Iconography of Adhisthana-Vedibhandha of Lakshmana Temple: A Valence of Religion and Beauty

Abstract: The Lakshmana Temple is one of the oldest and most beautiful of Khajuraho's western temples. The main temple is built on an extremely high adhisthana that includes a pitha and a vedibandha. It has two moulding series. The bottom series for the plinth (pitha) comprises of plain bhitta and decorative bhitta with stencilled scrolls.The upper level of moulding for the vedibandha is made up of khura and kumbha with a central projecting band of grasa-pattika. There are nine major vedibhandha niches containing Graha-mandala encircling the temple, each having an interesting set of divinities running from Ganesha in the south to Durga-devi- Kshamankari in the north.