The
visitor to Khajuraho cannot but be attracted to the vivid erotic sculptures
on the temples walls. The sculptures are mithunas i.e. couple in various erotic
poses. There have been many interpretations of their existence and some have
criticized them severely. According to one authority, a man and woman in erotic
embrace typify the ultimate union of the soul such erotic figures save the temple
from beings struck by the lightening. The reason given for this is that Indra,
Lord of rainand thunder bolt who himself is a great connoisseur of Kama, will
not damage anything pertaining to that.
Yet another theory holds them to be connected to with Indian sects who invest
sex with a ritual symbolism and considered Yoga (spiritual exercise) and bhoga
(physical pleasure) as two different paths leading to the same goad, that is
moksha, self deliverance. According to these sects, in the enjoyment of sex
one can transcend into a samadhi thereby attaining nirvan (salvation). This
can be amply corroborated by a verse from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (7-3-21-)
: "That indeed in his form which transcends desire, is bereft of merits
and demerits, and is fearless. As a man fully embraced by his dear wife knows
nothing external or internal even so this infinite entity fully embraced by
the Supreme self knows nothing external or internal.
That
indeed is his form in which all objects of desire have been realized, in which
they have become the self, and which is devoid of desire and beyond grief".
These erotic figures are also symbolized by a few as representing tantric rituals,
while other view them as the cleaner or the purifier for the devotees who come
to worship God. These sculptures, they say, serve as a test for the devotees
self control in order to achieve the goal that is to reach the deity placed
in the sanctum. In other words it means that if a person wants to achieve God,
he has to forget all this at the outset.
There are others who attribute to the desire of the sculptor to show life in
its naked reality. Some say that it is related to the fertility cult. But a
more plausible explanation could be that as the life in totality has been depicted
on the temples, sex, which plays a major roe in the life of a grahast should
not be left out. The subject of erotic and its philosophical and religious interpretations
is not new in the oriental world. They are deeply rooted the social life of
the people. In a country where the Linga cult is the source of religious belief
and its manifestations sculptures are but a continuation of that tradition which
accepts procreation as a major function of life.
The presence of erotic sculptures show that there were no taboos or inhibitions
against sex as we have now. The people of that time took a healthy view of things
and gave sex its requisite place in its life. Kama or pursuit of pleasure was
deemed to be one of the four purusharthas or legitimate aims of life offer a
Grahast and was regarded as a stepping stone to moksha, or deliverance. Thereforere,
these erotic scenes were not regarded as abnormal or unnatural.
About Khajuraho »
History
of Khajuraho,
Mistress
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Chandelas of
Khajuraho,
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Erotic Sculpture
