[laluks]

It's been a while since I traveled North. Unlike the mad drive-through with out any touch points and honing my skills of trying to click pictures from a fast moving car, I wanted a drive, where I could stop do whatever my mind says at leisure. My idea was a drive to Uttarakhand, visit Mana Pass (second time ) and on return get back home via Spiti in Himachal. I had the whole of September to my disposal and the plans were getting made.

I had given an invitation to my long term travel partner to join me on my drive, only to be cold shouldered. My brother in law who was curious about my drives, showed an interest to join me. Well, it would be his first cross country drive, and probably a first 1000 + kms drive a day, given my plans to reach Uttarakhand the earliest. Left alone to me, I would have made all plans to reach Delhi on day one, but then I did not want to deprive him of a good nights sleep.

I did not want to stop at Nagpur or Jhansi, any ways we needed a break, why not break for a reason, why not see some place next day? Why not Khajuraho? Khajuraho fits the bill, even though it will be my second visit, but could be a good introduction of Central India for my BIL, before we head up north. That looked like an option.

Two days before we were supposed to head out for our month long drive, my BIL asked me about the plan. All I said was I have an idea what we will do on Day one and Day two. Rest we will figure out after we start. I am sure he was not expecting that comment before a long drive. But it panned out like that.

I asked him to be ready by 02:00AM on the D day, and promised him that I'll pick him up from his place. He was curious to know where we will be for the night, and my reaction was I don't know. Eventually I told him we will drive till sun down, and then we break for the night wherever we reach. The protocol for the next few weeks would be to wake up early and hit the road with the first ray of the sun and to stop at sun down.

Since Mana Pass was in the scheme of things Kungfu Panda (Sr.) was the steed of our choice. The whole drive panned out to be one super drive of over 10K Kms home to home.

2019 drive


My last visit to Khajuraho was exactly one year ago in August 2018, in Kungfu Panda (Jr.). That was a part of my Central India Drive. I never wrote about that. It was yet another 10K drive.

2018 drive


But I will restrict this log only to Khajuraho Part of our 2019 drive or just the first two days. So here we are in 2019 August with a plan to visit Khajuraho again.

We started from Bangalore on Friday 30th August 2019 at 02:00 and by Saturday 31st August 2019 morning 10:00 we were exploring Khajuraho, with the previous evening spent at a nice hotel in Katni. By 15:00 we have completed our visit to Khajuraho, and we were on our way to Uttarakhand. Had we turned back towards Bangalore, we would have been home for dinner on Sunday. Sorry if I make it look like a possible weekend getaway from Bangalore .

On to Khajuraho and our drive

[laluks]

The Plan
Day 01 : 30th August 2019 : Friday : Bangalore - Katni
Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday :Katni - Khajuraho - Etawah

The Route


Basically the idea was to drive as much as possible nearer to Khajuraho on Day 1. Initially I thought we might only reach till Jabalpur, but keeping good timing through out the drive we were able to reach Katni. All thanks to good roads. Only blooper was a stretch through Pench before reaching Seoni.

Detailed Loop in Khajuraho


We also did a bit of nearby places too like Ken Ghadiyal Sancturay

[laluks]

29th August 2019 : Thursday

A day before we were to set out on our 10K+ drive, I took the day off and got both Kungfu Panda (Jr.) and Kungfu Panda (Sr.) cleaned up. Kungfu Panda (Jr.) is set to be parked for almost a month.

Kungfu Panda (Jr.) was then covered up and parked


Then I got Kungfu Panda (Sr.) a tankful of diesel


Kungfu Panda (Sr.) at 54305 before we set out on our adventure


Had an early dinner after keeping my bags in the boot, and hit the bed by 22:00

Day 01 : 30th August 2019 : Friday
Bangalore - Katni

Woke up 01:00, took a nice hot shower and got ready. Called my BIL and started from my place. I picked him from his place and we were rolling by 02:00.

