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Album: By Country | By Date India | May 2001 < Prev: Taj Mahal 2 | Next: Khajuraho's Jain Temples >
Travelogue: By Country | By Date India | May 2001  

May 2001 - Around Khajuraho

On the bus and around this tiny town famous for its temples

A bus "station" on the way to Khajuraho. The buses in this part of the country don't seem to be as well organized as in the south. The bustle is the same. View out the bus window Math at breakfast Our hotel's main selling point was a large garden. It was too hot to use, except in the morning, but in the morning it was great. We also liked looking out at what was happening on the other side of the fence. Today is market day.
Hanuman shrine Tote receiving an invitation to play cricket Pots and behind them the pits used as kilns and the wood and cow dung used for fuel Maggie with kids
Better view of a pot "kiln." Pot pit End of the puja at the Shiva Temple in Khajuraho. On the right is the a huge lignam. The base makes a yoni shape. The puja is very impressive and well attended. Bells clang, people chant and clap. Many kiss and bow to the lingam and yoni. It's hard to describe how exotic and different the whole thing is. The fellow with the baseball cap is Babu, a young fellow we met on the bus
Temple bells The "priest" with the lingam behind him. In Hinduism, the lingam, symbol of the god Shiva, is worshipped as an emblem of generative power. Although not all simple columns, the ones we have seen have all been stylized. As the symbol of male creative energy the lingam is combined with its female counterpart, the yoni - a uterus-shaped stone "basin" from which the lingam rises. Although the lingam originally may have had no relation to Shiva, it has from ancient times been regarded as symbolizing Shiva's creative energy and is widely worshiped as his fundamental form. Often Shiva temples, unlike those of other gods - Hanuman for instance - have no anthropomorphic representation of Shiva. Monica with a bindi placed on her forehead by the "priest" Another shrine.
Maggie and some friends Ashtrays at the market Bracelets at the market A very odd sight. Maggie and the boys could not agree on how to set the air conditioner, so this was Maggie's solution.
A silly picture of where Monica did her yoga classes in the morning Shrine outside Shiva temple Tree outside Shiva temple Steps up to the Shiva Temple
The Shiva Temple sits at the edge of the Western Group of temples. This is a very simple but very impressive temple.