Great civilizations and dynasties do not have a fairy tale beginning, for they are all founded on streams of blood . While Indian folklore is rich in heroic legends , a birth of a dynasty is replete with battles fought and won .

It is the same with the Vijaynagar empire , except there are several stories here with various versions. But the location remains the same. A river bed with a fortification on one bank . This was the principality of Anegundi, ruled then by a Hoysala chieftain. When the Delhi Sultans laid siege to the Hoysalas and Kakatiyas, the latter fell, leaving South India vulnerable to their attacks. Our story begins here in the 14th century.

Sitting in a coracle and enjoying the ride around the Tungabhadra I heard a guide narrate the story of Vijaynagar to a group of tourists .”When the Delhi Sultans had invaded Warangal, two brothers called Hakka or Harihara and Bukka escaped and landed here in Anegundi,” he says , pointing to the town on the other side of the river.

The brothers who were under the Kakatiyas then started serving the local chief here . Meanwhile the chief gave refuge to Bahauddin, a rebel nephew of the Delhi Sultan , Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

“The Sultan plundered Anegundi and the brothers escaped again, and this is when they met Vidyaranya , a seer from the Sringeri Shankaracharya Mutt who asked them to build a city on the other bank of the river .He called it Vijaynagar or the city of victory though we also call it Vidyanagar after the seer, “ the guide said. The story however does not end here. The brothers raised a small army and revolted against the Sultan, who returned the kingdom to them. The seeds of the Vijayanagar empire which went on to rule all of South India for over 350 years had just been sown.

And yet everything about Hampi is not about Vijaynagar. Gazing at the waters of the Tungabhadra, I was looking forward to going towards the Pampa Sarovar on the other side. After all, Pampa is older than Hampi or Hampe as it was called and this was the Kishkinta of Ramayana where Rama gets the support of Sugriva and Hanuman and even kills Vaali. It is no wonder that Jambhavan , the lone sloth bear in Sugriva’s army comes alive in Daroji, the sloth bear sanctuary located close to Hampi.

As dusk dawned in Vittala temple , I was lost in the silence , when a familiar voice greeted me. It was the guide and his lot of tourists. As I walked away , I could hear him say, “ This is the greatest empire of all times, people compare it with Rome , but let me tell you that Vijaynagar is even more majestic than Rome .” I thought this is probably where civilizations and empires meet – on battlefields. And yet there is a similarity in the stories – one river and two brothers…

This was featured in my column , Inside Story in the Metro Plus. For more stories of Hampi, visit my blog

Melkote was a trip decided very quickly over an evening chat. 4 bikes and 8 people; we met near Bangalore University at 5:45 AM on 19th of January 2008, a Saturday. I enjoyed the back seat watching the sunrise, as we rode to Mandya. We stopped for breakfast at Mandya. A rightward Deviation to Melkote is about 2KM after Mandya. On our way we took several stops to interact with farmers who shared their stories with interest.

At Melkote, we first went to Cheluvanarayana swamy temple. In front of the temple was an Iyengar, who was marketing his food stall and asked us to have lunch. Melkote is known for the Iyengar Pulivogre. He also told us about the places we could visit. Cheluva narayana swamy idol is very beautiful indeed. One would not want to take the eyes off such a pleasant looking idol of lord Vishnu. Badrinarayana temple is another small temple opposite the main temple.
Yoganarasimha temple is on top of a hill. About 1000 steps would lead you up there. Both these temples are 900 years old and are extremely beautiful with lot of stone carvings depicting stories of Vishnu.

The view of the entire village from top is truly mesmerizing. The lake Kalyani at the base of the hill is a good relaxing place.

We rode back and had tasty Pulivogre, Sweet Pongal and Curd rice at the iyengar’s place. The food is cooked at home and sold here. He also gave us some back ground of the temples. It seems, a jain king who ruled here had two daughters, one of whom was terribly ill. Ramanujachar was requested to arrive and cure her. He took her to Tannur lake and there cured her out of the disease. In turn the king offered him gold, but ramanjachar asked him to follow his vaishnava principles and convert to a Vaishnava king. The king was renamed to Vishnuvardhana. Ramanujachar stayed there for several years and preached his new followers.
Another famous story about the temple is of the utsav idol which was stolen and then found in Delhi, in sultan’s house being worshipped by his daughter. Lord Vishnu himself came in dreams of Ramanujachar and informed the idols location.
This is a major difference I have seen in traveling in India or anywhere else; every place has stories to say, villagers have interesting information about their ancestors and I think this is what makes it so good to be in these places and to be part of history.
We next rode to Danush koti. A cutout in a rock, in which the natural spring keeps water filled, is believed to have been created by Lord Rama’s arrow. While we were there millions of honey bee from nowhere flew in to cover the entire place with black spots. We had to hide behind a rock to save ourselves.
The next stop was Akka-Thangi Kere. Water in one of these is salty and other sweet. Next stop was Raya Dwara – A grand entrance that never got completed. Myth is that the King wanted a grand entrance built within a night. But as the sun’s first ray fell on the incomplete masterpiece, the time was up and till date it remains so.

I recalled the song from film Guru – Barso Re, shot here. The Sanskrit academy was closed. The library has a wide collection of oldest scriptures.
We took a narrow back route from Melkote to Tannur Lake. It’s a neat place to hang around. We took a boat ride.We watched the sunset and returned through Pandavpur-Mandya-Bangalore route.

We stopped at Mandya again for food. Reached Bangalore University at 9:30 PM. Dispersed from there to our homes.
It appeared to me like I had lived 2 days in one. What a long day it was; lovely places; interesting history; enthusiastic villagers. Few back routes that we took have not seen buses yet. Few paths are only meant for bikes and they pass through the real village life.

The three part series on Khajuraho ends with this post where we continue to explore some of the most beautiful monuments in this town. This includes the Southern group of temples and the Jain temples.

Located about 400 meters south-east of Ghantai temple, Jain group of temples are enclosed within one modern wall and maintained by a Jain trust. There are three main temples, which are directly under maintenance of ASI.

Parshvatnatha Temple – This is the largest temple among the Jain group. This is a sandhara temple, having ambulatory around its sanctum. Although it is a sandhara temple, the transepts with the balconied windows, which are so characteristic of the developed Khajuraho temple style, are absent. External walls only has perforated windows to admit light inside. The temple was built between AD 950 and 970, in the time of King Dhangadeva. It has an inscription mentioning a certain Pahila, who was respected by Dhagadeva. This temple was dedicated to Adinatha, the first Tirthankara, however now it houses image of Parshvanatha which was installed in 1860 during some renovation work.

