'Sculptured Temple', a photo from Madhya Pradesh, Central

Photographer's Note

Khajuraho is a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about 620 kilometres (385 miles) south-east of New Delhi, the capital city of India.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculpture. The Khajuraho group of monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered to be one of the "seven wonders" of India.

The name Khajuraho, ancient "Kharjuravahaka", is derived from the Sanskrit word kharjur meaning date palm.

In the 27th century of the Kali yuga (circa. 500-400 BCE), the Mlechcha invaders, or barbarians, started attacking North India. Some Bargujar Rajputs moved eastward to central India; they ruled over the Northeastern region of Rajasthan, called Dhundhar, and were referred to as Dhundhel or Dhundhela in ancient times, for the region they governed. Later on they called themselves Bundelas and Chandelas; those who were in the ruling class having gotra Kashyap were definitely all Bargujars; they were vassals of the Gurjara - Pratihara empire of North India, which lasted from 500 C.E. to 1300 C.E. and at its peak the major monuments were built. The Bargujars also built the Kalinjar fort and Neelkanth Mahadev temple, similar to one at Sariska National Park, and Baroli, being Shiva worshippers

The city was the cultural capital of Chandela Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty that ruled this part of India from the 10-12th centuries. The political capital of the Chandelas was Kalinjar. The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of 200 years, from 950 to 1150. The Chandela capital was moved to Mahoba after this time, but Khajuraho continued to flourish for some time. Khajuraho has no forts because the Chandel Kings never lived in their cultural capital.

The whole area was enclosed by a wall with eight gates, each flanked by two golden palm trees. There were originally over 80 Hindu temples, of which only 25 now stand in a reasonable state of preservation, scattered over an area of about 20 square kilometres (8 square miles).

Today, the temples serve as fine examples of Indian architectural styles that have gained popularity due to their explicit depiction of sexual life during medieval times. Locals living in the Khajuraho village always knew about and kept up the temples as best as they could. They were pointed out to an Englishman in late 19th century but the jungles had taken a toll on all the monuments.

(Source: Wikipedea)

kordinator, timecapturer, subhendu_bagchi, jlbrthnn, Budapestman, i9l2y1m8a8t3, delpeoples, ikeharel, ManuMay, macjake, sandpiper heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

serp2000 (47063) 2011-02-08 1:26

Hi, Stephen,
This is my dream, I 'd love to visit this place. Excellent presentation of the famouse temple in India, fine crop, nice colours and excellent details!
TFS!
Serghei

besnard (59196) 2011-02-08 1:41

Bonjour Stephen
Une bonne idée de ressortir toutes ces belles photos de tes archives. Il faudrait que je m'y mette moi aussi. Un monument remarquable, riche en sculptures.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

Royaldevon (86318) 2011-02-08 1:50

Good Morning Stephen,

Revisiting these shots will, I'm sure. rekindle your memories of this wonderful country. I once visited Pakistan, which has many similarities, as well as differences!
I must admit, I do enjoy viewing such close crops. It gives a greater connection with the building, to see the more intricate details. The craftsmanship is clear to see from your fine shot.

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

digbymerry (3998) 2011-02-08 3:20

Hello Stephen

Good detail in the fascinating sculpture. Good colour and I like the way you have composed the photo depicting the architecture of the temple as well as the sculpture detail.

Best wishes

Digby

dkmurphys (79209) 2011-02-08 4:00

Hi Stephen,
Fine detail of that impressive temple. A great place for their culture and for the world heritage. Fine shot, well done.

diomed (13926) 2011-02-08 4:06

Hi Stephen,
amazing close up on these architectural details rich of sculpture and well captured. Excellent sharp and contrast.
Nice Tuesday
Antonio

rodgerg (55767) 2011-02-08 5:23

Hello Stephen,

Un cadrage vertical très efficace pour nous permettre d'apprécier les détails de cette architecture. Les détails sont très bien captés et le contraste entre l'édifice et le bleu du ciel très bien marqué.

PS My image of a door in Plaockton: Tigh na creaja = House of the Crags or House of the Rocks ??

Amitiés,
Roger

Sergiom (117241) 2011-02-08 5:45

Bonjour Stephen

Quelle belle accumulation de détails. Toutes ces petites formes sculptées dans la pierre sont bien nettes et révèle la patience et le savoir faire des bâtisseurs.

