Hindu temple building reaches a peak with…
1000 CE to 1011 CE
Hindu temple building reaches a peak with the erection of the eighty-five opulently embellished “nagara” temples of Khajuraho, constructed of buff-colored sandstone and granite in about 1000 and set upon lofty terraces.
Each temple comprises a sequence of halls, foyers, and porches joined into a single architectural skin and coordinated along a common axis.
The full light of the entrance progresses in a modulated sequence from open to closed, culminating in the utter darkness of the sanctum.
Myriad carvings of the deities and of erotic scenes, meant as concrete examples of the potency of the icon originally enshrined within, animate the exterior surfaces.
The “sikkhara”—the high, phallic form covering the sanctum—is echoed in the pyramidal superstructures rising from the low, broad shapes of the porch in regular stages, intended to evoke a natural mountain range.
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South Asia
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