10 - The erotic temples of Khajuraho, India

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The stunning temples of Khajuraho, southeast of Delhi, may teach you a thing or two after you have caught your breath! The temples rise out of the dry dusty earth and reach up towards the blue cloudless skies. Entirely covered in the most beautiful, intricate erotic sculpture, one cannot help but be struck by their façades. A UNESCO world heritage site, the temples are named after the villages they adorn, notably Khajuraho which is in Madhya Pradesh. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples in the world. The first temples of the complex date back to 950 AD and took over 200 years to build (1150 AD). There were originally 80 temples over an area of eight square miles, but sadly only 25 remain well preserved to this day. The temples were destroyed by Muslim invaders about 900 years ago. The spiral superstructures are a fine representation of the culture of India, but also of Indian discipline and talent. The sculptures are explicit depictions of the traditional way of sexual life during medieval times, which were a well-kept secret until the English stumbled upon them and made them famous. Some of the temples are dedicated to the Jain pantheon, and the rest to Hindu deities ? the Trio, Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver and Shiva, the destroyer. The temples are grouped into three geographical divisions: western, eastern and southern. Despite the explicitness of the qrtwork in some places, there are no erotic sculptures inside the temples. This is a sign of respect for the deities. In his history of the Kamasutra, James McConnachie describes Khajuraho artwork as "the apogee of erotic art: Twisting, broad-hipped and high breasted nymphs display their generously contoured and bejewelled bodies on exquisitely worked exterior wall panels. These fleshy apsaras run riot across the surface of the stone, putting on make-up, washing their hair, playing games, dancing, and endlessly knotting and unknotting their girdles....Beside the heavenly nymphs are serried ranks of griffins, guardian deities and, most notoriously, extravagantly interlocked maithunas, or lovemaking couples." It is important to keep in mind that the sculptures do not actually depict tantric positions which are linked to fertility, but focus on pleasure rather than procreation. For more information on India, click here

  Nosy Be