Madhya Pradesh, a large state in central India, retains landmarks from eras throughout Indian history.

Begun in the 10th century, its Hindu and Jain temples at Khajuraho are renowned for their carvings of erotic scenes, most prominently Kandariya Mahadeva, a temple with more than 800 sculptures.

The eastern Bandhavgarh and Kanha national parks, noted Bengal tiger sanctuaries, offer guided safaris.

Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Gwalior, Rewa, Ujjain being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 75 million residents.

It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the south-east, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the north-west.

Before 2000, when Chhattisgarh was a part of Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh was the largest state in India and the distance between the two furthest points inside the state, Singoli and Konta, was 1500 kms.