Vishwanatha Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

Vishwanatha Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

Vishwanatha Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Khajuraho town in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, India. This Temple is considered as one of the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India. 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.

History

The temple was constructed by Chandela King Dhanga Deva (950 AD – 999 AD) in 999 AD as per the dedicatory inscription now affixed to the porch of the Vishwanatha temple. This inscription mentions that Dhanga's descendant Jayavarman had it re-written in clear letters in 1116 AD. This inscription gives the genealogy of Chandela Kings from Nannuka to Dhanga. It states that Dhanga Deva constructed a magnificent Shiva temple with two Lingas. One Linga named as Marakateshvara was made of emerald and the other Linga named as Pramathanatha was made of stone. The inscription appears to have been issued after Dhanga's death.

It states that after living for more than a hundred years, Dhanga attained moksha by abandoning his body in the waters of Ganga and Yamuna. Unlike some other Chandela temple inscriptions, it does not mention the Pratihara overlords of the Chandelas. This suggests that the Chandelas were no longer vassals of the Pratiharas by this time. As per the inscription, the architect of the temple was Sutradhara Chhichha, who was well versed in Vishwakarma architectural tradition. The emerald Linga was already missing when British Archeologist Alexander Cunningham visited this temple in 1864 AD.

The Temple

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2021/03/vishwanatha-temple-khajuraho-temple.html

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 | Photos