We stopped by at Reliance Petrol Pump en-route around 10:00


We refreshed ourselves, filled diesel and we continued our drive. Roads were top notch and we could reach Nagpur in 10 hours


We continued on and reached Pench in another 2 hours. Very good roads till here


Then we got stuck in the road construction through Pench towards Seoni. Highways are being built above the ground level via flyovers so as to enable unobstructed wildlife movements below. It took us a while to get over that stretch. It was raining there and it was all muddy.

Somewhere Kungfu Panda (Sr.) reached a fancy milestone and we stopped by to acknowledge.


We continued on, we passed Jabalpur and there was enough sunlight for us to drive ahead. So we pushed on towards Katni. Katni, since from Katni we can take a direct route to Khajuraho from there. A quick search on all hotel apps threw us Katni Rishi Regency with good rating and good parking place. So we pushed on to reach Rishi Regency by 19:30 hours.

By the time we parked at Rishi Regency, we had completed 1424 KMs for the day.


Rishi Regency was a nice place, in fact it was the earlier MPTDC hotel, now taken over by a private player on lease. Good food and decent rooms. Quickly took some hot bath and reached the restaurant for dinner

Our Dinner table for the evening


By 22:00 we hit the bed, and had a sound sleep.

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

After a good night's sleep we were ready by 06:00. It had rained through the night, and the morning were looking cloudy, wet and cold. We packed up stuff back to the car and cleaned up the windshield, wipers and topped up washer fluid.

We took the route towards Panna, and we will be driving through the buffer zones of Panna Tiger Reserve before finally turning off to Khajuraho.

The Drive Plan from Katni (Katni - Pawai - Panna - Bamitha - Khajuraho)


Rishi Regency


It's a nice place, with decent rooms, restaurant and a bar.


It's the earlier MPTDC, Katni. Look at the ample parking space


Kungfu Panda (Sr.) clocked 1420 Kms and is ready for the next leg


By 06:30 we rolled out from Rishi Regency towards Khajuraho. The place had heavy downpour and it was all wet. The rains slowed down us a bit.

We drove towards Panna Road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9Rbj2nq7EM

Before reaching Pawai, we saw a board to a waterfall and parked to check it out

Kungfu Panda (Sr.) Parked while we explore the place


Chand Silver Falls is nearby, as the board says


We later came to know the falls was also called Pawai Falls

It was some 60KMs from Katni, and we reached in one hour. It was 07:30.

The drive till Chand Silver Falls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJkbL1PviTs

Another look at Kungfu Panda (Sr.)


continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

You can see the falls from the road itself


But we decided to venture a bit near the falls


Some pictures of Pawai Falls / Chand Silver Falls








A decent fall, wish there was more water.

We decided to move on towards Panna Tiger Reserve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp0WqJ-OGek

We entered buffer zone of Panna Tiger Reserve


We reached Panna, traveling through the buffer reserve, on Chhatarpur Satna Road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8EdJ_3xT30

Khajuraho is another 45 KM from here, some 35 Kms towards Chhatarpur direction and at Bamitha, 11 Kms detour



Drive from Panna to Bamitha was marred with bad stretches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB6GuksrZfs

We reached Bamitha, Khajuraho was another 11 Kms






continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

After turning off to Khajuraho at Bamitha on Satna Chhatarpur road, we drove towards the temple town. In my last visit we took a detour to checkout a reservoir nearby. Beni Sagar Reservoir.

Beni Sagar Dam is located on the border of the temple town of Khajuraho. Built over the Khuddar River, it stretches across quite an area. I was told the best time to visit this dam is during dawn and dusk, when you can enjoy spectacular views of the sunrise and sunset

From Bamitha to Beni Sagar Reservoir

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycoYCyLx4Ww

Kungfu Panda (Sr.) at Beni Sagar Reservoir





Some pictures of Beni Sagar Reservoir


You can walk or ride on the bund, but too narrow for a 4 wheeler


Disappointed by the overgrowth in the reservoir and it had less water


He is busy clicking the first pictures of the trip


It was 09:30, and we decided to move towards the temple town to explore the architecture of the temples.The temples are grouped into three geographical divisions: western, eastern and southern.Our first stop would be at the western group of temples, which is seemingly better preserved that the rest.

