The figures carved on rocks over 1,000 years ago and fascinatingly portrayed on India’s tourist posters all over the world are as captivating as they were during the reign of the Chandela kings who built these temples as homage to gods in the Hindu pantheon or to commemorate their victories over invading Muslim adventurers from Kabul and beyond. Tourists are no longer coming here in large numbers because of the terrorist scare which has gripped India in the wake of the assault on the World Trade Towers in New York, on the country’s Parliament House in New Delhi and more recently the attack on a hotel in Bali, Indonesia.

Last year, the number of foreign tourists to Khajuraho fell to 24,093, marking a decline of more than 45 per cent from the year 2001 when 40, 953 foreign tourists had visited these temples. In the year 2000, as many as 51,255 foreign tourists from Germany, Italy, France, the U. K. and many other countries had come to Khajuraho. The number of domestic tourists has also gone down to 122,617 from 159,522 in the year 2001 and 152,565 in the year 2000, according to the Archaeological Survey of India, which maintains these temples. No wonder occupancy in luxury hotels in Khajuraho has dropped from 40 per cent in the year 2000 to 20 per cent approximately in the year 2002. The occupancy in hotels run by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department has fallen from 45 per cent in the year 2000 to 25 per cent in 2002.

According to R. K. Rai, Regional Manager of the State Tourism Department in Khajuraho, the inflow of tourists in January this year has further come down. In fact, the manager of a five-star hotel in Khajuraho, Arun Talwar, said with occupancy in his hotel dropping to 10 per cent despite the fact that he was offering heavy discounts, it was not possible "for us to break even" this season.

The Khajuraho temples are a unique site exhibiting a very high water-mark of Indian art and craftsmanship as it flourished long before Muslim invaders started playing havoc with Indian heritage. Although surrounded by thick forests in the past, these temples could not escape the wrath of invaders who were intent upon looting and destroying everything valuable in India. Many of the voluptuous figurines carved on high outer walls enclosing the inner sanctums were damaged. It is stated that about a dozen temples still remain buried at sites already identified. Normally, the present Central Government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which is so concerned about reviving our old Indian heritage and values long forgotten, should have been deeply concerned with digging up more specimens of Indian art and culture buried under mounds. But digging of old temples is not receiving the attention it deserves in Khajuraho. Every now and then Parliamentary committees visit this temple town. But their reports dealing with steps which need to be taken for reviving greater interest in these unparalleled specimens of Indian art remain confined to shelves.

What is so remarkable and bewitching about the Khajuraho temples? A local legend traces the descent of the Chandela dynasty, responsible for building these temples, from the moon god called Chandra. According to the story, Hemvati, a beautiful young Brahmin maiden, was having a bath in a pool near her house in Benares (now Varanasi) in the moonlight. Her ravishing beauty so much captured the fancy of the moon god that he could not help descending to earth to meet her. Hemvati had an affair with the moon god. She conceived a child out of this relationship. Since it had happened out of wedlock, Hemvati was worried and asked the moon god about her fate once he departed from the earth. The moon god prophesied that their son would be the first king of Khajuraho. She was asked by the moon god to leave for a forest of khajurs (date palm trees) far away from Benares to deliver her child. When he grows up, the moon god told her, he should perform Bhandya Yajna, a sacrificial ritual that included among its rites the depiction of erotic figures. He should also build 85 temples at the forest of Khajurs, which subsequently came to be known as Khajuraho, all carved with erotic figures. This would free his mother, said the moon god, from the blemish of extramarital love.

According to the book Monumental Legacy: Khajuraho by Devangana Desai, more than 65 inscriptions of the Chandelas, who ruled over Bundelkhand, the region where Khajuraho is located, from 831 to 1308 A. D., have been found. But these inscriptions trace the descent of the Chandelas from the mythical sage, Chandratreya. The Chandela rulers glorified the origin of their dynasty in such a way that the family’s associations with tribals could not be ruled out. Their connection with the tribal Gonds and Bhars has been suggested by many historians, as they worshipped a tribal deity called Maniya Devi and had family ties with the Gonds. Like other Rajput families, the Chandelas tried to legitimise their social status by building temples, tanks and by giving gifts to priestly Brahmins. Why the Chandelas concentrated their temple building activity in Khajuraho is not known to any historian. Hence the Hemvati legend which answers the question of their focus on Khajuraho has become
popular.

Although the temples of Khajuraho are an attractive tourist site in the country, development of infrastructure for access to these monuments has not received the attention both of the Central and State governments. In the absence of any railway connection with Khajuraho, the average Indian tourist with limited means has no choice but to reach there through nearest towns which are on the railway network. The 178-km journey from Jhansi to Khajuraho, which normally should be completed in about four hours by car or bus takes much longer because of the poor maintenance of the road. Potholes mark it for long stretches making driving not only hazardous but also difficult. Driving through many villages on the way, one has to negotiate speed-breakers frequently. At some places the road is so narrow that only extreme caution on the part of drivers coming from opposite directions can prevent accidents. Dhabas offering poor quality of food are there in plenty but any restaurants suited to the tastes and comforts of sophisticated tourists are not there. If the Jhansi-Khajuraho road is a nightmare, even worse is the state of the arterial road connecting Satna with Khajuraho and which is used mostly by tourists coming from Mumbai and Kolkata.

For the better-off domestic or foreign tourist air services are there right up to Khajuraho. But these flights operate only from New Delhi, Agra or Varanasi. The Khajuraho airport was built mainly for the convenience of foreign tourists. But now it is being used more frequently by wealthy Indians desirous of seeing these temples. Due to the increasing popularity of Khajuraho, both within the country and abroad, the number of tourists coming here was increasing from year to year until the terrorist scare started dampening interest in visiting this resort. The township is now dotted with a large number of luxury and middle-class hotels with a total number of 3,000 beds available. With hotels packed to capacity during the tourist season, which is from October to March, Khajuraho used to hum with life about this time of the year in the past.