Kandariya Mahadeva Temple

The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. This is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India. Khajuraho was once the religious capital of the Chandela Rajputs. The first of the temples on the general platform at the back of the western enclosure is not only the biggest, it is also creatively and architecturally the most great. Built between the years 1025 50, it represents Chandela art at its premium. Although the four subsidiary shrines that once stood around the main temple are long gone, the central shrine is in superb condition and shows the typical five part design of Khajuraho temples. The main spire is 31 m high and the temple is lavishly carved. The English archaeologist Cunningham counted 226 statues inside the temple and a further 646 outside, 872 in total with most of them being nearly 1 m high. The statues are carved around the temple in three bands and include Gods, Goddesses, beautiful women, musicians and, of course, some of the famed erotic groups. The mithuna on the Kandariya Mahadev include some of the most energetic eroticism to be seen at Khajuraho. The temple stairs lead to a platform decorated with rich sculpted figures of women in a variety of poses. There are women playing with a ball, some engaged in writing a letter, others applying make up and absorbed in a multitude of other activities. On the southern and northern sides, between the balconies are the large scale erotic panels. In fact the mithuna (sensuously carved erotic figures) on the Kandariya Mahadev include some of the most energetic eroticism to be seen at Khajuraho. Below the bands of the main body of the temple are smaller, narrower friezes depicting court life, the army, and processions of elephants and horses. This Khajuraho temple is can be approached by the eastern stairway that has the most fantastically ornate toran (frieze) of the entire group of temples. The floral toran is carved out of a single block of stone.The Kandariyâ Mahâdeva Temple is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India. Khajuraho was once the religious capital of the Chandela Rajputs and today is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. The Kandariya Mahadeva temple is the largest of the Western group of temples and was built by Vidyadhara, arguably one of the greatest Chandela kings. The temple was built around 1050 on Hindu beliefs dating back to 1000 BC, The main spire or sikhara rises 31 m to depict Mount Kailash, the Himalayan mountain abode of Shiva and is surrounded by 84 miniature spires (or Urushringas). Inside the sanctum is a marble linga representing Shiva. The temple takes its name from kandara or cave and Mahadeva, another name for Shiva. Like many other temples in the Khajuraho complex, it has a linear series of access steps facing the east west directions. Other features are columned halls with balconies, an entrance porch, and the inner sanctum. Decorating the sides of the temple are over 646 statues. At the top of the shikhara is the amalaka, a circular ring motif common in North Indian temple architecture. The erotic figures do not span the whole temple and are not to be found among the 226 found inside.The temple includes some of the most energetic eroticism to be seen at Khajuraho.