It is still unclear why a Jain temple contains images of Krishna, Rama, Balrama, Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva on its exterior walls. Many fascinating figures of apsaras are found on the exterior wall. They are caught in the act of wearing an anklet, applying eye make-up, and writing a letter, among others. The temple has a rich variety of vyalas with faces of parrots, lions, elephants and other creatures. The doorway guards, wearing crowns, are Jain Indra and Upendra, not to be misunderstood with Vishnu’s guard. A sculpture of parents of Jina is placed in the maha-madapa. The door-lintel of the maha-mandapa bears a ten-armed image of yakshi Chakresvari riding on Garuda, while that of the sanctum shows figures of jinas. There is magic square on one of the door jamb, which states the presence of magical mathematics at those times in India.

Adinatha Temple – This single-spired, nirandhara temple is situated to the north of Parshvanatha temple. This temple consists a sanctum and vestibule. There are chaitya-style decoration on its tower. The wall niches of the walls house Jain Yakshis – Padmavati, Chakreshvari, Ambika, Manasi, and others. The door lintel bears the sixteen auspicious symbols that Jina’s mother dreamt of at time of the conception.

Shathinatha Temple – This is the principal Jain shrine at Khajuraho. This temple complex, with many small shrines, consists of components of older temples and sculptures from Ad 1027 and earlier. The main sanctuary houses a 4.3 m polished icon of a standing Shantinatha bearing a dedicatory inscription dated AD 1027. An interesting twelfth century sculpture of dancing kshetrapala is present at the entrance to the sanctuary. There is a marvelous sculpture of a Yaksha couple on the right as one enters the complex.

Jain Museum – This museum is located at the site of Jain temple group. Admission fee is Rs 5. It houses various Jain images found at and near Khajuraho

The Southern Group of Temples

Chaturbuja Temple – Located 3 kms south of Khajuraho, near Jatkari village and airport, this is a west facing temple. This nirandhara temple is dated to AD 1100. This temple has a sanctum, antarala, mandapa and mukha-mandapa. This is the only local temple which does not have erotic images. This temple has Vishnu image in its door lintel and houses in its specially built sunken sanctum one of the most majestic icon of northern India, a 2.75 m high statue of an unusual ascetic form of Vishnu. This charming god, with matted hair and ornaments, is chaturbhuja (four-armed), hence the name of the temple. In the northern niche is rare image of the esoteric goddess Narasimhi, with a lion’s face and a human body. Images of Ardhnarishvara and Surya are seen in the southern and eastern niches.

Duladeo Temple – This Shiva temple is locally called as ‘Duladeo’, refers to a local tribal myth of Dulhadeva who, like the corn spirit, is wedded and slain amidst marriage celebrations, as part of fertility rituals. This is the last temple in the chronology of Khajuraho temple, built in about AD 1130, possibly constructed by Chandella king Madanavarman. This temple displays marked changes from earlier Khajuraho architecture. This is a nirandhara temple consists of sanctum, antarala, maha-mandapa and mukha-mandapa.

Bijamandala Temple – This is the recently excavated temple at Khajuraho, situated near the Jatkari village, not far from Chaturbhuja temple. The plinth that has been unearthed is 34 m long, which is larger than the 30 m plinth of Kandariya Mahadeva, so far the biggest temple at Khajuraho. This suggests that the excavated temple would have been the largest one at Khajuraho. Photography is not allowed here and excavation is still on.

Food and Accomodation – Khajuraho has many hotels suiting everybody’s budget. Though Khajuraho is a very small town, but all the major hotel chains are present at this location. Hotel Taj Chandela, Jass Trident, Lalit Grand Temple View, Best Western Greenwood, Usha Bundela, Radisson, Clarks Khajuraho are some of the 5 star hotels in Khajuraho. MPSTDC runs two hotels in Khajuraho, hotel Jhankar and Payal. Hotel Siddharth has some rooms facing the Western Group of Temples. Most of the luxury hotels are near the airport and little far from the town. However if you don’t have your conveyance then it would be convenient to stay in some hotel situated near or in the town. All the major Indian tourist and travel sites allow online booking of most of the Khajuraho hotels.
Raja Cafe, located in front of Western Group of Temples, is the best and most economical place to eat in Khajuraho. This restaurant has a Swiss cafe at ground floor and a restaurant on first floor. Blu Sky restaurant, located near Raja Cafe, is another ok kind place to eat. They have a restaurant on second floor.

How to reach – Khajuraho is situated 49 km east of Chhatarpur, 44 km north-west of Panna, 65 km south of Mahoba and 175 km south-east of Jhansi.
Air – Khajuraho is also connected to New Delhi and Varanasi via air with daily flights. Airport is about 6 km far from main town. Most of the luxury hotels are loacted on the road to the town.

Rail – Khajuraho is connected with New Delhi via rail track. UP Sampark Kranti (2448) runs from Hazarat Nizamuddin station via Mathura, Agra and Jhansi.
Road – Khajuraho is connected to Jhansi, Agra, Gwalior, Bhopal and Indore. You can also get buses to Satna, Panna and Chhatarpur. Chhatarpur is the main bus stand nearest to Khajuraho.

We were looking at some of the monuments in Khajuraho in our earlier post. This post explores some of the temples around the historic town .

Vishvanatha Temple – This is the third largest temple, others are Lakshmana and Kandariya Mahadeva, at Khajuraho. This was built by king Dhangadeva in AD 999. The inscription at the temple talks about the two Shiva lingam installed by king Dhangadeva, one lingam of stone and another of emerald. The temple was known as Markateshvara, the lord of emerald, at that time. The emerald lingam was missing when the temple was rediscovered. As per the inscription, the architect of the temple was Sutradhara Chhichchha, who was well versed in Vishvakarma architectural tradition.

Two elephants are placed at the entrance of the temple on southern end and two lions at northern end. The temple is constructed on high raised jagati (platform) which is approached by a fleet of steps. This temple has mukha-mandapa (porch), mandapa (assembly hall), maha-mandapa (dance hall) with transepts, antarala (vestibule), garbha-griha (sanctum) with ambulatory around it. This is a sandhara temple This is the only temple at Khajuraho which had a Nandi pavilion in front of the temple. Originally this temple was a pancha-yatna (five shrines complex), like Lakshmana, however only two subsidiary shrines have survived. This temple is a sandhara temple, with ambulatory around its sanctum. Khajuraho’s earlier representation theme of an apsara removing the scorpion from her body can be seen here on sanctum wall. The niches of the sanctum wall has Shiva’s manifestations: 1) Andhakantaka, subduing Anadhaka demon, 2) Nataraja, cosmic dancer, and 3) Ardh-nareeshwar, half-male and half-female representation.

This was the first temple at Khajuraho where we see the peculiar arrangement of sapta-matrikas around the exterior walls of the temple. These are placed in counter-circumambulatory manner. The similar arrangement was later adopted in Kandariya Mahadeva temple.

