Kandariya Mahadev Temple

The Kandariya Mahadev Temple meaning “the Great God of the Cave” is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered as one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India. Shiva, in the form of a linga, is the chief deity in the temple deified in the sanctum sanatorium.

The name ‘Kandariya’ means “cave” and ‘Mahadeva’ is another name for Shiva. The temple is decorated with more than 900 stone carvings and the stones are set without mortar; most of it on the exterior surface of the temple as the interior decoration is sparse.

Khajuraho was the capital of the Chandela rulers, a dynasty of Rajputs who ruled starting from early 10th century till 1050. The original complex built by the dynasty consisted of 85 temples of both Brahmanic and Jain religious denominations, in an area of 6 square kilometres of which 22 are extant including the Kaṇḍariya Mahadeva Temple. This temple is characteristically built over a plan of 102 feet in length and 67 feet in width with the main tower soaring to a height of 102 feet, and is called the “largest and grandest temple of Khajuraho”. It is built to a five parts design which terminates in shikara (tower) which has 84 miniature replicas or spires.