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Khajuraho is a village in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. It is located in the Chhatarpur District, about 385 miles (620 kilometres) southeast of Delhi, the capital of India. The name Khajuraho is derived from the Hindi word khajur which means date palm. Khajuraho is one of the most popular tourist destinations of India. The specialty of this place lies in the erotic sculpture chiseled on the walls of the many Hindu temples that are to be found here. Initially Khajuraho was the capital of Chandela Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty who ruled this part of India from the 10th to the 12th century. The Khajuraho temples were built in between 950 and 1050 AD. Though the Chandelas shifted their capital to Mahoba the city of Khajuraho continued to flourish. There were originally over 80 Hindu temples but now only 22 are in good state. The temples are scattered over an area of 8 sq miles. The temples of Khajuraho demonstrate the fine Indian architectural styles. The lustful depictions of the various aspects of the medieval times have gained a lot of popularity. The Khajuraho group of monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Khajuraho temples adhere to the northern Indian shikhara temple style and also the Panchayatana plan or layout. These temples are dedicated to different deities.Some of the temples are dedicated to the Jain pantheon while the others to various deities like Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and several other goddesses. A Panchayatana temple is characterized by four subordinate shrines on all the corners and the main shrine at the center of the podium. The temples are marked by three geographical directions: western, eastern and southern. If you are planning to come over to India then do keep Khajuraho in your itinerary. You are sure to be enchanted by the rich architectural attributes of this city.
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