LEGACY UNVEILED
Discovered By: R.S. Burt.
Discovered In: 1838 AD.
Revived By: Archaeological Survey Of India
The credit of rediscovering Khajuraho goes to R. S. Burt, a
British engineer who visited Khajuraho in 1838 AD and was struck by the
sculptural and architectural
excellence of its ruined temples. He
briefly noticed the Visvanatha, Nandi,
Lakshmana,
Varaha and Matangesvara temples, of which the last one was in active
worship and copied Dhanga's stone inscription dated 1002 AD, which was
then lying loose at the Visvanatha temple.
Between
1852 AD and 1885 AD, a detailed survey of the antiquities of Khajuraho
including its temples, mounds, loose images and inscriptions was made by
Alexander Cunningham. He published the results of his valuable survey in
the Archaeological Survey Report, Volumes II, VII, X and XXI issued
between 1871 AD and 1885 AD.
Since then many scholars, art-historians and enthusiasts have written on
Khajuraho and published its photographic illustrations. Among the latter,
Lapel Griffin's illustrations are notable as depicting the condition of
the Khajuraho temples before 1880 AD. Since 1904 AD, these temples
received their due share of attention from the Archaeological Survey of
India, which undertook a well-planned and elaborate programme of special
repairs to them with the enlightened cooperation of the Chhatarpur Durbar.
In recent years, the tempo of conservation and publicity has gone apace
and the place is attracting an ever-increasing number of tourists and
serious students from India and abroad.