Nandi Shrine – This pavilion faces Vishvanatha temple and houses Nandi, the mount of Shiva. This square pavilion is supported on twelve pillars. The Nandi image is 2.2 m long and 1.8 m high. The pyramidal roof of receding tiers of pidhas with an almost plain circular ceiling of overlapping courses.

New Temple – This is a very new temple at the site which was built by Maharaja of Chhatarpur some hundred years back. There is noting of much interest in this construction except the dome of the roof. This dome indicates the Muslim elements in the construction.

This the end of Western group of temples inside the ASI enclosure. Now we will see temples around this group in near vicinity.

Statue of Bhairava – Out of the above enclosed compound, on the way to Matangeshwara Temple, stands a 1.98 m high colossal statue of Bhairava. It is coated in red lead and is still in worship today. From the architecture style, this statue seems to be of early-tenth century. In 1865, Cunningham wrote that the statue was found while digging for stones to build a cenotaph for Pratap Singh, Maharaja of Chhatarpur.

Matangeshwara Temple – This temple is out of western group enclosure, situated by south of Lakshmana Temple. This is the main temple in Khajuraho which is still in use. This has one of the largest Shiva Lingam, 2.53 m and one meter in diameter, in India. The external walls of the temple are simple without any images. The roof is pyramidal and from style of architecture, it is dated to 10th century by art historians.

Chausath Yogini Temple – Walking along the Shivsagar Tank towards the village, you will find this unique open sanctuary temple. This was dedicated to the Chausath (sixty-four) Yoginis, goddesses. Unlike other temples at Khajuraho, which are built in fine sandstone, this temple is constructed with granite stone. This is considered as one of the oldest temple at Khajuraho by scholars, dated to AD 900. The sanctuary located on low rocky mount, contained sixty-seven cells, out of which only thirty-five have survived. One cell is larger than all others. Each of smaller cells were for sixty-four Yoginis, while the central larger one for Durga-Mahishasuramardini, inscribed with label ‘Hinghalaja’. When Major Cunningham visited this sanctuary, he found three images in situ, the goddess Hinghalaja in the principal cell and the two Matrikas Brahmani and Maheshwari in the cells flanking it. These images are now in the museum at the site. This temple is the earliest Yogini shrine in India. It is different from other shrines as this is constructed on square plan instead of circular plan of other similar temples.

Lalguan Mahadeva Temple – This shrine is situated on the bank of the Lalguansagar lake. The way to find the temple is not that easy so get help from local people as this shrine is located deep inside the village, about half a kilometer from Chausath Yogini temple. This is a west facing temple with a simple plan consisting a sanctum and a porch. The porch is now more there now. This shrine is dated after Chausath Yogini, dated AD 900-925. This temple is also constructed with granite stone, like Chausath Yogini.

Shivsagar Tank – This is the main tank at Khajuraho and possibly the same large lake as mentioned by traveler Ibn Battuta in AD 1335.

The Eastern Group of Temples
These temples are about 4-5 km from the western group of temples. You can either take an auto rickshaw, bicycle or a taxi to visit these monuments.

Hanuman Temple – On the way to Jain temples from Gol Market, this newly built, white washed shrine houses one of the earliest inscribed images of Hanuman in India. This 2.5 m high image has short dedicatory inscription of 316 of possibly Harsha era (AD 922), the oldest inscription of Khajuraho.

Brahma Temple – This temple, of simple plan and design, is situated at the banks of Khajursagar lake. It currently houses a four-faced lingam and thus mistakenly called as Brahma temple because of four heads. However the temple was dedicated to Vishnu as the image in center of the door lintel. This temple is constructed with granite stone, except its pyramidal roof which is constructed in sandstone. The main door has images of Ganga and Yamuna on either side, a typical architecture motif of Gupta’s time. This temple is dated to AD 925.

Vamana Temple – Located some 200 meters to the north-east of Brahma Temple, this temple was built between AD 1050 and 1075, enshrines Vamana, dwarf incarnation of Vishnu. This is an important temple as there are not many temples in India dedicated to this form of Vishnu. This is a nirandhara temple, no ambulatory around its sanctum. It has a sapta-ratha or seven-projection sanctum, antarala, maha-mandapa with transepts, mukha-mandapa. The sikhara, tower, of the temple is not encumbered by subsidiary sikharas and is embellished with a fretwork of chaitya arches. In contrast to local temples, erotic scenes are absent in this temple. The main niches of the sanctum contains , in lower row, Vaishnava images of Varaha, Narasimha and Vamana.

Javari Temple – Located about 200 meters south of Vamana Temple, this temple is dedicated to Vishnu as well. It is called ‘Javari’, due to ‘javara’ (millet) growing in nearby fields. This is a nirandhara temple consisting of sanctum, anatarala, mandapa and mukha-mandapa. This temple is an architectural gem and indeed remarkable for its ornate and slender makar-torana and soaring outline of sikhara.This temple was constructed in between AD 1075 and 1100.

Ghantai Temple – This Jain temple is commonly known as ‘Ghantai’ because of chain-and-bell motifs carved on the pillars of the temple. The walls of the temple have collapsed, what only remained are the pillars of the mandapa and its ornate ceiling, lintel and doors. According to historian Krishna Deva, its pillars are ‘among the finest pillars of medieval India, known for their stately form, restrained ornamentation, and classical dignity’. If this shrine would have been preserved then it would have been the grandest temple at Khajuraho. There are sixteen auspicious symbols of the dream of Jina’s mother on the upper lintel. The centre of the main lintel represents the Jain goddess Chakreshvari riding Garuda, which suggested that the shrine was dedicated to Adinatha.

The last and concluding part of this series will showcase some of the jain temples and the temples in the southern group .

Khajuraho in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, India is one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in India. It is located on the banks of Khudar Nala, a tributary of Ken river. Khajuraho’s ornate temples are among the most beautiful medieval monuments in India. Khajuraho was recognized as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1986 for its ‘outstanding universal value’ and ‘human creative genius’. Despite the tourist traffic, Khajuraho preserves the ambience of a village and at the same time offers the most modern facilities to the visitor.

Devangana Desai (Khajuraho – Monumental Legacy, Oxford India Paperbacks, ISBN-978-019-565643-5) wrote very romantically about Khajuraho. She writes, “The first impression that a visitor gets of Khajuraho is overwhelming: Huge mountain-like temples, free-standing in open space, each square inch covered with sculptures. On coming closer, greeted by whistling birds and parrots, one enters a medieval world inhabited by gods and goddesses, celestial maidens (apsaras, surasundaris), mythical animals (vyalas, makaras), warriors, dancers, and musicians, all carved on the temple walls. Each temple is a monumental three-dimensional sculpture itself”.

