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Previous: Varanasi
Overnight trains had served me fairly well so far in India but there was no railway service to Khajuraho so I had to stop in Satna to board a bus at this terminal for the last 80 kms.
Here is an isolated farm in the wheat fields on the way from Satna to Khajuraho. It is an exception for dwellings are generally grouped in villages and not isolated like this one.
The white washed front wall of this village house seen from the bus from Satna to Khajuraho is a sign of wealth and privilege.
As mentioned earlier, the caste system still applies fully in rural villages. Members of one caste may not marry outside their caste. They are also forbidden to eat at the same table as members of an inferior caste under penalty of suffering a defilement that calls for elaborate purification rituals. Each one of the several hundred castes has its own caste rules decreed by the caste council who also has the authority to impose sanctions, that range from fines to exclusion, to offenders.
It is not rare, even today in 2000, to read in the newspaper reports of the murder of a young couple by villagers angered by cross-caste bonding.
Here is another village between Satna and Khajuraho.
The village government is assured by a "panchayat" of five elders generally chosen amongst the higher castes of each village while caste councils run the internal affairs of each caste. Seventy percent of villagers are still illiterate and most work the land of others. Their ignorance, their belief in the inescapable laws of karma and their economic dependency make it possible to maintain the political power at the village level in the hands of the higher caste residents who also own most of the land and control most of the trade around the village.
At the State and Central levels, the illiterate voter is subjected to intense pressure from both the village panchayat and from his caste council which is in turn subjected to pressure from the various parties for their "vote blocks". In any case, few illiterate villagers have access to the information they could need to cast an enlightened vote if they understood the issues. These practices explain in part why democracy has become a farce in India.
I made a detour to come to Khajuraho to see the erotic sculptures that adorn the temples built between 959 and 1050 AD by the Chandela Kings who followed Tantric cults promoting the gratification of earthly desires. These ancient cults trace their origins to the feminine fertility cults that existed in the Indus valley in pre-aryan times. Later, elements of Tantrism found their way into Tibet's Lamaist Buddhism along with the primitive Tibetan Bon religion.
Memorial building next to bazaar, below, view through the gate. On the right, small temple near the bazaar.
Most temples here are dedicated either to Vishnu which is the premium god of the Vaishnavist sect or to Shiva, the premium god of the Shaivite sect. This small one is dedicated to Parvati, Shiva's wife.
General view of the Lakshmana Temple dedicated to Vishnu, the god with 10 incarnations, and of the two shrines in front, one dedicated to Vishnu's incarnation as the boar Varah on the left and the other dedicated to his wife Lakshmi, the provider of wealth, on the right.
Below on the left, the image of Vishnu in the main temple and on the right, another view of the Lakshmi shrine.
The Lakshmana Temple is decorated by a double row of bas relief sculptures on all sides. Below are some zoomed views of the more naughty scenes found on Lakshmana Temple.
Such lewd displays are not typical of modern Hindu society which tends to be rather conservative in spite of the reputation derived from the well known treatise on the matter, Kamasutra reportedly written by Vatsyayana sometime between the first and 6th centuries. The role of women vary according to caste with Brahmin women being the most severely limited to procreation and domestic chores and the Dalitbahujan women enjoying the greatest autonomy.
You may see 25 photos of four more Khajuraho Temples and their sculptures here,or use the link below the following scenes to visit Gwalior if you prefer.
