NOTE OF WARNING - Those who are below 18 years of age OR dislike discussions on 'erotic' work of art in Hindu temples are requested to stay away from this Blog.
This portion of my blog is in continuation with Part I of the above, posted in przmm.blogspot.com. Since here I want to post photographs of explicit sex scenes - 'maithuna' - I thought of choosing this 'umbrella' where I publish my blogs which are not fit for readers below 18 years of age.
This portion of my blog is in continuation with Part I of the above, posted in przmm.blogspot.com. Since here I want to post photographs of explicit sex scenes - 'maithuna' - I thought of choosing this 'umbrella' where I publish my blogs which are not fit for readers below 18 years of age.
Why do Hindu temples have acts of sex - 'maithuna'- on the walls of their temples ? Some would say - Watch the scenes and wash them with devotion when in front of the deity inside 'GarbhaGriha'. Yet others would see 'Tantrik Yantra' beyond the acts of coitus. I believe, religious leaders , upto a point, believed the energy content of 'Kama' is important for devotees' lives. When we enter a temple's gate, we often find goddesses of rivers 'Ganga' and 'Yamuna' as well as 'Mithuna murty' - couples in amorous postures sculpted on the walls. These 'Mithuna murty' abound in the 'parikrama' all around . These 'Mithuna murty' were placed to make an impact on the viewers
'Maithuna' - acts of sex - are more 'into-your-face' than these 'Mithuna murty' . Here , we see erect genitals, acts of penetration, acts for other sexual stimulous , oral sex, even orgies. In SriMukhalingam, I found man entering woman from rear, cunnilingus and fellatio ! The last two may be a part of 'Tantrik' act or may have been depicted by instruction of the person/s who had the temple built.
A complex positioning of a couple engaged in cunnilingus/fellatio. This looks like a part of a group ritual or act. LH side of Androgynous Siva.
Someswara temple,SriMukhalingam.
Man, his matted hair knotted like that of a woman, sits on a cot stark naked, spreading out his legs. One woman sits in between the legs and kneels to perform fellatio. Two persons - perhaps one a man and the other a woman - stand nearby . Time has ravaged man's erect phallus and his fondling right hand.
LH side of Androgynous Siva.Someswara temple,SriMukhalingam.
In Hampi, on the door of Virupaksha temple, there is a customary sex scene - man taking on a woman - from the rear, same as that at SriMukhalingam temple.Both are crudely sculpted. I do not believe these wall-reliefs deserve a place in this blog. Nor the ravaged fellatio/cunnilingus wall-reliefs of Bheemeshwara temple at SriMukhalingam. If anyone doing serious work on this aspect of Hindu temples need the same, s/he may contact me through the space for comments.I would rather post a photo of a man lying prostrate on the lap of a woman, one of the four wall-reliefs with no act of explicit sex shown.
Man embraces woman sitting on a cot - a female attendant uses a large fan to keep the couple cool. One of four panels with 'social scenes' in SriMukhalingam temple.
Since I began my writings on Siva-the-icon and erotic scenes from temples I visited, at least two of my readers made such comments which made me feel that sexual energy of Siva's imagery and emphasis on 'Kama' by ancient temples' builders need be 'whitewashed' by a section of Hindu devotees. I am against this .Siva is a great ascetic to a big section of his devotees and I have no conflict with that. But, there is a tension between his ascetic-erotic imageries which should and need be recognised.
Ditto about the 'Mithana murty' and acts of 'maithuna' we find in Hindu temples. Some preach - 'all the carvings are on the outer walls of the temple, none inside the Garbhgriha. Simple message behind such carvings on stone is not celebration of "Kama" but displaying the subtle fact that in order to enter into the Garbhgriha or near the lotus feet of Lord Shiva, all erotic desires must be meted and shunned outside ones mind and heart'.I do not quite agree with this doctrine.May be the builders wanted just the reverse - devotee will offer prayer to his/her deity, then absorb the 'messages of fertility' these sculptures convey as s/he goes through the final 'parikrama' and carry home enhanced 'energy of fertility' ! 'Kama' - primal urge is, after all, one of the four religious practices of Hindus, together with 'Dharma' - religion, 'Artha' - money and 'Moksha' - salvation .
Divine Union under tree of life. God carries a long stem with a bud in his right hand which is raised above the couple's head. At SriMukhalingam, stem with bud is held in the right hand of woman in the scene (view https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-4Q5zbWtS55WIal_kXxcvlwuRl_QcdmasGrxfFMTHMAZuBO16HTo-SjuBCiLTnP_8YhjVURolgtIDSDHsztVfASm-JoM86xbw184ZYFqmHtCO4cT5eyvZMM3CBRaxUNxJ3o-/s1600/IMG_0381_aw.jpg in Part - I)
Badami Cave.
The last photo of this post is from a small temple of Aihole. It is called Huchchimalli temple. The 'activity' shown in the panel may be an act of 'Tantra' or was made with a 'Yantra' hidden in the layout. It is no ordinary 'erotic' wall-relief. The pitchers have buds with different stems . Two hermits have extra-ordinarily long phallus. One lying on the ground has a normal erected phallus.Two naked women are ready to descend on him !!
A complex depiction.
From Huchchimalli temple,Aihole.
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