Lakshmi Temple

For many, the name Khajuraho is synonymous with erotic sculptures, however these erotic sculpture are less then one-tenth of total sculptures in the temples. Sometimes, Khajuraho is also associated with a religion where free love was in practice. Some people also associated it with the extreme Tantric sect, Kapalikas. D. N. Lorenz, a leading authority on the history of the Kapalika sect, dissociates this sect from the Khajuraho temples. None of these popular beliefs really define the character of Khajuraho. There are hundreds of images of divinities, many holding manuscripts and several in yogic posture in the temples. Khajuraho was not a royal playground, but a place of worship and religious discourse, where many sects received patronage. These temple were constructed for purpose of worship. We see evidences of existence of Brahmin, Jain and Buddhism religion in Khajuraho.

History – The antiquity of Khajuraho has been traced back to prehistoric times, as artifacts belonging to Middle, late Stone and Neolithic industries have been unearthed here and near around area. However, there is no written evidence of township of Khajuraho prior to AD 900. The temple construction activity at Khajuraho began from AD 900 onwards when local chieftains of Chandella family amassed power and wealth and rose as major dynasty in northern India.

Jagadambi temple

The Khajuraho temples were built over a period of 250 years (AD 900-1150) during the rule of Chandella dynasty. As per a local tradition, there were eighty-five temples in Khajuraho; but now only twenty-five remain in varied states of preservation. Except for a couple of them, the temples are not used for worship today, though they were originally built for this purpose. Abu-Rihan al Biruni, who visited India with Mahmud of Ghazni, speaks of the realm of ‘Jejhuti’, with ‘Kajuraha’ as its capita. Ibn Battuta, who visited India in AD 1335, refers to Khajuraho as ‘Kajarra’, where there is a great pond, about a mile in length, near which are temples containing idols that the Muslims have mutilated. By the sixteenth century Khajuraho went into oblivion, it is even not mentioned in any Mughal records. Ain-i-Akbari mentions a nearby fort town of Kalanjar, but nothing about Khajuraho. The whole town had been engulfed under the forests.

In 1813, Lieutenant William Price presented a paper at the Asiatic Society of Bengal on the Sanskrit inscription found at Mau near Khajuraho. From this inscription, for the first time historians’ attention was drawn to Chandella dynasty. In 1838, Captain T.S. Burt visited Khajuraho, when one of his palakiwala told him about exquisite temples of Khajuraho which are all under forest. He published a colorful account of the western group of temples in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Vol. VIII), which attracted the notice of art lovers and antiquarians. The first British officer wrote:’…before finally taking the leave of the seven temples, I shall state my opinion, that they are most probably the finest aggregate number of temples congregated in one place to be met with in all India, and all are within a stone’s throw of one another.’

Varaha Temple

Monuments – The temples at Khajuraho are the best specimen of Nagara style, north Indian temple architecture style. The main elements in Nagara style are mukh-mandapa (entrance porch), mandapa (assembly hall), maha-mandapa (dance hall), antarala (vestibule), garbha-griha (sanctum) and pradakshina-path (ambulatory around the snactum). Not all the temples have all the elements, however every one will always have two or more out of these. The identification of the temple construction time is determined based upon the elements used, the sculprures architecture, the grandeur of the tower height.

Erotic Images – Before we start a tour of monuments, I would like to state some facts about the erotic images in Khajuraho. Convention of depicting erotic images was not invented by Khajuraho sculptors but most of the contemporary temples in India contains these kind of images. However these images are quite large, about a meter in height, in Khajuraho compared to other temples, which attract the immediate attention of the visitors to these. On other temples such images are located on smaller rows of the plinth, usually below the eye level. But we should also remember that erotic figures are only one-tenth of the total images at Khajuraho.

There are several hypothesis to explain the presence of erotic figures on the temples. As these motifs appear in the art of all three main religious sects, Hindu, Jain and Buddhism, so it might have come out of fertility cults. fertility cult involved sexual practices or its symbolic representations. Another explanation comes from the earlier vastu literature, Shilpashashtras and other authoritative texts on temple art talks about the auspicious aspect of erotic figures. People sometimes try to relate Khajuraho with Kamasutra.

Vatsyayana composed this sex manual in AD 600, however Khajuraho does not seem to have any relation with this text. Khajuraho’s sculptures were not primarily created to illustrate the various postures described in sex manuals. Some of themes, depicted in Khajuraho, are very far from imagination of applying those in to practice. Another explanation came by association Khajuraho with Tantrik sect of Kapalikas. This tantrik sect expressed their philosophy by erotic art. However this explanation is not tenable as there is no proof of association of this sect with temple management.

Devangana Desai has wrote an authoritative text on erotic art in India. She writes about Khajuraho, ‘..the architect has placed erotic sculptures on the wall portion between the two balconies in the three major Hindu sandhara temples. Here, the architect has employed puns and intentional language, called sandhya bhasha. This is a code language used by esoteric religious practitioners and Tantric texts to conceal their doctrines from outsiders. This enigmatic language employs erotic terminology to convey non-communicable experiences, which cannot be expressed in ordinary language. For instance, when one reads: ‘A washerwoman clings to the Yogi (ascetic) on his neck’, it is found to be erotic if taken literally. But in the code language of the Tantras, it means that the washerwoman, i.e. Dombi = kundalini energy, has ascended to the chakra (subtle center) of the neck…’

Lakshmana Temple

Twenty-five survived temples at Khajuraho are grouped into three groups: 1) the western group, 2) the eastern group and the Khajuraho village, 3)the southern group.

Western Group of Temples – The most important and magnificent temples of Khajuraho are situated in Western group of temples, which were included in the World Heritage Site in 1986. They are now within an enclosure and under maintenance of ASI.

Lakshmi Temple – This is a west facing temple and situated in front of Lakshmana temple. It houses now an image of Brahmani, but originally it housed Vishnu’s mount Garuda. The temple is constructed on high raised platform and contains a mukha-mandapa (porch) and garbha-griha (sanctum sanctorum). The shikhara (tower) is not very high compared to other temples in the compound. This temples is approached by few steps on the platform.

Varaha Temple – This is also a west facing temple and situated in front of Lakshmana temple. This temple is like an open sanctuary with a pyramidal roof. It enshrines a massive solid yellow sandstone monolith of Varaha, Vishnu’s boar incarnation, measuring 2.66 m by 1.75 m. There are more than 675 miniature figures in twelve neatly carved rows on its body. These figures depict all measure divinities of Hindu pantheon, including Ganesha, sapta-matrika (the seven mothers), sapta-rishis (the seven sages), dikpalas (eight guardians of space), nav-graha (nine planets), the river goddesses, the seas, the Rudras, and different forms of Vishnu. There was also an image of earth goddess, however it is missing now except only a feet is remaining attached to pedestal. This image dates about AD 950 and perhaps installed by Chandella king Yashovarman as a celebration for his victory over Pratihara overlords.
The similar Varaha is also found at Eran, where it is well carved all over the body, but it is carved in red sanstone. Another Varaha is found at Mahabalipuram, but its body is not carved and the mouth in downward direction.

