Matangesvara Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

Matangesvara Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

Matangesvara Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Khajuraho town in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the only Hindu temple among the Chandela era monuments still actively used for worship. This temple is considered as part of the western group at Khajuraho. This temple is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other temples in Khajuraho Group of Monuments.

Legends

As per legend, Matanga Rishi manifested in form of a lingam, and controlled the god of love. His hermitages were located at Khajuraho, Kedarnath, Varanasi and Gaya. These are now the sites of four Matangesvara temples.

History

The temple is believed to have been built between 900 CE and 925 CE by Chandela Kings. The temple has been classified as a Monument of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Temple

This Temple is facing towards east. It is the plainest and earliest among the sandstone temples of Khajuraho. It is in active worship and is the holiest of the Khajuraho temples. It is a grand elaboration of Brahma temple on plan and design. It has a square plan. It is 24.5 feet square inside 35 feet square outside with windows on three sides and a projection portico with flight of steps on the east side. It is not richly decorated.

Its interior walls, exterior walls and curvilinear tower are devoid of carvings. The ceiling features elementary floral cusps. The Sanctum houses a 2.5 m high lingam, which is 1.1 m in diameter. The base platform of the lingam is 1.2 m high and 7.6 m in diameter. The lingam has Nagari and Persian inscriptions. The sanctum floor is almost completely occupied by a large Gauri-patta (6.2 m in diameter). The roof over the sanctum is pyramidal.

Festivals

During Shivaratri in February or March, a three-day ceremony is organized here to celebrate Shiva's marriage. It is attended by around 25,000 people. The lingam is bathed, dressed and decorated like a human bridegroom during the ceremony.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 1.5 Kms from Khajuraho Bus Stand, 7 Kms from Khajuraho Airport, 7 Kms from Rajnagar, 9 Kms from Khajuraho Railway Station, 12 Kms from Bamitha, 41 Kms from Chhatarpur, 47 Kms from Panna and 379 Kms from Bhopal. Khajuraho is situated on Bamitha to Rajnagar route. Khajuraho railway station connects the town by a daily train to Delhi via Mahoba, Jhansi and Gwalior. It provides a daily train connecting to Agra, Jaipur, Bhopal and Udaipur. A local daily train also connects to Kanpur, whilst Varanasi is connected three times a week. Khajuraho Airport has flights to Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Mumbai.

Location