptures. Even the interior, it was as beautiful as what one can see of the outside.

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The main thing that makes KHAJURAHO the world famous is stone carving depicting erotic scenes of lovemaking, which are clearly shown. They are mixed with normal human figures and animals on every panel. KHAJURAHO is believed to comprise of 85 temples but had ceased to decay over time.  They remain only 22  temples as of the present time (1977). 

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After our visit to major temples of KHAJURAHO , we continued via CHATARPUR to GULGANJ. We chose very nice proper spot for parking overnight on the roadside. 

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WIKIPEDIA: The Khajuraho temples contain some sexual or erotic art outside the temple or near the deities. Also, some of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on the outside of the inner wall. There are many interpretations of the erotic carvings. It has been suggested that these suggest tantric sexual practices. Meanwhile, the external curvature and carvings of the temples depict humans, human bodies, and the changes that occur in bodies, as well as facts of life. Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes; those reportedly do not show deities but rather sexual activities between people. The rest depict the everyday life of the common Indian when the carvings were made and activities of other beings. For example, those depictions show women putting on makeup, musicians, potters, farmers, and other folk. The mundane scenes are all at some distance from the temple deities. A common misconception is that, since the old structures with carvings in Khajuraho are temples, the carvings depict sex between deities.

DAY 184 - KHAJURAHO

184) WEDNESDAY, 28 DECEMBER 1977 : 173KMS. - KHAJURAHO

 

We left the police station in LALGANJ  and drove through teak forests and rock hills. On the way we came across with monkeys looking like gibbons or macaques. They have black face, soft color hair and long tails.   

We passed PAUNA, where  traces of ancient civilization remains are in existence, in particular many old mosques and fortification that had been neclected  with  overgrown grass.   

KHAJURAHO Temple - http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

 

KHAJURAHO Temple - http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

We then arrived in KHAJURAHO  very late evening. So I went to look around only outside the temples.

 

KHAJURAHO Temple - http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

DAY 183 - LALGANJ

183) TUESDAY, 27 DECEMBER 1977 : 108KMS. - LALGANJ

Today was an unlucky day !  After passing MIRZAPUR about  60 km. ,  our campervan was slightly hit at the rear by a truck, causing the bumper to fall out.  Actually, we saw the truck  running  against our  direction  on this  narrow road in the distance.  So we stopped to the side waiting.  When the truck was approaching nearer,  we saw another truck following with trailers occupying the whole road and  the driver did not keep  to the side.  So we were hit loudly at the rear bumper but the truck driver did not stop and drove away like nothing happened.

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Tilo rushed down to see and noted down the registration number of the truck. Then  we turned back and followed the truck  until we caught up with the truck and  called the driver to stop to talk.  But he did not accept that it was his fault or make any concession for indemnity.  On the contrary, he seemed arrogant  so we followed him indefinitely. Finally we asked someone on the way for the police station,  about 30 km. before  MIRZAPUR , and therefore reported the case to the police.

The police called the truck driver  to stop and investigated  until he finally agreed to pay for repairs. It was probably because Tilo had taken photos of the accident  as evidence that made the driver to admit his fault to the police.

The police led us with the truck driver to the garage in MIRZAPUR  to have everything fixed and paid by the driver. It took us quite some time to wait till the work finished which was  almost in the twilight. We drove back with the police to the police station in LALGANJ, where we asked him to park for  overnight.