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.