Kandariya Mahadev Temple...Khajuraho

Kandariya Mahadev Temple is the largest,loftiest and the finest among the existing Khajuraho temples.Probably built around 1025-50 by King Vidyahara.From sculpture and architecture point of view, Kandariya is considered to be the best temple among the Khajuraho group of temples.Originally this temple was a panchayatan type temple,but four subsidiary shrines at the four corners of the terrace do not exist now. Kandariya Mahadev shares its high platform with the small Mahadev shrine and the medium - sized Devi jagdambi Temple and has only one entrance to east with high flights of steps. At the entrance the artistic arch (makaratorana) is decorated with figures of deities,Mithunas,musicians,kirtimukhas,m­akaras etc.The ceiling of the Ardhamandapa and Mandapa are carved richly.The lintels of the sanctum and the doorjambs have rich floral carvings. Inside the sanctum, a square chamber,stands a marble Shivlinga (symbol of Shiva). The inner pradakshina path around the Sanctum is covered with marvellous sculptures. The sculptures are carved around the temple in three bands and include gods, goddesses, beautiful women, musicians and, of course, some of the famed erotic groups.The English archaeologist Cunningham counted 226 statues inside the temple and a further 646 outside - 872 in total with most of them nearly 1m high.The temple is decorated with rich sculpted figures of women in a variety of poses. There are women playing with a ball, some engaged in writing a letter, others applying make-up and absorbed in a multitude of other activities. On the southern and northern sides, between the balconies are the large-scale erotic panels. Below the bands of the main body of the temple are smaller, narrower friezes depicting court life, the army, and processions of elephants and horses. After the Kandariya Mahaddev temple, the artist of khajuraho never again attempted to build a strcuture so high or ornate.