Khajuraho () is a city, near

Chhatarpur Chhatarpur is a city and a municipality in Chhatarpur district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chhatarpur District. Chhatarpur is a city and a municipality in Chhatarpur district in the state of ...

in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular

tourist destinations in India Tourism in India is important for the country's economy and is growing rapidly. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated or 5.8% of India's GDP and supported 32.1 million jobs in 2021. Even though, thes ...

, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and Jain temples, famous for their

erotic sculpture Erotic art is a broad field of the visual arts that includes any artistic work intended to evoke erotic arousal. It usually depicts human nudity or sexual activity, and has included works in various visual mediums, including drawings, engr ...

s. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 and is considered one of the "seven wonders" of India. The town's name, anciently "Kharjuravahaka", is derived from the Sanskrit word ''kharjur'' meaning "

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Eas ...

History

The region was historically part of many kingdoms and empires. The earliest known power to have had Khajuraho in its territory were the

Vatsa Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Location The territory of Vatsa was located to the south of ...

. Their successors in the region included the Mauryans, Sungas, Kushans,

Nagas of Padmavati The Naga ( IAST: Nāga) dynasty ruled parts of north-central India during the 3rd and the 4th centuries, after the decline of the Kushan Empire and before the rise of the Gupta Empire. Its capital was located at Padmavati, which is identified w ...

, the Vakataka dynasty, the

Guptas The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

, the Pushyabhuti dynasty, and the Gurjara-Praithara dynasty. It was specifically during the Gupta period that architecture and art began to flourish in this region, although their successors continued the artistic tradition. The

Chandela The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was an Indian dynasty in Central India. The Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called ''Jejakabhukti'') between the 9th and the 13th centuries. They belonged to the Chandel clan of the Rajputs. ...

s ruled the area from the ninth century, who were subject to the Gurjara-Praitharas. During the reign of Dhanga (c. 950–1002) the Chandelas became independent and many important temples were built during this time. The Chandelas were dealt with fatal blows first from the

Chahamanas of Shakambhari The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (IAST: Cāhamāna), colloquially known as the Chauhans of Sambhar or Chauhans of Ajmer, were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan and neighbouring areas in India, between the 6th and 12th ...

in 1182 then from

Qutb al-Din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطب‌الدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in ...

in 1202. Khajuraho declined to a small village as the Chandelas transferred their activities to the forts of Mahoba, Kalinjar, and Ajayagarh.

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

visited Karjuraho and described the presence of temples and a few ascetics. Some temples were damaged by

Sikander Lodi Sikandar Khan Lodi (died 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan, was a Pashtun Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi in July 1489. The second and most s ...

in 1495. By the 16th century Khajuraho became an insignificant place and was only "rediscovered" by C. J. Franklin (a military surveyor) in 1819. However, the actual distinction of bringing Khajuraho back to the world's attention is given to T. S. Burt (a British army captain) who visited it in 1838. The next significant visitor was

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...

between 1852 and 1855.

Climate

Demographics

, the Indian census stated that Khajuraho had a population of 24,481. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Khajuraho has an average literacy rate of 53%, lower than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 62%, and female literacy is 43%. In Khajuraho, 19% of the population is under six years of age.

Transport

Air

Khajuraho Airport has flights to Delhi and Varanasi. The airport is 3 km south of Khajuraho Town, and was opened in 1978 to facilitate tourism to the nearby UNESCO world heritage site temple complex. Concerns have been raised by experts regarding the feasibility of this airport and its impact on the world heritage site and the environment.

Rail

Khajuraho railway station Khajuraho railway station is located in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh and serves as an entry point for the Khajuraho Group of Monuments, medieval Hindu famous for their erotic sculptures. Between 950 and 1150, the Chandela monarchs buil ...

connects the town by a daily train to Delhi via

, Tikamgarh, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra, and Mathura. It provides a daily train connecting to Agra, Jaipur, Bhopal and Udaipur. A local daily train also connects to Kanpur, whilst Varanasi is connected three times a week. At present, Khajuraho is connected by rail with New Delhi by two trains, namely the Geeta Jayanti Express originating from Kurukshetra and the Uttar Pradesh Sampark Kranti Express originating from Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station.

References

External links

About Khajuraho History

More about Khajuraho Temples

Khajuraho Tourist Destinations- Madhya Pradesh Tourism

Places to visit in Khajuraho - Madhya Pradesh Tourism
{{Authority control Hindu holy cities Cities in Bundelkhand