THE REPRESENTATION

OF WOMEN IN THE
EROTIC SCULPTURES
OF KHAJURAHO


Shilpi Saini








Cover photo: Kandariya Mahadeva Temple. Attribution: shunya.net


The Representation of Women in the Erotic
Sculptures of Khajuraho
Written by Shilpi Saini
School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU,
Delhi, India.
On December 29, 2012
Lastly modified on: March 14, 2013



The Western and Central Indian temples from
the medieval period (ca. 9
th
- 14
th
century) saw
Nagara order of architecture reaching its highest
pinnacle. From a simple building with only a
sanctum and a porch for the worshipper in the early
Gupta period
1
, to the massive ones of Chandela
period with complex ground plan, multiple shikharas
and mandapas (halls) for varied usages, temple
architecture reached its mature phase in this period.
These medieval Indian temples also stand testimony
of a form of architecture which was much more
localised especially under the patronage of a regional
and rural aristocracy.
2
The highlighting feature of
this period is the sculptures that dot the walls of
medieval Indian temples.
Dismissed by scholars like K. N. Pannikkar as the
reflection of the degeneration of Hindu mind,
3
the
twisted bodies of men and women in poses of
blissful conjugality or uncomfortable sexuality have
much more to tell about the medieval socio-cultural,
religious practices. The overt and blatant sexuality
depicted in the sculptures, especially of Khajuraho
temples have attracted attention and criticism of
scholars and tourists since their first discovery at the
hands of British engineer T. S. Burt in the 19
th

century. What furthers the traditionalist argument
about the debauchery of the medieval Indian society
is the large-scale presence of women subjects in the
sculptures, with or without male consorts but with
accentuated contours and impossible postures. It is in
the line of this argument that the following paper
reflects on certain questions around these women of
Khajuraho temple.
Khajuraho temple complex is situated in the
town of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. Built
between 950 to 1050 C.E. under the patronage of
the Chandelas, Khajuraho temple s can be visibly
divided into the Eastern and the Western group; the
latter being the more well preserved and majestic of
the two. The great temples like the Kandariya
Mahadeva temple, Lakshmana temple, Devi Jagadambi
temple, and Mahadeva temple are all located in the
Western group. Even though , the theme of erotic
sculptures is all pervasive, it is more commonplace
and vivid in the Western block. An important fact to
be kept in mind is that the solitary figures
outnumber couples, and females outnumber the
males
4
in Khajuraho temple sculptures. However,
before beginning any further discussion one must
add that a survey of all the sculptures of the
Khajuraho temples would not be possible in the
narrow scope of this essay, therefore only a few
sculptures across temples have been examined to
illustrate certain arguments.
In the sculptures at Khajuraho, women appear in
various themes: as in mithunas (amorous couples),
maithunas (men and women engaged in coitus), orgies,
as a dancer accompanied with musicians, as a solitary
figure engaged in something as domestic as removing
thorn from her foot to something as stunning as
suggestive masturbation. There are certain features
common to all the Khajuraho women. While the
solitary female figures are generally clothed and the
one in an explicit sexual act are not, there is an
obvious emphasis on the contours of the feminine
body; the full and firm breasts are accentuated by
the neck jewellery that forms a perfect shape as it
falls on them. The legs tapering down from the
thighs make the female figures appear taller. While
the bare torso exposes the breasts of the women in
a frontal pose, those in the back or side profile
have arching backs and necks to add sensuality and
movement to their frame. The back pose is further
emphasized by the hair that are almost always tied
up in a bun, with a small ball like jewellery dangling
below. Tribhanga (tri-bent standing stance or a gentle S
shaped bent) brings the torso into focus. In the
depiction of coitus, there is not only the woman
who is an active participant in the act, but also the
maids who either assist the couple in maintaining the
coital position or seem to fetishize the ensuing act
for self-arousal or hide their faces in shame.
In her essay Issues of Spectatorship and
Representation, Vidya Dahejiya argues that whether
it is sacred or secular, the huge presence of women
with overflowing foliage
5
and couples on the
monuments of India suggest womens association
with fertility and growth: the biological fertility
becomes a symbol of societal growth. It is not
surprising that several silpasastras (treatise on art) of
medieval period codified and prescribed ideas about
the fertility of women and how should the same be
depicted on the monuments. Silpa Praksha, a 10
th