Amicalement

Serge

lakshmip1949 (19081) 2011-02-08 6:25

Stephen,

This carvings are great. Nice color and composition.Did you visit Karnataka and Tamil Nadu temples?

Lakshmi

timecapturer (49288) 2011-02-08 7:32

Hi Stephen
Amazingly complex image with beautiful details, light, shade and colour. It is always a shame that we cannot upload larger files as I would love to see some of the intricate carvings on this monument. I shall have to just go there! Excellent work!

Regards
Brian D.

Nicou (193814) 2011-02-08 8:05

Hello,

très belle iamge et compo, superbe quel temple quel rendu architectural, fantasitque compo et iamge.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2011-02-08 8:29

Namaste Stephen,
a superb capture. Very good architecture captured with excellent POV. Like the artwork which you have presented nicely with perfect exposer. The light and shadow defeated very well. A great one. Tfs.
Best wishes.
Subhendu

jemaflor (148072) 2011-02-08 11:07

Hi Stephen,
Great architecture taken with an original frame, well done this close-up, perfect light to give warm tones.

jlbrthnn (76043) 2011-02-08 11:09

Bonsoir Stephen,
C'est une image captivante, avec un niveau de netteté et des détails incroyables. Excellentes lumière et couleurs. La note est intéressante et utile. Bravo.
Bonne soirée.
Amicalement.
Joël

kordinator (8738) 2011-02-08 11:14

Hello Stephen
Beautiful composition from India.
which shows an interesting one of the most popular tourist destinations.
Very fine work with excellent architectural details rich of sculpture and well captured.
Fine presentation with interesting information.
Perfect job.
Regards
Saša

Fis2 (171763) 2011-02-08 13:10

Bonjour mon cher ami!
Curious fragment,
wonderful details.
Good frame, colors and sharpness.
Best regards
Krzysztof

Budapestman (82620) 2011-02-08 13:24

Hi Stephen,
what a fantastic architectural detail, the composition is very spectacular, superb lights and POV, Tfs! Have a nice evening! Kellemes estét kívánok!
György

i9l2y1m8a8t3 (4814) 2011-02-08 18:19

Greetings Stephen!

A very great architectural image, very crisp, clean and detailed. Wonderful colors too! Great shot!

thanks for sharing,
Matt

Graal (103040) 2011-02-08 23:57

Hi Stephen,
amazing details of architecture. Nice sculptures, superb artistic work. Good presentation and interesting note. I like it.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

delpeoples (60342) 2011-02-09 23:11

Hi Stephen

Oooh yes, your title says it all. Great choice of both the title and the POV. The textures and details are spectacular. And I like how the warm colours contrast against the clear blue sky. Excellent choice using the vertical frame too. Wonderful!

Have a good day,how's the ole back going?
Lisa

ikeharel (114409) 2011-02-10 8:33

A fabulous art work on the walls of the temple, Stephen, carved statues and other archi. details are fine, and sharp with excelent light collected.
Regards
Ike

ManuMay (36447) 2011-02-10 8:49

Hi Stephen!

A very interesting capture and a very good and interesting note too!!

Excellent play of light and contrast, showing well this volumes and forms, amazing sculptures very well captured, a warm light bathing the temple adding contrasts to show well its work...Good capture!!

Have a nice day...

Manu

Silvio1953 (222721) 2011-02-10 12:00

Ciao Stephen, beautiful detail of fantastic architecture, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done my friend, ciao Silvio

jaywalker (16105) 2011-02-10 15:18

Hi Stephen, I love architectural photo & this one is really great, it shows some amazing detail & some superb artwork, I like the tight crop & the well worked light, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

macjake (98544) 2011-02-12 16:22

hi Stephen
i would love to see more and more of these majestic temples!
the detailing is splendid.
composing this beast must be hard, so i can appreciate that.
hope to see more like this
cheers
craig

sandpiper (6788) 2011-02-14 13:00

Hi Stephen

Great detail in this shot of this impressive ancient temple. Enjoyed the note to. I wonder if they had drawn plans of some king, or it just got built in a hapazard way.

Chris