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Chitragupta Temple, Khajuraho
The Chitragupta temple is an 11th-century temple dedicated to Lord Chitragupt and Lord Surya (sun god) in the Khajuraho town of Madhya Pradesh, India. Architecturally, it is very similar to the nearby Jagadambi temple. History Based on the epigraphic evidence, the construction of the temple can be dated to 1020-1025 CE. It was probably consecrated on 23 February 1023 CE, on the occasion of Shivaratri. The temple has been classified as a Monument of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India. Architecture The Chitragupta temple is very similar to the nearby Jagadambi temple. It has a sanctum with a circumambulatory path, a vestibule, a ''maha''-''mandapa'' (large hall) with transepts, and an entrance porch. The large hall has an octagonal ceiling, which is more ornate than the corresponding ceiling in the Jagadambi temple. This suggests that the Chitragupta temple was constructed slightly later than the Jagadambi temple. The building has two balconies, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khajuraho
Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculptures. 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". 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. Their successors in the region included the Mauryans, Sungas, Kushans, Nagas of Padmavati, the Vakataka dynasty, the Guptas, 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 su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building within the Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architectural traditions. Each half of a transept is known as a semitransept. Description The transept of a church separates the nave from the sanctuary, apse, choir, chevet, presbytery, or chancel. The transepts cross the nave at the crossing, which belongs equally to the main nave axis and to the transept. Upon its four piers, the crossing may support a spire (e.g., Salisbury Cathedral), a central tower (e.g., Gloucester Cathedral) or a crossing dome (e.g., St Paul's Cathedral). Since the altar is usually located at the east end of a church, a transept extends to the north and south. The north and south end walls often hold decorated windows of stained glass, such as rose windows, in sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Temples In Khajuraho
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 people living in the Indian subcontinent. The term ''"Hindu"'' traces back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name ''Sindhu'' (सिन्धु ), referring to the river Indus. The Greek cognates of the same terms are "''Indus''" (for the river) and "''India''" (for the land of the river). The term "''Hindu''" also implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Sindhu (Indus) River. By the 16th century CE, the term began to refer to residents of the subcontinent who were not Turkic or Muslims. Hindoo is an archaic spelling variant, whose use today is considered derogatory. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the local I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surasundari
In Indian art, a surasundari (literally "celestial beauty") is a young maiden characterizing feminine beauty and graceful sensuality. Buddhist and Jain shrines have featured sensual figures in form of yakshis and other spirits since 2nd century BCE. However, the surasundari motif gained prominence in Indian temple architecture only around the beginning of the 9th century CE. ''Shilpa-Prakasha'', a 9th-century Tantric architectural treatise, declares a monument without a surasundari as inferior and fruitless. The 15th century text ''Kshirarnava'' states that the surasundaris should be depicted looking down (''adho-drishti''), not looking at someone. In temple sculptures, the surasundaris are often depicted as attendants of gods and goddesses. They also manifest as dancing apsaras. A salabhanjika or tree nymph is another variation of a surasundari. Other forms of a surasundari include: The presence of surasundaris in religious shrines is interpreted in several ways. A spiritua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kandariya Mahadeva Temple
The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (Devanagari: कंदारिया महादेव मंदिर, Mandir), meaning "the Great God of the Cave", 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. Location Kandariya Mahadeva Temple is located in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. It is in the Khajuraho village, and the temple complex is spread over an area of . It is in the western part of the village to the west of the Vishnu temple. The temple complex, in the Khajuraho village at an elevation of , is well connected by road, rail and air services. Khajuraho is to the south of Mahoba, away from the Chhatarpur city to its east, away from Panna, Madhya Pradesh, Panna, by road away from Jhansi on the north, and to the south - east of Delhi. It is from the railway station. Khajuraho i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho
The Vishvanatha Temple is a Hindu temple in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located among the western group of Khajuraho Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple is dedicated to Shiva, who is also known as "Vishvanatha" (IAST: Viśvanātha), meaning "Lord of the Universe". The temple is believed to have been commissioned by the Chandela king Dhanga, and was probably completed in 999 CE or 1002 CE. Its architectural style is similar to that of the older Lakshmana Temple and the newer Kandariya Mahadeva Temple. It features several sculptures of various deities, surasundaris (celestial maidens), couples making love, and mythical creatures. History A dedicatory inscription, now affixed to the porch of the Vishvanatha temple, provides information about the construction of a Shiva temple by the Chandela king Dhanga. The original date of the inscription is read variously as 1056 VS (999 CE) or 1059 VS (1002 CE). The inscription mentions that Dhanga's descendant Jayavarman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nandi (bull)
Nandi ( sa, नन्दि), also known as Nandikeshwara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. According to Saivite siddhantic tradition, he is considered as the chief guru of eight disciples of Nandinatha Sampradaya, namely, Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, Sanatkumara, Tirumular, Vyagrapada, Patanjali, and Sivayoga Muni, who were sent in eight different directions, to spread the wisdom. The Cham Hindus of Vietnam believes that when they die, the Nandi will come and take their soul to the holy land of India from Vietnam. The Sanskrit word nandi ( sa, नन्दि) has the meaning of happy, joy, and satisfaction, the properties of divine guardian of Shiva- Nandi. It is recently documented, that the application of the name Nandi to the bull (Sanskrit: ''Vṛṣabha''), is in fact a development of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoni
''Yoni'' (; sometimes also ), sometimes called ''pindika'', is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu goddess Shakti. It is usually shown with ''linga'' – its masculine counterpart. Together, they symbolize the merging of microcosmos and macrocosmos, the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that recreates all of existence. The ''yoni'' is conceptualized as nature's gateway of all births, particularly in the esoteric Kaula and Tantra practices, as well as the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism. ''Yoni'' is a Sanskrit word that has been interpreted to literally mean the "womb", the "source", and the female organs of generation., Quote: "Yoni- 'womb, vulva', Yoni- "way, abode' is from a second PIE root ..; It also connotes the female sexual organs such as "vagina", "vulva", and "uterus", or alternatively to "origin, abode, or source" of anything in other contexts. For example, the Vedanta tex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apsara
An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, literature and painting of many Indian and Southeast Asian cultures. There are two types of apsaras: ''laukika'' (worldly) and ''daivika'' (divine). Urvasi, Menaka, Rambha, Tilottama and Ghritachi are the most famous among them. They are most often depicted in the court and discretion of Indra. Apsaras are widely known as ''Apsara'' ( ) in Khmer, and also called as ''Accharā'' in Pāli, or ''Bidadari'' (Malay, Maranao), ''Biraddali'' ( Tausug, Sinama), ''Hapsari/Apsari'' or ''Widadari/Widyadari'' ( Javanese), ''Helloi'' ( Meitei) and ''Apsorn'' ( th , อัปสร). English translations of the word "Apsara" include "nymph", "fairy", "celestial nymph", and "celestial maiden". In Hinduism, apsaras are beautiful, supernatural female beings. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mithuna
Maithuna (Devanagari: मैथुन) is a Sanskrit term for sexual intercourse within Tantric sex, or alternatively to the specific lack of sexual fluids generated, while mithuna is a couple participating in such a ritual. It is the most important of the five makara and constitutes the main part of the grand ritual of Tantra variously known as Panchamakara, Panchatattva, and Tattva Chakra. Maithuna means the union of opposing forces, underlining the nonduality between human and divine, as well as worldly enjoyment (''kama'') and spiritual liberation (''moksha''). Mithuna is a popular icon in ancient Hindu art, portrayed as a couple engaged in physical loving. History Maithuna intercourse has been traditionally interpreted to be performed with semen retention by the male practitioner, although other authors consider it optional, possibly relegated only to late Tantra. Early maithuna might have consisted on generating sexual fluids (''maithunam dravyam'', or solely ''maithu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dashavatara
The Dashavatara ( sa, दशावतार, ) are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindus, Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word ''Dashavatara'' derives from , meaning "ten", and , roughly equivalent to "incarnation". The list of included avatars varies across sects and regions, particularly in respect to the inclusion of Balarama (brother of Krishna) or Gautama Buddha. Though no list can be uncontroversially presented as standard, the "most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is [...] Krishna, Buddha." Most draw from the following set of figures, in this order: Matsya; Kurma; Varaha; Narasimha; Vamana; Parashurama; Rama; Krishna or Balarama; Gautama Buddha in Hinduism, Buddha or Krishna; and Kalki. In traditions that omit Krishna, he often replaces Vishnu as the source of all avatars. Some traditions include a regional deity such as Vithoba or Jagannath in penultimate position, replacing Krish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the highest form of Ishvara is with qualities (Saguna), and have certain form, but is limitless, transcend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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