Lakshmana Temple – This is one of the most refined and well-planned temples, not only in Khajuraho but in all of India. This is a sandhara (with ambulatory in sanctum) temple and pancha-yatana (five-shrined) complex with one central shrine and four subsidiary shrines at the four corners. This temple contains all main elements of a typical north Indian (nagara style) such as mukh-mandapa (entrance porch), maha-mandapa with transepts, antaralya (vestibule) and garbha-griha (sanctum). As per an inscription, king Yashovarman built this temple to enshrine the Vaikuntha image that he acquired from his overlord, the Pratihara king, who in turn got it from the ruler of Chamba region. This Vaikuntha image is 1.3 m high and has three faces, lion, man and boar. Pancharatra scet of the Kashmir school worship Vishnu in this composite form. This inscription is now fixed in the porch of the temple. This is the only temple which preserves the sculpture panel on the platform, depicting everyday life: a royal hunt, battle, dance, musicians, erotic scenes, traders etc.

The temple is entered via a arched gateway, adorned with makar-torana. This is the only temple in Khajuraho which sanctum door jambs depicts the incarnation of Vishnu on its jambs. Matsya (fish), Varaha (boar) and Vamana (dwarf) on the left jamb and Kurma (tortoise), Narasimha (man-lion) and Parashurama on the right jamb. On the circumambulatory path around the shrine, you can see Varaha on south, Narsimha on west and Hayagriva (horse-neck) in the north cardinal niches. The door lintel of the sanctum shows the nine planet divinities.

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple – This is one of the greatest monument in India and tallest among Khajuraho temples. The tower of the temple reaches to the height of 30.5 m. It was possibly built by King Vidhyadhara, in about AD 1030, after his successful combat against Mahmud of Ghazni. This temple is built on a high jagati (platform), approached by a fleet of steps. Entrance is through a grand makara-torana which leads into a intricately decorated mandapa, used for scared dances. This temple comprises all essential elements of north style architecture (nagara style). It consists a mukha-mandapa (entrance porch), followed by a mandapa (assembly hall ), maha-mandapa (dance hall), antarala (vestibule) and garbha-griha (sanctum sanctorum). This is a sandhara temple, consisting of circumambulatory around the sanctum. The tower of the temple has a series of graded 84 replicas of itself, which cluster around the central peak and create the effect of a mountain range. This seems like the representation of Mount Kailasha, abode of Shiva as per Hindu mythology. Directly beneath the central peak is located Shiva lingam in the sanctum. The unique feature of this temple is that all the different parts of the temple has their own towers, all smaller than main and receding to the main tower, which make it somewhat restless in movement, but unified in theme and design.

Inside the maha-mandapa, there is a unique four-footed (chatushpada) Sadashiva image. Sadashiva is considered to be the ‘unmanifest-manifest’ aspect of the Supreme Shiva, is pivotal to the Shaivite religious system. His four feet refers to the four parts of Shaiva system that builders of this temple followed. In the three cardinal niches of the sanctum wall are depicted Shiva’s manifestations: 1) subduing Andhakasur (blind demon), 2) Nataraja (cosmic dancer), and 3) Tripurantaka (destroying three cities of demons)

On external walls of the temple are shown various images of apsaras, dwarfs, various images of Shiva, eight dikpalas (guards of space). This temple also has snake god, goddesses in the corners where the rain water flows. This is similar to famous Arjuna’s Penance in Mahabalipuram where snake god, goddesses are carved in a slit where the water flow during rains. Alexander Cunningham, first director of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) counted 646 figures on the exterior of the temple and 226 figures in its interior.

There is a unique counter-circumlocutory arrangement of images of sapta-matrikas (seven mothers) on the exterior of the temple. When you go clock wise from the entrance, you start with Ganesha and then finds seventh Matrika Chamunda. You meet first Matrika, Brahmani, only when completing the round with Veerbhadra image. The placement of Matrikas can be explained on the ground that the Matrikas themselves cirumambulating the abode of Shiva led by Virabhadra, followed by Ganesha. It seems that they encircle the temple in a kind of protective mandala (circle) around it.

Mahadeva Temple – This is situated on the same platform as Kandariya Mahadeva. It houses an important sculpture of Shardula (a warrior and a lion), a favorite theme in Chandella time. However this was Shiva temple as an image carved centrally on the lintel of the sanctum. The sanctum is perished but porch is intact.

Jagadambi Temple – Located in the north of Kandariya Mahadeva, this temple shares the same platform. This temple was dedicated to Vishnu, as reflected by the central image of the sanctum door and from images in cardinal niches as well. However now it houses an image of Devi, and worshipped by villagers on festive occasions. The temple was built between AD 1000-1025 and is famous for graceful sculpture on its exterior walls. The temple is consisted of a mukha-mandapa followed by maha-mandapa and garbha-griha. This is a niradhara temple, thus having no ambulatory around the sanctum.

Chitragupta Temple – This is only Sun temple at the site, built around AD 1000-1025. This is a niradhara, without ambulatory around sanctum, temple. This temple consists a mukha-mandapa (entrance porch), maha-mandapa (dance hall) with transepts, antarala (vestibule) and garbha-griha (sanctum). The image of Surya, in sanctum, is 2.13 m high and he is shown wearing an armored coat and boots. His chariot is shown pulled by seven horses. The exterior of the temple contains two bands of sculptures and uppermost small row contains erotic figures and teacher-disciple groups. There are some seventy ascetic figures carved on the balcony panels of this temple. There is an interesting eleven-headed Vishnu image on its south wall niche.

Parvati Temple – This small shrine is heavily restored and now houses and image of goddess Parvati standing on iguana (horse). However the sanctum door has an image of Vishnu which indicates that this shrine might be dedicated to Vishnu earlier. This temple consists only a garbha-griha (sanctum) and mukha-mandapa (porch). The porch is completely lost now, and only a plinth has survived out of sanctum.

We will read about more monuments in the next series of posts

The Hoysala trail continues from Part 1 where we visited Doddagaddavalli and Belur. We now move on to the next temples in Halebeedu and Belavadi .

Taking a walk along the outer walls of the Hoysaleshwara Temple in Halebeedu, I was treated to a deluge of beauty in stone. Present along the outer wall were the finest engravings of images of gods and of events from Indian Mythology, all in the confines of a 4 feet high horizontal band.