century art text from Orissa is one such example
which instructs the sculptor on the 16 types of
women who best decorate a monument
6
and how
they should be carved within the confines of an
upright angle.
7
These 16 kinds of women include
darpana (looking into a mirror), alasa (relaxed and
indolent), ketaki-bandha (adorn herself with ketaki
flower), nartaki (a dancer), vinyasa (pensive) etc. While
some of these kind of women are easily visible in
the Khajuraho sculptures ( see: Fig.1 andFig. 2), some
other types of women also adorn the walls of
Khajuraho. It is evident that every region had
developed its unique style of architecture while
adhering to the local literature on art. So on the
temple walls, women can also be seen playing with a
ball (Fig. 6), removing a thorn from her foot (Fig.
5), squeezing her breast (Fig. 3) or simply stretching
(Fig. 4). In the first glance, these women may be
seen as performing the most conventional actions
culturally associated with them. But at a closer look,
the strong curves and movements in the sculpture
add to the overall sexuality of the woman. The
impossible arch of the back invites the male gaze,
the woman squeezing her own breast enticing one
further to reach the climax of the act where blood
is drawn after a slight pain is inflicted upon the
drawee; interestingly the drawer of blood here is a
hermit. The reasons as to why it is a hermit will be
discussed later in this essay.
According to some silpasastras, Mithuna couples
also played an important role in the decoration of
religious spaces. In the essay called the Erotic
Sculptures of India (1972), Y. Krishan refers to
several Medieval texts namely Varaha Mihiras Brihat
Samhita (6
th
century A.D.), Agni Purana (10
th
century
A.D.) and Silpa Praksha which recommended the
doors of the temples to be decorated by mithuna
couples as a symbol of auspiciousness.
8
Khajuraho
temples are full of sculptures of amorous couples.
What makes one think in the depiction of the
solitary sexually charged women and the love-smitten
couples is the play of the gaze; i.e. from whose
perspective and for whose visual pleasure. Before
approaching these questions, let us go back to Fig.
5, where the presence of the hermit needs to be
addressed.
The medieval period in India saw the rise of
Tantric cults in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Kaula-
Kapalikas cults were very powerful all over the
country by the 10
th
-11
th
century AD. Kaulas used to
worship the Devi or Shakti in solitude and indulged
in five makaras: mamsa (flesh), matsya (fish), madya
(wine), maithuna (sexual intercourse) and mudra
(mystical poses)
9
. Kapalikas used to be the
worshippers of Rudra Bhairav and were described in
texts like Sankara Vijaya of Anandgiri as those with
bodies smeared with ashes from a funeral pyre,
strings of skulls around the neck, hair woven into a
matted braid, and who carried a skull in the right
and a bell in the left.
10
Even though, it had been
argued by earlier scholars that the maithuna sculptures
are nothing but the Kaula-Kapalikas hermits engaging
in Tantric rituals, some scholars like Devangana
Desai
10
and Y. Krishna have convincingly proven
that neither were these temples for Tantric deities
nor were the sculptures a depiction of tantric hermits
engaged in rati-krida (love-play). Nonetheless, even
Krishna doesnt deny tantric influence in the
iconography of the maithuna sculptures (see Fig.s: 7,
8, 9), even if several non-Tantric maithunas are also
found on temple walls of Khajuraho (see fig.s: 10,
11, 12).
After having seen the types of Khajuraho
women in sufficient detail one comes to the ideas
around who these women actually were, if they were
not part of the tantric ritual, as is suggested by a
lot of scholars. It is quite possible that these women
were Devadasis and that maybe the sculptures reflect
daily activities in the lives of these women. In the
medieval period, temples themselves had grown as a
feudal institution where a hierarchical system had
developed among the devadasis, musicians, garland
makers etc, within the temple itself.
12
With more and
more patronage coming for the temples from both
the feudal and the mercantile class, devadasi system
thrived. Devadasis were women who were dedicated
to temples at a very early age in their lives. A
devadasi primarily danced in front of the temple gods
to please them. Arab geographer of 10
th
century like
Abu Zayd, described them as public women who
sold themselves for a fixed sum of money.
13
Some
of these devadasis used to sing and dance in the
court of kings as well. It may be speculated as to
how these women used to have progenies who
continued their tradition and fed them once they
themselves lost their physical charms to remain a
devadasi. Possibly, devadasis did have physical
relationships with their royal patrons and even with
the temple priests.
Hence, it can be possible that kings and princes
did commission the Khajuraho temples for the
glorification of devadasis. Interestingly, there are
several sculptures in which princely male figures are
depicted to be engaged in coital activities with
women who dont seem to be Yoginis (fig. 10, 11,
12). On the contrary, they could also be seen as the
depiction of a scene of coitus in the harem, with
the maids assisting in the maintenance of the coital
position. Having said that, to think that the royal
patrons intended to glorify the erotic activities
between themselves and the courtesans to silence the
disapprovals of Brahmanas, who themselves secretly
indulged in sexual pleasures
14
maybe a little too far-
fetched a reading.
If the argument that the women depicted in
Khajuraho temples were really Devadasis is correct, then
one may also suggest that the depiction of solitary
women performing contorted arches, adorning
themselves in the mirror or removing thorn from
their foot can also be seen as a marked departure in
the depiction of something that wasnt narratorial
anymore. Perchance, they were the illustration of the
erotic themes that the Devadasis generally sang and
the licentious poses they danced. It is as if instead
of depicting the narrative refrains from the devadasi
songs, picturesque stances of a possible moment in
the recital had been captured and ossified in
sandstone by the sculptor.
It has been noted by art historians that the
erotic sculptures are present not only on the outer
walls or forgotten dark corners of the temples in
Khajuraho but also inside the garbhagrha. It is
because of this reason that historians have been able
to argue that the depiction of sexual congress in a
sacred space can be seen as a symbol of the union
of Purusa (man) and Prakriti (nature) bringing about
moksa (eternal bliss).
15
In Tantra, maithuna as a
repetition of the primal copulation of the divine
couple. In that sense, woman becomes the symbol
of the feminine principle, who is active in this
context. The importance of female sexuality as a
marker of the fertility of the kingdom is further
reiterated in the outcome of this congress.