From Beni Sagar Reservoir to Western Group of Temples

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3vZ5VA0LFc

Khajuraho Welcomes Us




continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

Khajuraho derives its name from Khajur Trees (Date palms), I was told. I had looked around the place for the same, not much were found. So I doubt the authenticity of this information, or probably over the years all the trees might have died. For the record I found one and took a picture.

Kungfu Panda (Sr.) next to a Khajur Tree


There were over 80+ temples in Khajuraho, of which some 20+ are standing now, which are preserved in multiple degrees. The western group of temple are the most preserved ones, thanks to it being bounded by a compound wall and ASI ticketing the entry here. Eastern group is spread around and is not as much as protected or maintained as the western group. The southern group was the least maintained in my opinion. We had a plan to visit all the groups and the Jain temple around.

We decided to start with the western group to get a good feel of the temples, before we wandered on to eastern and southern group.

We reached the western group of Temples by 10:30

He quickly secured us two tickets to the Western Group of Temples


Costed us Rs 40 each


Details of Khajuraho as per ASI


As per ASI the most important temples are Lakshman, Vishwanatha, Kandariya Mahadeva, Jagadambi, Chitragupta, Dulhadeo, Parshvanatha Adinatha, Vaman, Javari and Chaturbhuja.

We slowly started to explore the Western group of temples. The premises were quite clean and nicely maintained.


continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

We started to explore the western group of temples clockwise from the entrance. Most of these temples are built by the Chandela Dynasty between 900 and 1050 AD

This is a World Heritage Site maintained by ASI


The first structure that will catch your eyes as you enter is this one. Pratapeshwar Temple which is very different to the other ones around. More on this as we come to this temple at the end of our clock wise exploration


To our left after a beautiful lawn we see a cluster of temples. This includes small Lakshmi and Varaha temples and the major Lakshmana Temple.


Lakshmi Temple, dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, consort of Lord Vishnu









Lakshmi temple is next to Varaha Temple and is opposite to Lakshmana Temple


Varaha Temple




Some details on Varaha temple


Wonderful sandstone carving of Vishnu in his boar avatar


Checkout the beautiful carving on this structure entirely made on sandstone






continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

We then walked to Lakshmana Temple


Some details of Lakshmana Temple, it is dedicated to the Vaikuntha form of Lord Vishnu


It took some 20 years to build. This is one of the well preserved temples at Khajuraho.

Lakshmana Temple






The temple is adorned with a lot of carvings








The sanctum


continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

According to Lonely Planet, You’ll see carvings of battalions of soldiers on the frieze around the base – the Chandelas were generally at war when they weren’t inventing new sexual positions – as well as musicians, hunters and plenty of elephants, horses and camels.On the southern side of its base are some of Khajuraho's most orgiastic carvings

















Carvings on the tower


A picture from Garbhagriha, tri headed Vishnu


Older scripts engraved on stone



continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

There are many stories as to why such carvings are made in temples of Khajuraho.

One of the interesting stories goes like this

The first Chandela king was Chandravarman. There is an interesting story behind his naming. His mother's name was Hemvati.