One such figure is of Lord Krishna lifting Govardhanagiri to protect Gokula from torrential rains. I saw the ecosystem of the hill comes alive even in that little space. The architect had carved out in it a forest full of trees, a monkey climbing a tree, a hunter aiming at a pig and a lion looking out from its cave. Rendered under the shelter of the hill were the subjects of Krishna – cows, his cowherd friends and other villagers. All these may not be apparent to a quick passer by, but as the guides explained these nuances to tourists, I saw people pausing to take a closer look and gasping with awe. Another similarly detailed section of the wall showed Ravana attempting to lift Kailasa Parvatha, the expression of his face clearly showing his suffering under the weight of the mountain.

The one figure on the wall that awed me the most was of Lord Shiva as Gajacharmambaradhari – an appearance where the lord dances inside the body of a demon in the form of an elephant. I found it difficult just to imagine the concept, but the sculptor depicted it effortlessly in an elegant manner. There is so much attention to detail in this work of art; I could even see Shiva’s finger nails shown piercing through the skin of the pachyderm.

Walking me along these marvels of art, my guide Uma occasionally slipped in carefully practiced humorous quotes. Pointing at an image of a monkey pulling drapes of a lady, she winked and declared it as ‘monkey business’ and watched with delight as a short group of tourists burst out laughing at the remark. In another instance, she asked me what is God, and waited for me to come up with an answer. Not expecting a question from someone who should be giving me answers, I paused, not knowing what to say. She then showed me figures of the trinity on the wall – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and explained me – “G-O-D god; it means Generator, Operator and Destroyer!”

Nowhere before had I seen so many images of stone carved to such great detail. How did the Hoysala architects manage to bring in elaborateness in stone that was achieved by none else, not even by their contemporary neighbours? It is Uma who unfolded the mystery to me. “The temples here are built using soap stone,” she told me, “this type of stone is soft like butter when it is taken out from the earth. It hardens over continuous exposure to the atmosphere.” With its butter-like characteristic, the stones could be carved to greater details, a task impossible with any harder form of stone.

It would not be easy to believe that a stone could be so soft. But I was to see a demonstration very soon. Outside one of the temples, I was surrounded by hawkers selling postcards, small metal statues and artifacts made of stone. I managed to escape from them without buying anything, but a friend bought a small grinding stone that happened to be made of soap stone. Its surface was so soft, we could easily make scratches and marks on it using fingernails!

Halebeedu is not just about its famed Hoysaleshwara Temple. Few people who come here realize that the place is littered with the remains of the ancient kingdom. It was the capital of the Hoysalas for most duration of their rule, complete with bustling markets, temples and housing colonies. We can still see remains of the old habitat – a large area strewn with carved rocks and remains of the pedestals of a few temples. Also within the fortification of the town are three Jain Bastis and Kedareshwara Temple – a smaller replica of Hoysaleshwara Temple built by Vishnuvardhana’s grandson.

My prized discovery of Halebeedu turned out to be none of these grand structures, but a small kalayani in the village of Hulikere. It is an ornate tank hidden inside a coconut grove. The Kalyani’s waters are surrounded by small shrines of stone in all the eight directions, giving a reverent feel to the tank. Its calm waters reflected the tall coconut trees and the puffy clouds in the sky. The steps leading into the water served as perfect place to rest and watch the fish gently moving in the still water. I sat there for a long time all by myself, with no one else but fish for company. The silence here was so filling for the heart, I would never have bothered to leave but for my greed to explore more.

About 12km from Halebeedu is another temple at the small village of Belavadi, again hidden from the weekend crowds and day-trippers. On my way here during another visit in the middle of the monsoons, I was welcome with carpets of yellow sunflowers that were splashed amidst lush greenery, often larger than several football fields joined together. Occasional marigold fields added further to the riot of colours. Silhouetted far away to the west were the hills of Western Ghats that rose from the plains and merged with monsoon clouds. A gentle drizzle constantly reminded me of the wet season.

When it comes to intricate carvings, Veeranarayana Temple at Belavadi does not compete with Belur and Halebeedu. The temple’s prized possession is its 108 circular pillars that are polished so well that I could see my own reflection on their surface. An array of these pillars leading to the sanctum makes the temple look as grand as a king’s court.

When I needed a break from hopping from temple to temple, I found refuge in a coffee estate in the small village of Bikkodu near Belur. It was located at the edge of the plains where barren landscape made way to an evergreen canopy. The estate, with many tropical trees preserved intact to provide shade for coffee plants, was home to birds with dazzling colours and beauty. In my two hours of wandering in this green expanse, I saw crimson coloured scarlet minivets, green pigeons, emerald doves, rose ringed parakeets, coucals and a few dozen other colourful birds that whizzed past me as though they were getting late for an appointment. If the walk under the evergreen forest refreshed me, coffee made from freshly ground powder offered by Vipin, the estate manager, kept me going further.

My last stop in the journey into Hoysala heartland also happened to be in a coffee estate. Searching for the origin of these kings who were connoisseurs of art in stone, I arrived at the small village of Angadi in the heart of Sahyadris. It was here in a small temple that a brave young man killed a tiger with bare hands and subsequently scripted the creation of a kingdom. His descendants moved to Halebeedu and established a capital, from where they ruled a large part of Deccan for more than three hundred years.

Still standing proudly inside a coffee plantation in Angadi are three small beautiful temples that are said to date back to tenth century. The temples do not compare against the grandiose structures built in the later days, but it is here that the story began in a small way. As I departed from Angadi on my way back Bangalore, I wondered for once how every creation of greatness has a very humble beginning.

Travelwise is conducting a Hoysala trail this June 19,20. For details , check here

One would not expect to find a 900-year old temple in a non-descript village with a tongue twister name like Doddagaddavalli. Driving past gently undulating vistas sparingly dotted with stout trees and small irrigation ponds – they added a dash of beauty to the widespread vegetable fields – I suddenly encountered a colourful sign by the road that announced the presence of an ancient temple. Turning off the main road and going past a small village with its usual share of chickens and cows that blocked my way, I found myself gliding from the top of a mound, down an easy slope. At the base of the valley was a small black structure of stone, a temple with shrines rising up from all its corners, a saffron flags fluttering over one of those projections. Its location could not have been better, situated at the edge of the village overlooking a lake and visible from every crest of the wavy landscape that surrounded it.

The Lakshmidevi temple at Doddagaddavalli is just one of the thousands built by the Hoysala Kings who ruled a large part of South India for more than three hundred years. Returning here again a few weeks later with a small group of history-enthusiasts, I saw a few eyebrows going up in amazement when I casually mentioned that the Hoysala Kings built 1521 temples in 948 centres. It is not much, considering that it averages to about five temples every year during their long tenure of governance. But what is impressive is that 434 of these temples have survived even today, with the oldest of them built more than 1000-years ago, the most recent having survived no less than 600-years.

