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The first of the temples on the common platform at the back of the
western enclosure is not only the largest, it is also artistically
and architecturally the most perfect. Built 1025-50, it represents
Chandela art at its finest. Although the four subsidiary shrines
that once stood around the main temple are long gone, the central
shrine is in superb condition and shows the typical five-part
design of Khajuraho temples.
The
main spire is 31m high, and the temple is lavishly carved. The
English archaeologist Cunningham counted 226 statues inside the
temple and a further 646 outside - 872 in total with most of them
nearly 1m high. The statues are carved around the temple in three
bands and include gods, goddesses, beautiful women, musicians and,
of course, some of the famed erotic groups. The mithuna on the
Kandariya Mahadev include some of the most energetic eroticism to
be seen at Khajuraho.
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