Srikala Balakrishnan

The Chandelas of Jijekabhukti Srikala Balakrishnan

The Chandelas of Jijekabhukti were the dynasty which built the fine temples of Khajuraho. They were also the dynasty which opposed Mahmud of Ghazni when he attacked and plundered the Indian subcontinent in the eleventh century. As such I thought them deserving of some mention and hence this book was written, if for no other reason than that they give an idea of Indian life, kingdoms and the development of societal beliefs in the transitional period from ancient to medieval India. Because of the lack of informative history writing among the Hindus, the sources of information are eulogies of kings in inscriptions. Hence, there is an element of obscurity about the Chandelas. The tendency to mix up mythology with history has contributed to a degree of mystery as well.