Even if there is extreme matronly reverence
associated with the feminine , the overall depiction
of women in the sculptures of Khajuraho edges on
a sense of acute voyeurism. In the words David
Freedberg, a universal substrate of psychological
experience underlies every human response to
images.
16
Iconography of women in Khajuraho was
meant to titillate a male audience who may have
approached the temples with the purpose of
worshipping the deity but with a subconscious
curiosity to see these sculptures. Gregory D. Alles
gives a detailed analysis of the structure of Western
group of Khajuraho temples, stating that the temples
were built to be viewed from a distance, to be
approached from the Southern direction where the
pilgrims religious orientation was fixed by the sacred
tank, Siva Sagar on the entrance. He in a way
completely rejects that the sculptures dotting every
nook and corner of the Khajuraho temple structure
may have anything to do with the pilgrims for they
do not primarily affect people who stand still and
observe them. They exercise religious power on
people who approach and enter them.
17
This
dismissal is quite unsettling as in a way it overlooks
what is called artistic labour and imagination.

The state of medieval Indian women, royal or
Devadasis (but not lower caste women) can only be
reconstructed with the socio-religious conjectures
based on the only surviving architectural testimony:
the medieval temples. Marginalised in the
predominantly patriarchal Chandela clan, pedestalised
as idealised bodies of both creation and recreation,
these women in stone hadnt been eternalised by a
woman sculptor, nor were they commissioned by a
princess. While some sculptures represent these
women with sexual authority, the extent to which
these women were sexually independent cannot be
conceived. The ambiguity is heightened by the
women in sculptures where they are shown standing
beside an orgy or a maithuna couple, covering their
private parts suggestive of either shame or erotic
arousal. Nonetheless, the men and women indulging
in fellatio, cunnilingus and orgies illustrating the
coital positions described in Kamasutra have become
representatives of new India, atleast in the Madhya
Pradesh tourism advertisements; the local state
government earns revenue on the sale of mementos
like key chains in the shape of maithunas, movable in
peculiar sexual positions!















