Vamana Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

Vamana Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

Vamana Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located at Khajuraho town in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, India. This temple is considered as part of the eastern group at Khajuraho. This temple is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other temples in Khajuraho Group of Monuments.

History

The temple is believed to have been built between 1050 CE and 1075 CE. The temple has been classified as a Monument of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Temple

This temple is a nirandhara temple, no ambulatory around its sanctum. This temple is saptaratha on plan. It measures 19.1 meters in length and 13.9 meters in breath. The temple stands on raised platform. It consists of sanctum, antrala, maha mandapa with lateral transepts and an entrance porch. Only the plinth of entrance arch has survived. The Sanctum enshrines a five feet tall idol of Vamana, dwarf incarnation of Vishnu with figures of incarnation of Vishnu carved on its framework.

Buddha can be seen among the incarnations of Lord Vishnu in Bhumisparsha Mudra. The sikhara is  not hidden by any subsidiary sikharas and is embellished with well ornamented  chaitya arches. This style is in  contrast to the other temples in Khajuraho. Also, the erotic scenes are absent here except in the subsidiary niches of the proof pediments. There is a peculiar roof over Maha Mandapa called as Samvarana. It was prevalent in  the medieval temples of western India. 

The main niches in the upper row of the sanctum contains images of Brahma with his consort, marriage of Hara & Gouri and Vishnu with his consort. The main niches in the lower row of the sanctum contains Vaishnava images of Varaha, Narasimha and Vamana. The absence of the dhammilla type of headdress on the surasundari figures indicates that the temple is later than the Khandariya Mahadeva temple. There are only two bands of reliefs on the external representing Hindu gods & goddesses, female figures and mythical creatures.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 1.5 Kms from Khajuraho Bus Stand, 6 Kms from Khajuraho Airport, 7 Kms from Rajnagar, 10 Kms from Khajuraho Railway Station, 13 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