Brahma Temple, Chhatarpur: History, Timings & Visitor Guide

Brahma Temple is open every day, usually from early morning to late evening with a break in the afternoon. Darshan and aarti timings change with the season and on festival days.

• MorningOpens early morning (around 5 to 6 AM)
• AfternoonShort break around midday at many temples
• EveningEvening aarti around sunset, closes by about 8 to 9 PM

Ask the temple office on arrival for the day's aarti schedule.

Dress Code & Temple Rules

• DressModest, traditional clothes covering shoulders and knees
• FootwearRemove before entering; use the shoe stand
• PhotographyNot allowed inside the sanctum
• Not AllowedLeather items, tobacco, alcohol, non-veg food
• QueueFollow queue lines and staff instructions on festival days

The temple is located on the banks of Khajuraho Sagar lake. It is incorrectly called Brahma Temple; the garbhagriha (sanctum) of the temple contains a four faced lingam, the symbol of Shiva, and local worshippers mistook this for a sculpture of Brahma, who has four faces. The western windows and the central positions of the lintels of the garbhagriha contain figures of Vishnu. However, the stones from which they are made are different from the stones which are used to build the temple.

Architecture of Brahma Temple

The Brahma temple is one of the various surviving temples in the Khajuraho temple complex. Unlike most of the other temples, which are made of grainstone, this temple is made of granite. The plan of this temple is similar to that of the Lalguan Mahadeva temple. These temples were built during a period in which a transition was occurring from granite to sandstone.

According to the Archaeological Survey of India, the plan of this temple is simpler compared to the other temples of Khajuraho. The shikhara (the tower over the chamber in which the deity is kept) is made of sandstone. The temple originally consisted of a porch and a garbhagriha. The porch has been destroyed and only the garbhagriha remains which is crowned by the shikhara. Externally, the garbhagriha is cruciform in shape and contains projections in each side. Internally, it is square in shape and rests on 12 pilasters of granite. The eastern projection contains the main doorway, and the western projection contains a smaller doorway. Latticed windows are present on the remaining two lateral projections.