Lakshmana Temple

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The Lakshmana Temple (approx. 930–950) and its four accompanying shrines stand on a common platform ( jagati ); from there another staircase leads to the entrance portico of the temple. The sanctum area of ​​all 5 buildings is raised by Shikhara towers with pumpkin or pillow-shaped ring stones ( amalakas ) and vase-like tops ( kalashas ); the vestibules ( mandapas ) are flat-roofed or have pyramid roofs. The entrances to the two front shrines are opposite each other and - in contrast to the usual orientation - are oriented to the north or south. On the left edge of the picture, the Matangeshvara Temple, which was built around the same time but still serves for cult purposes, can be seen.

The Lakshmana Temple is the first really large temple building of the Chandella dynasty in the temple district of Khajuraho ; when it was built (approx. 930–950) it was the largest temple in northern India. The temple is dedicated to the god Vishnu in his aspect as Vaikuntha ('Lord of Paradise'); in the center of the cella ( garbhagriha ) is a three-headed Vishnu / Vaikuntha figure.

Four accompanying shrines are still preserved in the corners of the temple platform and so the rare picture of a complete north Indian temple complex ( panchayatana ) emerges , as it was planned and realized in the Dashavatara temple of Deogarh in the early 6th century , but has not been preserved there .

etymology

The name Vaikuntha is probably derived from the Sanskrit words vi and kuntha and means something like 'without break' in the sense of 'holistic' or 'perfect'. For many followers of Vishnu ( vaishnavas ), Vaikuntha is the destination and place after attaining salvation ( moksha ), i.e. H. after liberation from the endless cycle of rebirths ( samsara ). This place - roughly equated with paradise - is located on the slopes of the world mountain Meru and consists only of gold and precious gemstones; the Ganges flows right through it. The portrait inside the cella was later popularly referred to as Lakshmana , Ramachandra or Chaturbuja , as its original meaning had been forgotten. the name 'Lakshmana Temple' has stuck.

Building history

A stone slab found nearby during the excavation and restoration work at the beginning of the 20th century with a dedicatory inscription from the year 953/4, which refers to a Vaikuntha statue, mentions the Chandella ruler Yasovarman (r. Approx. 925– 950) as builders and donors. With an assumed construction time of about 20 years, the construction of the temple should be settled around the year 930, when the Chandellas gained more and more influence and power over their liege lords, the Pratiharas . The inscription plate is now in the small vestibule ( mukhamandapa ) of the temple.

architecture

The balcony-like, inclined rear walls ( jarokas ) of the benches in the temple interior have turned stone pillars - arranged in groups of three.

The temple, made entirely of sandstone, is approx. 21.5 m high, approx. 24.5 m long and approx. 14.5 m wide. It rises on a rectangular, approx. 3 m high, approx. 40 m long and approx. 27 m wide bypass platform ( jagati ), which can be reached via a forward staircase. The temple itself rests on a multiply structured and slightly recessed substructure ( adhishthana ), so that another staircase, also about 3 m high, is necessary to get to the portico ( mukhamandapa or ardhamandapa ); this is followed by the vestibule ( mandapa ), then the great vestibule ( mahamandapa ) and finally the sanctuary area with internal cella ( garbhagriha ) and a gallery ( pradakshinapatha ).

The area of ​​the sanctuary and the large vestibule are roughly the same - a scheme that appears for the first time around 250 years earlier at the Kalika Mata temple in Chittorgarh and that reached Khajuraho via intermediate stages in Rajasthan and Gyaraspur . Since the roof structure of the temple essentially rests on pillars, the three vestibules and the surrounding area of ​​the cella could be opened to the outside through inclined parapets with turned stone pillars, in front of which there are stone benches inside.

The different rooms are separated from each other by steps and thus have a slightly changing floor level; the cella of the temple with the Vaikuntha image has the highest floor level of all rooms and is raised by a Shikhara tower with small accompanying turrets ( urushringas ). The vestibules are each covered by pyramid-shaped roofs ( phamsanas ). On the outside, this creates the image of a mountain or mountain tower towering over the surrounding landscape, but inside too the believers have to overcome a few steps to get to the "highest", the Vaikuntha image.

Inside and outside, every component of the temple is richly structured and covered with sculptures or abstract geometrical or vegetable ornaments; wall or stone vision is thus largely avoided.

Sculptures

Lakshmana Temple - elephant frieze with an erotic scene. The elephant on the right is so irritated by the hustle and bustle ( brahmin and girl) at his side that he has thrown one of his keepers ( mahut ) with his trunk and threatens to crush him with his raised foot.

The upper level of the multi-tiered base zone is designed as a 35 cm high circumferential frieze with over a hundred small elephants that carry the entire temple on their backs - a national emblem that cannot be found on any of the other temples in Khajuraho. The elephants are each accompanied by two guards ( mahuts ).

