INDIA - Khajuraho Group of Monuments

Postcard sent in a direct swap by Tishant. 
Sent 26/02/2023.

INSCRIPTION/INSCRITO: 1986

The temples at Khajuraho were built during the Chandella dynasty, which reached its apogee between 950 and 1050. Only about 20 temples remain; they fall into three distinct groups and belong to two different religions – Hinduism and Jainism. They strike a perfect balance between architecture and sculpture. The Temple of Kandariya is decorated with a profusion of sculptures that are among the greatest masterpieces of Indian art.The group of temples of Khajuraho testifies to the culmination of northern Indian temple art and architecture of the Chandella dynasty who ruled the region in the 10th and 11th centuries CE. Distributed over an area of 6 square km in a picturesque landscape, the 23 temples (including one partly excavated structure) that form the western, eastern, and southern clusters of the Khajuraho Group of Monuments are rare surviving examples that display the originality and high quality of Nagara-style temple architecture.

The Khajuraho Group of Monuments demonstrates in layout and physical form, the pinnacle of temple architectural development in northern India. Built in sandstone, each temple is elevated from its environs by a highly ornate terraced platform, or jagati, on which stands the body, or jangha, whose sanctum is topped by a tower, or shikhara, of a type unique to Nagara, where the verticality of the principal spire atop the sanctum is accentuated by a series of miniature spires flanking it, each symbolizing Mount Kailasa, the abode of the Gods.

Thank you for this marvelous card, Thishant!