Kandariya Mahadev

The largest of the temples at Khajuraho
in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is
dedicated to the god Shiva in his manifestation as “Skanda’s Lord”; Skanda is
another deity who is considered to be
Shiva’s son, and the general of Shiva’s
army. The Kandariya Mahadev temple
was built by the kings of the Chandella
dynasty between 1025 and 1050. It was
constructed at the end of the wave of creativity that produced all of the Khajuraho
temples. It is the best-developed example
of the Khajuraho branch of the Nagara
architectural style, in which all of the
temple’s smaller towers lead to and culminate in one central tower directly
over the sanctuary. Like most of the
temples at Khajuraho, the Kandariya
Mahadev temple is covered with erotic
sculpture—perhaps as a symbol for
union with the divine, perhaps as a religious affirmation of every aspect of
human existence.