Thanks to this temple building spree, the land here is dotted with ancient temples in every shape, size and varying degree of craftsmanship. Some of these have intricate carvings in stone and some have simple plain walls. While a few of these temples are in various stages of dilapidation, a few more have gone through modernization by the pious villagers who have continued the tradition of regular worship in the temples. Many of them are now managed by Archaeological Survey of India. The temple at Doddagaddavalli appears to have weathered the years without having to go through much change from its original shape. Its walls and shrines appear in near perfect condition, probably not a lot different from the way it looked in the time of the Hoysalas.

Doddagaddavalli was the first stop in my journey of exploring the Hoysala Heritage. I had set out from Bangalore on a sunny April morning looking for these ancient structures in stone spread around the small town of Hassan.

Leaving in the wee hours of the morning, I drove past the city that seemed to be perennially under construction, thanks to its double digit growth rate that has refused to slow down in decades. Beyond the city were industrial areas that spewed their smelly chemical exhausts on every passer by. Further ahead was a highway that lost the charm of its open roads to a widening work.

It took me good two hours before I could breathe clean and dust free air in a clutter free environment. The next three hours of breezy driving took me past small villages, fields, lakes and vistas containing hills and greenery, before arriving at Doddagaddavalli.

The temple here is a simple structure when pitched against the better known heritage sites built by the Hoysalas. Its four sanctums, the inner hall and its walls are a lot simpler than what one would see in Belur and Halebeedu, the erstwhile capitals of the kingdom. It also deviates from the typical architecture of the temples in these parts, which are constructed within a star-shaped pedestal. However, Doddagaddavalli’s charm is not in its work of art, but its setting next to a lake in an undulating landscape, completely devoid of tourists who throng the better known temples nearby.

I was almost transposed to the era of Hoysalas as I watched the life along the lake – men washing bullocks and women washing clothes, no one in any sort of hurry. My interaction with Puttaswamy, the watchman of the temple confirms the slow pace of life here. Still in late twenties, he had moved on from a busy life as a plumber in Bangalore, and had decided to come here and take it easy.

The Lakshmidevi temple was built by a merchant in 1113AD. This was one of the earliest temples built by Hoysala Kings, just a few years before they began dominating the Deccan Plateau. In 1116AD, King Vishnuvardhana defeated the Chola generals in Talakadu (near current day Mysore), ending a hundred years of Chola occupation in the region. Following this victory and his subsequent conquests in the north, he encouraged movement of artisans into his kingdom and commissioned construction of some of the most elaborately carved temples ever to come up in these parts, perhaps anywhere in the world.

Walking around the Chennakeshava Temple in nearby Belur next morning, I was amazed at the attention to finer details that went into making every statue carved on the walls and pillars. I found here a statue of a danseuse whose bangles were chipped to rotate freely around her hands, a carving of Nandi barely larger than a chickpea and a pillar decorated with miniatures of gods and goddesses probably numbering more than a hundred. The base of the outer wall was made of layers of friezes. One of these layers contained 650 elephants – every one of them carved differently from other.

Well known among all the richly decorated sculptures in Belur are madanikas, bracket figures installed below the awnings. The sensuous damsels are depicted in various moods and activities, like Shukabhashini talking to a parrot and Darapana Sundari adoring her own figure looking into a mirror.

With carvings adorning every inch of the walls, pillars and roofing of the temple, it is no wonder that the sculptors took 103 years to complete its construction. But moving ahead into nearby Halebeedu, I was in for even more surprise. The twin temples of here are nearly twice as large as the one in Belur. It took nearly double the time to construct and hosts carvings that are no less intricate than the treasured beauties of Belur in their perfection.

Part 2 of the Hoysala trail takes you to Halebid or Dwarasamudra, Belavadi and Angadi , the origin of the Hoysala dynasty. For more details, log on to travelwise who conducts these tours

Sand and water have much in common…..One always associates the sea with the seaside, that is, the beaches. When we had been to Bordi, we were amazed to see only sand as far as eyes could see. It was low tide then, and the water was far far away.

Yet, one also associates sand to deserts. For there also, there is sand as far as eyes can see. Truly, Sand and the Sea have much in common. From where one stands, one can see only the same view, stretching, maybe to the end of the world.

As we stood on the sand dunes of Jaisalmer, surrounded by sand on all sides, we felt really small… It was so easy to get lost in the never-ending desert…if it wasn’t for the guide with us…It was scary, but so beautiful…nature at her rawest… One admires the people who live there. It is probably only because they have been born there, and have it in their blood that they can survive there. It is so easy for an outsider to succumb to the vagaries of nature in that land….unbearable heat in the summer, and long, cold nights in the winter. It is the basic rule of survival of the fittest, which rules the place and one can not but help admire the people who have survived in such a place.

It is such people who have made Jaisalmer what it is today. The Kings who ruled this land were proud and brave, and they built a beautiful fort, which, till today guards a city full of life, within its walls. According to our guide, it is the only fort in India, where people still live. In his words, it is “A Living Fort”. And what a beautiful one! Like the other forts of Rajasthan, this one too is well maintained. But, unlike the other forts, here, one can catch a glimpse of what life was like, within the walls of a fort. Narrow streets take one around the fort, within which, everyone knows everyone else. There are people pursuing professions which their great grandfathers practiced, and enjoying it! Since the fort is a heritage site, there haven’t been many changes inside, and people live in the same houses their ancestors lived in, of course with slight modifications. This lends a genuine aura to the place, which makes it a hot tourist destination.

And that brings me to an interesting fact. Tourism brings in the highest revenue here, and everyone wants to have a hand in the pie. So, as our guide told us “Children all over the world learn their mother tongue first, and then the local language of the area. However, in Jaisalmer, the first language a child learns is English, followed by French and Spanish. Many children know Italian and German too. Hindi is a secondary language for them. After all, how many tourists actually speak Hindi? As far as our mother tongue is concerned, it is a dying language. No one speaks it any more. One can earn in foreign currency by speaking in the language of the tourist. Hindi brings in little, but Marwadi, nothing at all!” A very logical reasoning, borne by the truth of his words. I could see so many children conversing in foreign languages, with an ease that comes only with regular conversation, not learning. I myself have learnt French, and actually considered myself to be good at speaking the language, but honestly, I didn’t have the guts to try out my language skills on them… they were so much better at it !

Among the places we visited was the Gadi Sagar Lake. It was once the source of water supply to the city, for the lake was built in such a way that there is water throughout the year. A miracle by itself, to build a like in the middle of a desert, and also have potable water in it! The lake is filled with catfish, which are held to be sacred by the locals. No one would dare to try to fish in the lake! On the contrary, people come and feed the fish daily, as a sort of a vow! The fish have grown to enormous sizes, and the sight of them leaping to catch the crumbs thrown by the people is an impressive one.

