The art and architecture of the Chandelas are well-known. They built temples, water features, palaces, and forts in numerous locations. The Hindu and Jain temples at Khajuraho are the most well-known examples of their cultural achievements. Jayapura-Durga (modern Ajaigarh), Kalanjara (modern Kalinjar), and Mahotsava-Nagara were three more key Chandela strongholds (modern Mahoba).
The
Jejakabhukti Chandelas were a Rajput dynasty in Central India. Between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, they governed most of the
Bundelkhand area (then known as Jejakabhukti).
Initially, the Chandelas reigned as feudatories of Kanyakubja's Gurjara-Pratiharas (Kannauj). While he acknowledged the
Pratihara sovereignty, the Chandela monarch Yashovarman became effectively autonomous in the tenth century. The Chandelas had grown into a
sovereign state by the time his successor Dhanga arrived. As they fought conflicts with surrounding kingdoms, particularly the Paramaras of Malwa and the Kalachuris of Tripuri, their influence soared and fell. The Chandelas were subjected to incursions by northern Muslim kingdoms like the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids beginning in the eleventh century. Following Chahamana and Ghurid invasions, the Chandela large capacity disappeared at the start of the thirteenth century.
The Chandelas are recognized for their architecture and art, particularly the temples in Khajuraho, their original city. They also built temples, water springs, palaces, and forts in various locations, notably their strongholds of Ajaigarh, Kalinjar, and Mahoba, which subsequently became their capital.