Khajuraho & Sanchi

This trip covering two UNESCO heritage sites in the central part of India was planned a few months back.  Rail being the predominant mode of transport, we had to settle for getting onto and alighting from trains at odd times.  My friend Sanat joined me at Chennai from Bangalore and we boarded the Tamil Nadu Express for Jhansi at 10 PM on a warm Thursday evening.  We quickly settled down to get some sleep.  The train covered the dry and arid Deccan plateau and Vidharba regions through the next day and dropped us at Jhansi just after midnight.  At Jhansi, we were joined by my cousin Ram and his friend Rahul who came from Hyderabad on a train that dropped them at Jhansi about half an hour earlier.  We had some tea outside the station and spent time observing the statues, paintings and travel details adorning the walls of Jhansi station.  Jhansi is located in Uttar Pradesh and is a major station on Chennai-Delhi route.  Our train to Khajuraho arrived at around 2 30 AM and we boarded our coach and settled for some sleep.  The UP Sampark Kranti Exp, on which we were travelling, had a few coaches that would go to Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.  The rest go to Manikpur in UP.  At dawn, we reached Mahoba junction.  Here the train was split into two - our portion driven to Khajuraho.  We reached around 7AM in the morning.  The station was very clean and our train was only one of two express trains reaching Khajuraho daily.  The town is about 5kms from the railway station.  We found an auto driver who drove us to the town and to a hotel close to the famous Western Group of Monuments in Khajuraho.  Share autos charge Rs 10 per person for a drop to the town from railway station.  

There are quite a few luxury hotels in Khajuraho including Radisson and Ramada.  We chose a deluxe room in Hotel Yogi Lodge.  We refreshed ourselves with a quick bath and had a breakfast of parathas.  

We purchased tickets for visiting the Western Group of Monuments - audio guides were available for a nominal rate of Rs 100 for English and Rs 60 for local languages.  After picking up audio guides we made our way through the Western Group campus.  The carvings that swathe Khajuraho’s temples are among the finest temple art in the world.  Most of the 85 temples - of which 25 now remain - were built during the period from 950 AD to 1050 AD by the Chandela dynasty.

The temples are superb examples of Indo-Aryan architecture having bands of exceedingly artistic stonework showcasing a storyboard of life a millenium ago. Temples for Varaha, dedicated to Vishnu’s boar incarnation and Lakshmi are two small shrines facing the large Lakshmana temple.  We spent time observing the wonderful 1.5m high sandstone boar, dating from 900 AD and meticulously carved with a pantheon of gods.

The Lakshmana temple is arguably the best preserved temples in Khajuraho.  The outer walls of the temple had carvings of battalions of soldiers, incidents from daily life, war scenes and pairs of men and women, usually depicted in erotic poses.  It was surprising to us that the erotic content, for which Khajuraho is known to most people, forms only 10% of the sheer volume of artwork in Khajuraho.  Some major sculptures in the Western Group include a superb dancing Ganesha carved into a niche, graceful nymphs, one removing a thorn from her foot; another draped in wet sari; a third admiring herself in a mirror.  The audio guides highlight some of the easy-to-miss details.

After spending time at Lakshmana temple, we proceeded to Kandariya Mahadev temple - the largest of temples in Western Group.  The Kandariya Mahadev temple dedicated to Lord Shiva had acrobatic statues, most nearly 1m high - taller than those at other temples in the Western Group.

Devi Jagdamba temple located on the same platform as Kandariya Mahadev temple was originally dedicated to Vishnu, but later to Parvati and then Kali.  Its three-part design is simpler than Kandariya Mahadev temple and is less embellished with carvings. 

North of Devi Jagdamba, Chitragupta is dedicated to Sun god.  Its condition is not as good as other temples and the inner sanctum houses Sun God Surya driving his seven-horse chariot.  The Vishwanath temple and Nandi shrine complete the tour to the Western Group.  The temple is reached by steps on northern and southern side.  Elephants flank the southern steps.  We spent time enjoying the sculptures of Vishwanath temple complex and capturing moments on camera.  After completing our sight-seeing of the  Western Group of Monuments in around 3.5 hrs, we quickly visited the ASI museum located right opposite the Western Group.

After having a marwari meal for lunch, we hired an auto to cover the Eastern and Southern Group of Monuments.  The major temples on the Eastern Group are the Vamana temple, Javari temple and Jain group.  These temples are non-ticketed and are much simpler than the Western Group of Monuments. The Dulhadeo temple was the only temple we covered in the southern group as we had to return to the railway station to catch the evening train at 06 20 PM for Jhansi.  

The train reached Jhansi by 11 45 PM and we had our next train at 01 15 from Jhansi bound for Vidisha.  The trains were punctual and we reached Vidisha by 4 30 next morning.  Vidisha is a quiet town located 10 kms away from Sanchi, our next destination.  An auto driver waiting outside the railway station offered to take us to the famous Sanchi stupa and drop us back by 9 AM in the morning as our return train to Hyderabad was at 9 20 AM.  

In 262 BC, repentant of the horrors he had inflicted on Kalinga in present-day Odisha, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism.  As a penance he built the Great Stupa at Sanchi, near the birthplace of his wife.  A domed edifice used to house religious relics, it was the first Buddhist monument in the region.

After refreshing ourselves at the Sri Lankan Mahabodhi Society in Sanchi, we proceeded to the foot of the hills on which Sanchi Stupa was constructed.  The stupas are open from dawn to dusk, however, we had reached even before ticket counters had opened.  From the hills, we caught glimpses of the beautiful sun rise capturing some wonderful silhoutte moments on our camera.  

By around 6 30 AM, gates to the stupas opened and we were the first to enter the complex on a quiet Sunday morning.  Stupa 1 is a beautifully proportioned structure right in front of you as you enter the complex from the north.  Constructed by Ashoka, it was later enlarged and original brick stupa enclosed within a stone one.  Presently it stands 16m high and 37m in diameter.  Around the stupa are four magnificently carved entrances called toranas that are the finest Buddhist works of art in Sanchi.  Jataka tales that speak about Buddha’s various lives are carved into the pillars on the toranas.  At this stage in Buddhist art, the Buddha was represented symbolically rather than directly - lotus stood for his birth, the bodhi tree his enlightenment, the wheel his teachings, and the footprint and throne his presence.  The stupa itself symbolized the Buddha.  The back-to-back lions supporting the Southern Gateway form the emblem of India, which can be seen on every currency note and coin.  The freshness of the morning added to the scenic experience. 

Every train on Bhopal-Jhansi route passes through Sanchi and one can see the stupas on the hill from not far off. Stupa 2 through 5, temples, pillars and monasteries are other monuments located in the Sanchi Stupa complex.

The ASI museum at the bottom of the hill opens at 8 30 AM.  Since we had to catch our train, we left Sanchi town by 8 AM to reach Vidisha for breakfast.  A roadside vendor served hot poha-jalebis for breakfast.  Kachoris and alu vadas added crisp flavor to the breakfast.  After munching the snacks to fill our stomach, we left for the railway station.  As we settled into our train back to Hyderabad, the hills of Sanchi crossed by our left.  We caught glimpses of the magnificent stupas one last time - this time from the train and reverted to our seats.