The large Lakshmana Temple took 20 years to build and was completed in about AD 954 during the reign of Dhanga, according to an inscribed slab in the mandapa (pillared pavilion in front of a temple). It’s arguably the best preserved of all the Khajuraho temples.
You’ll see carvings of battalions of soldiers here – the Chandelas were generally at war when they weren’t inventing new sexual positions. On the south side is a highly gymnastic orgy, including one gentleman proving that a horse can be a man’s best friend, while a shocked figure peeks out from behind her hands. More sensuous figures intertwine between the elephants in the frieze ringing the basement, while some superb carvings can be found around the garbhagriha (inner sanctum). Lakshmana is dedicated to Vishnu, although it’s similar in design to the Shiva temples Vishvanath and Kandariya-Mahadev.
Varaha , dedicated to Vishnu’s boar incarnation, and the locked Lakshmi are two small shrines facing the large Lakshmana Temple. Inside Varaha is a wonderful, 1.5m-high sandstone boar, dating from AD 900 and meticulously carved with a pantheon of gods.