Hemvati was a very beautiful woman, who hailed from modern day Varanasi, she was the daughter of a priest. One day while she was bathing in the village pond, the God of the Moon, was enchanted by her beauty and spent the night with her in human form. This resulted in Hemvati getting pregnant in the morning. So she asked the Moon God, that now she will not be accepted back in her village, and what should she do?
The moon God replied that she will finds refuge along the banks of the Karnavati river, and her son would go on to become a major king. As expected she was thrown out of her village for her unexpected pregnancy and following the advice of the Moon God, she went deep in the jungles of Panna. Her son was born, out of respect for the Moon God, she named him, Chandravarman. He grew up to be a fierce fighter and is fabled to have killed a tiger once. This iconography later went on to become the national seal of the Chandela dynasty.
Then Chandravarman became a successful king having defeated many kingdoms and having been declared the undisputed king of the region. Yet he was looked down upon, shunned by the nobility as he had no father, so his claims to be a king was shaky, as kingship is based on royal lineage. So Chandravarman ordered a council of Bramhins to help him solve this issue. They suggested that he make 84 statues around his place of birth along the Karnaviti River, now known as Ken river, and to normalize the act of sex and to drive home the point that illegitimate sex(outside of marriage) was a natural act, in the iconography of the temples. If a royal decree was undertaken to normalize the act of sex and people could learn from it then most of the preconceived notions that people had would be dissolved, and the shadow of character on his mother would be gone forever.

Standing at the base of Lakshmana temple I looked around, I could see four subordinate shrines at the four corners, which is arranged in a way that all the doors open towards the devotees standing on the base.

Two of the subordinate shrines




Matangeshwara temple, a Shiva Temple, it is the only Hindu temple that is still actively used for worship


It is not much decorated and devoid of carvings


I looked around, and could see the other temple complexes majestically standing at the corners of the beautifully maintained lawns












It was time to move on and check out the other temple complexes within the western group of temples.



continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

We walked towards Kandariya Mahadev Temple, through the designated walk ways. There was no sign of rain and Khajuraho was getting really hot. After the bouts of the rain at Katni and en route, this was least expected. But it helped us to explore the place, though very hot and humid.

Kandariya Mahadev Temple, Kandariya Mahadev means Great God of the Cave


We walked towards Kandariya Temple








Kandariya Mahadev Temple




Kandariya Mahadev Temple Architecture (Source internet)


Lonely Planet says

The 30.5m-long Kandariya Mahadev, built between 1025 and 1050, is the largest Western Group temple and represents the high point of Chandela architecture. It also has the most representations of female beauty and sexual acrobatics of any Khajuraho temple. There are 872 statues, most nearly 1m high – taller than those at the other temples. One frequently photographed sculpture on the south side illustrates the feasibility of the headstand position.

The 31m-high sikhara (temple spire) here is, like a lingam, a phallic Shiva symbol, worshipped by Hindus hoping to seek deliverance from the cycle of reincarnation. It and the mandapa (pillared pavilion) are decorated with 84 subsidiary spires, which make up a mountain-like rooftop scene reminiscent of the Himalayan abode of the gods.

With a graded rise secondary shikharas (spires) cluster to create an appropriate base for the main shikhara over the sanctum. Kandariya Mahadeva, one of the most accomplished temples of the Western group, comprises 84 shikharas, the main being 116 feet from the ground level. The Kandariya Mahadeva temple represents the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group. Considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India. It was built by Vidyadhara, arguably one of the greatest Chandela kings, around 1050 C.E. on Hindu beliefs dating back to 1000 B.C.E. The main spire or shikhara rises 31 m to depict Mount Meru, the holy mountain of Shiva, surrounded by 84 miniature spires. Inside the sanctum a marble linga represents Shiva. The Archaeological Survey of India protects the temple, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Khajuraho.

Wikipedia Says

The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, 31 metres (102 ft) in height, is in the western complex, which is the largest among the three groups of the Khajuraho complex of temples. This western group of temples, consisting of the Kandariya, Matangeshwara and Vishvanatha temples, is compared to a "cosmic design of a hexagon (a yantra or Cosmo gram)" representing the three forms of Shiva. The temple architecture is an assemblage of porches and towers which terminates in a shikhara or spire, a feature which was common from the 10th century onwards in the temples of Central India.

