Mutilated murtis and broken temples of Khajuraho

- July 06, 2020

Javari Mandir

This is not a detailed or a large post - but a short photo essay on the later temples, and smaller and not much visited temples of Khajuraho. A photograph I saw this morning of Chaturbhuj Vishnu murti haunted me, to think of all those mutilated murtis and broken parts of such beautiful temples. These temples were built much after the grand Lakshmana and the Kandariya Mahadev Temples were built. What stands tall even today as the pinnacles of north Indian style of temples called as Nagara style, based on the shape and styling of the shikaras.

These are photos taken on my phone, and I do not have a good exterior picture of the Duladev Temple. As I said this is a post is about the later temples Vamana, Javari, Chaturbhuj and Duladev. They are beautiful, different and in fact the last one in that long series of frentic temple construction is the only temple that does not have any erotic sculptures and houses a very unique Vishnu Murti in the Garbhagriha. Duladev is a Shiva temple, the name is a later addition as per a local legend of a newly wed bridegroom who fell ill and after prayers at temple got revived - so derived from the word dulha a bridegroom. The temple houses a Shiva Linga and locals come and pray here even today. The beautiful Javari temple, considered a Vishnu temple but the murti inside has head chopped off. The Vamana is once again a beautiful temple, and the chubby Vamana has also not been spared. It is so touching to see devotees, pilgrims bring a few flowers and leave it at the feet of the deities. Broken, unidentifiable, door locked, nothing deters their devotion, they leave it outside.

Much has been written on Khajuraho, many theories, many architectural thesis and research papers, but the devotees, pilgrims still can't get a book that will give them a complete picture of what the surviving 22 or 25 temples are about, history, legends, iconography. Among the Hindu temples (no, I am not going to call them the Brahmanical temples like the ASI and the secular historians) there is only one temple which is functional, and in what is called the eastern group of monuments the Digambara Jains have restored a couple of temples and they continue to worship. Many justifications can be forwarded by historians on the reason for destruction of temples, but nothing will wipe away the tears of devotees when they see their dear deities broken. Unacceptable vandalism, and unbelievable iconoclasm. I think of the brave Chandelas, who between the major Islamic invasions, from Mahmud Ghazni to Ghauri continued to build such magnificent temples, and so were the Bundelas who later took over parts of that kingdom ruling from Orchha. We simply have one line from Ibn Battuta -

“Here there is a large tank … on the sides of which there are temples containing idols which have been mutilated by the Muslims.”

I am yet to read the larger volume on Khajuraho by Dr. Devangana Desai. Till then only her description of the Chaturbhuja Vishnu as perhaps the Krishna Yogeshvara or an ascetic Vishnu of the Pancharatra tradition will keep ringing in my ears. She refutes the theory that it is Dakshinamurthy, and the identification I have given is based on her explanation.

Khajuraho needs a newer introduction, a completely different perspective to look at than the erotica label. I would definitely begin that journey with the later temples, and definitely one of the last of temples, the Chaturbhuj temple. Stylistically Dr Desai fixes its date to 1100 CE and says the Duladev should be the last at 1130 CE built by Chandela king Madanavarman.