Khajurāho

The Parshvanatha Temple in the central Indian village of Khajurāho in Madhya Pradesh. It is a Jain temple, built in the 10th century.

Village in Madhya Pradesh, central India, former capital of the Candella monarchs, and site of 35 sandstone temples – Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu – built in the 10th and 11th centuries. The temples are covered inside and out with erotic relief sculptures symbolizing mystic union with the deity. The Parshvanatha Temple (about 950–70) has the finest array, providing outstanding examples of medieval Hindu art as well as some of the world's most sensual images.

The temples were re-discovered in 1838 by a British officer who, with the guidance of his Indian troops, found them engulfed in forest.