Built circa 960 C.E. during the reign of the Chandela king Dhanga and originally dedicated to Adinat
Built circa 960 C.E. during the reign of the Chandela king Dhanga and originally dedicated to Adinatha, Parshvanatha Temple is one of the finest Khajuraho monuments. The temple is rectangular in plan, with an east projection containing the entrance porch, and the west projection housing a shrine attached to the rear of the sanctum. The temple has an inner ambulatory, but unlike many other Khajuraho temples, it has no transepts with balconied windows. As a result, the outer wall of the temple is more solid, and the sculptors made maximum use of this blank canvas to apply their expertise. Beautiful carvings adorn the temple exterior, in particular of apsaras caught in the act of activities such as applying eye make-up. Their voluminous nature, size, and poise, draws many parallels with the Lakshmana Temple (western group). There’s also a vast array of vyalas with different heads, some of parrots, elephants, lions, and other creatures. The upper row of carvings is a little more animated, with varied scenes including flying figures and musicians. Nobody is quite sure why this Jain temple contains so many images of Hindu deities on the outside wall, a theme also mirrored by the adjacent Adinatha Temple. It is believed the earliest idol to be enshrined here was Adinatha. When Alexander Cunningham visited the temple in 1852 he found the main sanctum empty, and described it as merely “Jainatha Temple”. He also noted the temple was repaired by a Jain banker in 1847. 13 years later in 1860 a Parshvanatha idol was installed in the main sanctum. An inscription (dated 954 C.E.) on the left door jamb of the temple records gifts and endowments of gardens by Pahila as a devotee of Jainism, and states that he was held in great esteem by king Dhanga. The image installed in the shrine to the back of the sanctum is Adinatha, who the temple was originally dedicated to. I presume this a later installation as Cunningham made no reference to it in 1852. Repost from @kevinstandage1 #khajuraho #khajurahotemples #incredibletemples #madhyapradesh #madhyapradeshtourism #mptourism #unesco #worldheritagesite #worldhistoricalmonuments #thegenuineindia #templesofindia #ParshvanathaTemp https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6vCvYPgM9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI= -- source link
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