The temple is founded on a massive plinth of 4 metres (13 ft) height. The temple structure above the plinth is dexterously planned and pleasingly detailed. The superstructure is built in a steep mountain shape or form, symbolic of Mount Meru which is said to be the mythical source of creation of the world. The superstructure has richly decorated roofs which rise in a grand form terminating in the shikara, which has 84 miniature spires. The temple is in layout of 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi), of which 22 are extant including the Kaṇḍāriyā Mahādeva Temple. This temple is characteristically built over a plan of 31 metres (102 ft) in length and 20 metres (66 ft) in width with the main tower soaring to a height of 31 metres (102 ft), and is called the "largest and grandest temple of Khajuraho". A series of steep steps with high rise lead from the ground level to the entrance to the temple. The layout of the temple is a five-part design, a commonality with the Lakshmana and Vishvanatha temples in the Khajuraho complex. Right at the entrance there is torana, a very intricately carved garland which is sculpted from a single stone; such entrances are part of a Hindu wedding procession. The carvings on the entrance gate shows the "tactile quality of the stone and also the character of the symmetrical design" that is on view in the entire temple which has high relief carvings of the figurines. Finely chiseled, the decorative quality of the ornamentation with the sharp inscribed lines has "strong angular forms and brilliant dark-light patterns". The carvings are of circles, undulations giving off spirals or sprays, geometric patterns, masks of lions and other uniform designs which has created a pleasant picture that is unique to this temple, among all others in the complex.

In the interior space from the entrance there are three mandapas or halls, which successively rise in height and width, which is inclusive of a small chamber dedicated to Shiva, a chamber where the Shiva linga, the phallic emblem of Shiva is deified. The sanctum sanctorum is surrounded by interlinked passages which also have side and front balconies. Due to inadequate natural light in the balconies the sanctum has very little light thus creating a "cave like atmosphere" which is in total contrast to the external parts of the temple. In the interior halls of the temple and on its exterior faces there are elaborately carved sculptures of gods and goddesses, musicians and apsaras or nymphs.The huge pillars of the halls have architectural features of the "vine or scroll motif". In the corners of the halls there are insets which are carved on the surface with incised patterns. There is a main tower above the sanctum and there are two other towers above the other mantapas also in the shape of "semi-rounded, stepped, pyramidal form with progressively greater height". The main tower is encircled by a series of interlinked towers and spires of smaller size. These are in the form of a repeated subset of miniature spires that abut a central core which gives the temple an unevenly cut contour similar to the shape of a mountain range of mount Kailasa of the Himalayas where god Shiva resides, which is appropriate to the theme of the temples here.

The exterior surfaces of the temples are entirely covered with sculptures in three vertical layers. Here, there are horizontal ribbons carved with images, which shine bright in the sun light, providing rhythmic architectural features. Among the images of gods and heavenly beings, Agni, the god of fire is prominent. They are niches where erotic sculptures are fitted all round which are a major attraction among visitors. Some of these erotic sculptures are very finely carved and are in mithuna (coitus) postures with maidens flanking the couple, which is a frequently noted motif. There is also a "male figure suspended upside" in coitus posture, a kind of yogic pose, down on his head. The niches also have sculptures of Saptamatrikas, the septad of mother goddesses along with the gods Ganesha and Virabhadra. The seven fearful protector goddesses include: Brahmi seated on a swan of Brahma; Maheshwari with three eyes seated on Shiva's bull Nandi; Kumari; Vaishnavi mounted on Garuda; the boar-headed Varahi; the lion-headed Narasimhi and Chamunda, the slayer of demons Chanda and Munda. The image of Sardula, a mythical creature with lion face and human limbs in lower panel is a unique figure seen in the temple.

continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

Time to check out Kandariya Temple


Kandariya Temple






The richly decorated roof of the temple








A close up


Lion and young woman



continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

Some shots of the carvings at Kandariya Temple





























continued...

[laluks]

Day 02 : 31st August 2019 : Saturday
Katni - Panna - Khajuraho - Ken Ghadiyal - Etawah

Some more shots of the carvings at Kandariya Temple





























continued...