The platform and temple are adorned with over a thousand smaller and larger figures. The larger sculptures in particular are no longer framed by architectural elements or niches, as they used to be, but are almost fully sculpted on stone slabs, i.e. That is, they are hardly connected to the rear relief ground. They are no longer meant as static images, but as lively, lifelike figures. The slightly protruding components mostly show figures of gods ( Shiva , Vishnu, etc.), which are accompanied laterally in the slightly recessed parts by female figures of the same size - lightly dressed 'beautiful girls' ( surasundaris ) in different poses and, for sculptural reasons, always with their hair tied up . The somewhat broader, but most heavily downgraded middle registers of the three outer walls of the sanctum present erotic scenes of all kinds on the lower level, for which the temples of Khajuraho are famous throughout the world; above that there are 'Heavenly Lovers' ( mithunas ). The uppermost zone shows an image of a god with accompanying figures in the middle; the side decorative fields ( udgamas ) show ornamental decorations consisting of small window niches ( chandrasalas ) arranged next to and one above the other .

Lakshmana Temple - Lesson Scene ( darshan )

platform

As the only temple in Khajuraho, the Lakshmana Temple has a largely preserved figure frieze that encompasses the entire platform and depicts scenes from everyday life at the court - lessons, war campaigns, musicians, erotic-sexual love scenes etc .; Figures of gods or demons, however, are not to be seen here. The scenes of the frieze, which is attached at about eye level, are original, but of no great craft or artistic mastery.

Temple (outside)

Lakshmana Temple - the figures are arranged on two levels. In the middle of the upper (third) level there is a picture of a god framed by several side decorative fields ( udgamas ) with smaller accompanying figures.

While the small vestibules do not have any figure decorations on the outside, the corner pillars between the vestibule ( mandapa ) and the large vestibule ( mahamandapa ) are provided with figures on two levels. Mainly, however, the area between the great vestibule ( mahamandapa ) and the sanctum is on several levels and overflowing with figures. Here, figures of gods clearly predominate, 'heavenly lovers' ( mithunas ) and 'beautiful girls' ( surasundaris ). Only the lower levels of the middle register also show erotic-sexual scenes; thus the hierarchy between the upper (heavenly) level and the lower (near-earth) level is still preserved at the Lakshmana temple.

Temple (inside)

Among the most interesting and artistically significant figures inside the temple are the female nymphs ( apsaras ) on the struts in the ceiling area of ​​the great vestibule ( mahamandapa ); these show up in different - often extremely twisted - poses when making music, playing ball, but also when undressing. Various figures of gods can be found in the wall niches, including some that are not (no longer) identifiable.

Vaikuntha statue

Vaikuntha cult image

The statue of a god in the cella ( garbhagriha ) carved out of a large stone slab is almost unique in all of India and shows Vishnu / Vaikuntha with four destroyed arms, so that there are no more attributes, and three heads (human, boar and lion). A fourth head at the back, which would have perfected Vishnu's universality, is not executed; instead there is an openwork and jagged halo around Vaikuntha's head, which is rare in India. The figure is surrounded by a frame - carved out of the same stone slab - with guardian figures and the personified river goddesses ganga and yamuna in the base area and three protruding niches with Vishnu avatars ( matsya , varaha , vamana , kurma , narasimha , parashurama ) above . Two lateral pillars with rich, z. Partly free plastic architecture and figure decoration and a double torana arch spouting from the open mouths of water monsters ( makaras ) as a connecting upper end form the outer frame of the cult image. (An altogether similarly designed female figure - probably the goddess Parvati - can be found in a side shrine of the Vishvanatha temple ).

meaning

The Lakshmana Temple (approx. 930-950) with its four consecutive and vertically staggered components as well as its - essentially resting on pillars - construction is considered to be the early highlight of Chandella architecture and after its completion it was the largest temple building for several decades India. Later temple buildings in Khajuraho were significantly influenced by him, including the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple .

The extraordinary Vaikuntha portrait in the cella as well as the rich, almost fully sculptural figure decorations are almost completely preserved inside and outside and testify to the craftsmanship and artistic mastery of the Indian sculptors of the time.

With its multi-part floor plan, a cella enclosed by a gallery and parts of its decoration (balcony parapets with turned columns), the Lakshmana Temple is probably directly influenced by the Maladevi Temple, which was built around 50 years earlier, but still belongs to the Pratihara architecture in Gyaraspur .

literature

  • Krishna Deva: Temples of Khajuraho. (2 volumes) Archaeological Survey of India , New Delhi 1990, p. 38ff
  • Henri Stierlin: Hindu India. Temples and sanctuaries from Khajuraho to Madurai. Taschen-Verlag, Cologne 1998, pp. 130ff ISBN 3-8228-7298-9
  • Marilia Albanese: Ancient India. From the origins to the 13th century. Karl Müller-Verlag, Cologne undated, p. 151f ISBN 3-89893-009-2

Web links

Commons : Lakshmana Temple  - Album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Veronica Ions: Indian Mythology. Hamlyn Publishing, Rushden 1988, p. 46 ISBN 0-600-34285-9
  2. ↑ Krishna Deva: Temples of Khajuraho. (2 volumes) Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi 1990, p. 39 and p. 334ff

Coordinates: 24 ° 51 '8 "  N , 79 ° 55' 18.5"  E