An interesting story goes along with the lake. This is the place where the Gangaur festival takes place, attended by the royalty. It seems that at one time, there was a prostitute in the area, who was very rich. She wanted to build something that she would be remembered for, after her death. And, being a gutsy woman, she wanted to turn up her thumb in the royalty. So, she got a huge arch built at the entrance of the lake, through which the King would have to pass during the festival. The king, would, in effect be bowing before her structure. Needless to say, the royalty wasn’t impressed, and plans were made to tear down the structure. This is when the resourceful woman showed her mettle, by constructing a small temple on the arch, overnight. No one in India will knowingly destroy a temple, and the arch stands there to this day. Checkmated by the prostitute, the King pretended to ignore the arch, and entered the premises from one side. To this day, the practice continues, with the kings not using the arch as an entrance.

The old Havelis are a major tourist attraction in Jaisalmer, and rightly so. They are huge, and palatial, and belong to the erstwhile landlords of the area. They seem to be next in the rung after the royalty, and were as conscious of their comforts. The beautiful carvings and the architecture of the houses are worth a closer look.

We visited Jaisalmer in June, when it was hot, but not as hot it would have been in peak summer. It was the off season, and there weren’t many tourists around. What I mean is that there weren’t many foreigners around. The only tourists were Indians like us, on their holidays just before schools reopened. The guides told us that during the peak season, all the hotels would be full, and tents put up all along the roads. Most people came to stay in the tents. That was when the local performers would be around, lending a genuine touch to the heritage sites. From one and all, we heard about the festival season, when Jodhpur and Jaisalmer could be seen at their best.

I beg to differ. Of course, the festivals and the festivities are what make India the unique country that she is, and that is what people come to see and be a part of, from all over the world. Undoubtedly, that would be a great experience. However, one must not forget that these are places where all the population lived in a very small area, within the fort for instance. Outside the fort were vast open spaces, which have remained so, because of nature being what she is, a bit difficult to manage. The feelings and thoughts that permeate the atmosphere in such seclusion are never possible when there is a crowd. Just for that reason, I would like to go back there, again during off season. I can not forget the wonderful feeling I had, of being on top of the world, when I looked down from the fort, or the feeling of oneness with nature, which I felt on the never-ending sand dunes, or simply the pleasure of sliding and rolling down the sand dunes with my son. It is a feeling that stays with me, and one that I would encourage others also to experience.

Gyaraspur is a small town of great historical importance, medieval period, in Madhya Pradesh. This comes under Vidisha district and is 35 km away from Vidisha. The name is derived from a fair which is held at the eleventh month of the Hindu calendar, gyaras means joy at the eleventh. Gyaraspur is famous for a shalabhanjika, kept now at Gujari Mahal Museum Gwalior, statue which is considered as a matchless oriental beauty by many historians and experts. She is also called as Indian Venus or Gyaraspur Lady.

There are many monuments of importance belonging to 9th-10th century. This is a small town and all the monuments can be visited walking around.

Athakambha- 9th century
Situated very near to the local bus stand, this shrine has only eight pillars left surviving. An inscription dated 982 AD, helps to put this temple to 9th century AD. The temple was constructed on a raised platform, facing east. This can be reached with a flight of steps on eastern side. The structure of the temple suggests that it had a mukh-mandapa, antarala and garbha-griha. The pillars of the temple are extremely well carved with pot-creeper motifs. These are carved with stepped-octagonal-facets. These have an intermediate capital having lion-like faces at the corners. Above this capital is a round honey-comb style pillar segment which support another capital to support the beams.

Hindola Torana – 10th century
On the way to Mala Devi temple, this complex is on the left side. This is called Hindola Torana as it looks like a platform for a swing, however it was not intended for that purpose. It seems to be a gate entrance to a temple, where Chaukhamba would have been the mandapa of that temple. Dashavataras (ten incarnations) of Vishnu are carved on the door jambs of this torana.

Chaukhamba – 10th century
This monument, the four pillars, are within the Hindola Torana complex. This seems to be the mandapa of the temple, which entrance gate would have been Hindola Torana.

Mala Devi temple – 9th century
his temple is located on a hill, 1.6 km from the bus stand. This Pratihara period temple is constructed on the eastern slope of the hill. This is partly rock-cut and partly structural. Ornamented with Jaina Yaksha, Yakshini and Jina Tirthankar images, the sanctum door jambs have Ganga, Yamuna and other Hindu deities. Inside the sanctum are placed four Jina Tirthankar images, seated on padmasana. There is a sikhara above the sanctum, where Vaishnavi, seated on Garuda, is placed.

Bajra Matha – 10th century
Located near the bus stand, this is an example of a triple shrine temple. In the 10th century development, this temple’s gate, doors and back parts are engraved with Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Later on this temple was transformed as Jain temple in which Tirthankar statues are established. Narasimha, Varaha, Vishnu, Shiva, Tripurantaka are shown in the various niches on the external walls.

Dhaikinath Stupa – 6th-7th century
This about 1.3 km from the bus stand. The Hemispherical dome (10.05 m) of the stupa resting on a circular berm (height 2.74 m and diameter 18.4 m) is incompletely preserved. Small platform like structures project from the berm in each cardinal direction. Pieced of plain railing are found scattered at the site which also shows an image of Buddha seated in Bhumisparsha-mudra.

Food and accomodation
This is a small town with not proper lodging facilities. You will find small eateries where you can get limited Indian food. Better option would be to stay at Sanchi, Vidisha or Bhopal and visit Gyaraspur for a day.

How to reach
Gyaraspur is about 35 km from Vidisha. Regular buses ply from Vidisha to here. Nearest railways station is Vidisha and nearest airport is at Bhopal.

The Viceregal Lodge in Shimla was formerly the residence of the British Viceroy, Lord Dufferin.

One of the most beautiful buildings of Shimla, this Victorian-styled structure was designed by the British architect Henry Irwin.

Construction began in 1880 and was completed in 1888. It served as the headquarters of the country during the summer months from March to October.

It was the first government building to have electricity, with an internal wiring system at that. The futuristic architect also made provisions for an elevator to be installed. Most of the upholstery and furniture in the building have been retained for all these years.

The sprawling lawns conceal a rain water harvesting system beneath them, which is being used till date. The lawns and gardens are well-kept and house a vast variety of flora and fauna.

Crucial meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammed Ali Jinnah were held in this room here during the Indian Independence struggle.

Negotiation papers during the Partition were prepared here, on this very table.

After independence, the building became a part of the estate of the President of India and renamed as ‘Rashtrapati Niwas’.

In 1965, Dr Radhakrishnan established the Indian Institute of Advanced Study here. It is a residential center for research in humanities and social sciences.

The pillars and walls of this building have witnessed events of historical importance. The structure is elegant and regal in every sense and is a must for anyone who visits Shimla.