Jain temples of Khajuraho

[1] They are located in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh, India, about 175 kilometres southeast of the city of Jhansi.

During the Chandela rule, many towns in Bundelkhand, including Khajuraho, were home to large and flourishing Jain communities.

A number of Jain temples from that period have survived in this part of Khajuraho in various states of preservation.

The temple complex underwent restoration in 1870 AD, when a Gajarath festival was organized by Kanchhedtilal Jain of Nagaur marking a renewal of the site accompanied by installations of new images, as indicated by the inscriptions.

There is a museum called Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain Samgrahalaya right outside the main compound constructed in 1984 to house sculptures of historical and artistic merit.

The Jain activity resumed around samvat 1915 (1858 AD), when the temples were repaired and installation of new images was restarted.

The Adinath Jain temple contains an idol with an inscription dated to year 1027 during the rule of Chandella king Madanavarman.

Jain temple cluster in Khajurao in 1885: L to R: a small temple, Parshvanath temple with entrance, Adinath temple, two smaller temples with ruins with three columns. The Shantinath temple, out of the view, would have been on the left