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The
Khajuraho temples now grace the posters of the Indian
Tourist office, and numerous films have been shot at
the temple grounds. It is with these temples in the
background that some of the greatest exponents of Indian
classical dance have performed for admiring audiences.
But it is in discussions ranging around the cultural
construction of sexuality that Khajuraho has featured
prominently. The sheer eroticism of the sculptures is
often pointed to as evidence of India's libertine past.
Thus, gays and lesbians have found in Khajuraho evidence
of the enlightened attitudes of the pre-modern Indian
culture, while others point o the allegedly baneful
influence of the Islamic and British presence in India,
which is supposed to have led to repressive sexual mores.
But few have asked what Khajuraho tells us about everyday
notions of sexuality, or what inferences we are to derive
about Indian sexual mores and practices from these temples.
Why Erotica in Temples? There are
different opinions on why temples were decorated with
sexually explicit sculptures. One group argues that
the old kings lived in obscene luxury and that they
used these for excitement. Another group thinks that
it was part of sexual education in ancient India: since
most people visited temples, it was an appropriate place
for mass communication. Some scholars say that since
Hinduism believes in the efficacy of all four paths
to Moksha (Dharma, Artha, Yoga, and Kama), these sculptures
were provided to assist in the last of these four paths.
Since these sculptures are limited to the outer walls
of the temples, some people interpret them as a symbolic
gate to reaching God. It is possible that at the time
just preceding the construction of these sculptures,
monastic Buddhism was prevalent, people were losing
interest in the householder-life, and the temples were
built to attract people to sex and family life and to
renew Hinduism. Some others go to the extent of saying
that the Khajuraho temples themselves are built upon
the model of an ultimate seductress. The steps are like
the feet, the Ardhmandapam are the knees, the Mandapam
represents the curvaceous thighs, the sanctum-sanctorum
is like the ovaries, and since it is very dark where
the Linga is installed, it represents the sexual organ,
etc. For a long time, the pundits have wondered why
it was necessary to decorate a place of worship with
sexual material, but if one observes the materialistic
(Loukika) thoughts of Hinduism, there is nothing unnatural
about them.
Why Not? How can
the Indians criticize the Mithuna (mating) sculptures
while worshiping Mahadev (Shiva) as a symbol of male
and female organs? "All of life is God's magic;" we
are all parts of divinity; our scriptures argue that
to attain moksha, and to dedicate ourselves to dharma
and adhyatma, we should first experience sexual fulfillment.
The one who wrote the Kamasutra was none less than a
sage! When the Gods themselves cannot escape the web
of erotic love (Kama), what about us mere mortals? We
have saints and mystic figures (Purana-Purusha) who
have sinned, we have sages who have abandoned their
years of renouncement for a beautiful woman, we have
deities who have slept with others' wives, we have those
who have fathered deer, we have those who have made
love to and deceived even the Sun God, and we certainly
have those who have conceived before marriage. If one
were to make a list of these incidents that appear in
Hindu scriptures, one could put western societies to
shame. If one concedes that sex is an important and
integral part of life, mortals must experience it completely.
Only perversions are excluded.
Access :
Air : A daily Boeing
737 service (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) links Khajuraho
with Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Kathmandu.
Rail : The
nearest railheads are Mahoba (64 km) and Harpalpur (94
km). Jhansi (175 km) and Satna (117 km) are convenient
railheads for visitors from Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta,
Chennai, Agra & Varanasi.
Road : Khajuraho
is connected by regular bus services with Mahoba, Harpalpur,
Satna, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra, Jabalpur & Bhopal.
Best Season :
September to March
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