End Notes
1. Devangana Desai, Social Dimensions of Art in
Early India,Social Scientist 18, no. 3 (March
1990): 19,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3517423?origin=JSTO
R-pdf.
2. B. D. Chattopadhyay, Historiography, History,
and Religious Centers: Early Medieval North
India ca AD 700-1200, in Gods, Guardians and
Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India AD 700-
1200, ed. Vishakha N. Desai andDarielle Mason
(Ahemdabad, India: Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd.,
1993), 36.
3. Ibid., 36.
4. Gregory D. Alles, A Fitting Approach to God:
On Entering the Western Temples at
Khajuraho,History of Religions 33, no. 2 (Nov
1993): 169,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062933?origin=JSTO
R-pdf.
5. VidyaDahejiya, Issues of Spectatorship and
Representation, in Representing the Body:
Gender Issues in Indian Art, ed. VidyaDahejiya
(Delhi, India: Kali for Women, 1997), 2.
6. Ibid., 7-8.
7. Ibid., 6.
8. Y. Krishan, The Erotic Sculptures of India,
ArtibusAsiae 34, no. 4 (1972): 334,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3249625?origin=JSTO
R-pdf.
9. Ibid., 333.
10. Ibid., 332-3.
11. Devangana Desai, Social Dimensions of Art
in Early India, Social Scientist 18, no. 3 (March
1990): 24,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3517423?origin=JSTO
R-pdf.
12. Ibid., 19.
13. Y. Krishan, The Erotic Sculptures of
India, ArtibusAsiae 34, no. 4 (1972): 342,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3249625?origin=JSTO
R-pdf.
14. Ibid., 343.

15. Ibid., 338.
16. . Gregory D. Alles, A Fitting Approach to
God: On Entering the Western Temples at
Khajuraho, History of Religions 33, no. 2
(Nov 1993): 166,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062933?origin=JSTO
R-pdf.
17. Ibid., 161.









Bibliography

1. Alles, Gregory D. A Fitting Approach to God: On
Entering the Western Temples atKhajuraho. History
of Religions 33, no. 2 (Nov 1993): 161-186,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062933?origin=JSTO
R-pdf.

2. Chattopadhyay, B. D. Historiography, History,
and Religious Centers: Early Medieval North
India ca AD 700-1200. In Gods, Guardians and
Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India AD 700-
1200, edited by Vishakha N. Desai andDarielle
Mason.Ahemdabad: Mapin PublishingPvt. Ltd.,
1993.

3. Dahejiya, Vidya. Issues of Spectatorship and
Representation. Representing the body: Gender Issues
in Indian Art, edited by VidyaDahejiya. Delhi: Kali
for Women, 1997.

4. Desai, Devangana. Erotic Sculptures of India: A
Socio-Cultural Study. Delhi: MunshiramManoharlal
Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1985.

5. Desai, Devangana. Social Dimensions of Art in
Early India. Social Scientist 18, no. 3 (March
1990): 3-
32,http://www.jstor.org/stable/3517423?origin=JST
OR-pdf.












List of Illustrations:

Fig. 1: Kandariya Fig. 2: Kandariya Fig. 3: Chitragupta
Mahadeva Temple Mahadeva Temple
Temple


Fig. 4: Lakshmana Fig. 5: Lakshmana Fig. 6: Lakshmana
Temple Temple Temple





Fig.: 7 Lakshmana Temple






Fig. 8: Lakshmana Temple


Fig. 9: Lakshmana Temple

Fig. 10: Chitragupta Temple





Fig. 11: Chitragupta Temple Fig. 12: Kandariya Mahadeva Temple