The Vamana temple belongs to the eastern group of temple of Khajuraho. It is devoted to Hindu god 'Vamana' (dwarf) incarnation of Vishnu. Dating back to AD 1050-75 the Vamana temple is situated north of the Khajuraho village amidst green barley fields. It is east of the Ninora Tal and almost the same distance north of the Javari Temple.
The Vamana temple is famous for its graceful figures and exquisite chaitya arches. Unlike some of the other temples of this group the Vamanan temple has just one spired shikhar, which, is simple in construction with very little design. The temple has a sanctum, a 'maha-mandapa' with lateral transepts and a porch, of which only the plinth has survived.
One of the interesting features of the Vamana temple is that its top or third row of the 'jangha' (wall) shows framed niches containing diamonds in the place of sculptures, which is an early feature shared by the subsidiary shrines of the Lakshmana Temple. The band of sculpture around the temple are, very fine with numerous celestial maidens adopting interesting poses.
As one proceeds from the western groups towards the Khajuraho village in the way lays the hanuman temple. The then Orchha ruler, Raja Sujan Singh, built the Hanuman Temple in 1717. There is a colossal statue of Hanuman- "The monkey God" about 8 ft high in the temple. The temple is very old and is almost in ruins. One of the oldest thing found here is a very ancient inscription on the pedestal dating back to the time of Maharaja Harsh, 922 A.D. This is the oldest structure discovered here so far and is very interesting from the arc.
From the point of view of architecture the temple has similar architecture style found in the temples of South India.
According to the legends the king of Orchha was so impressed by a presentation of Tulsidas’ epic poem, Rama Charitra Manas, that he decided to erect all the prominent places mentioned in the epic, in Orchha. Accordingly, the Hanuman Temple was built here, and idols of both Rama and Hanuman were installed in it.
The Vamana temple belongs to the eastern group of temple of Khajuraho. It is devoted to Hindu god 'Vamana' (dwarf) incarnation of Vishnu. Dating back to AD 1050-75 the Vamana temple is situated north of the Khajuraho village amidst green barley fields. It is east of the Ninora Tal and almost the same distance north of the Javari Temple.
