Khajuraho: Sex Education on Temple Walls

The temples of Khajuraho are very ancient, ranging from one thousand and more years. The carvings on the inner and outer walls of these temples depict the lessons in sex education. However these temples also contain the idols of Gods and Goddesses, too. This proves beyond doubt that in ancient India, sex was regarded as inherently noble, and the sexual rapture was regarded as something like the spiritual bliss.

Sex Education in Medieval India

It is believed that Indian people are very much orthodox about sex and sex related issues. But if the existence of the temples of Khajuraho is any evidence, the people of India were not so taboo-oriented about sex and education about sex. The ironical contradiction is that India had really pioneered the education about sex and sexual relationship of humans.

In ancient India it was believed that when we go near to the God, we must be pure and empty of all of our desires, including the desire to have sex.

So in these temples a devotee would see the carvings depicting the sexual poses. This would make the minds of devotees empty of such desires, as they believed that once we know about any subject we do not run blindly before that.

The Khajuraho temples witness how seriously the people of India considered the subject of sex and sexual relationship. During this period, people would know about such useful and subject like sex at public places as the temples. However this attitude toward sex may not be the representation of the psychic of the whole of the mass. But it is certain that the people of ancient India were eager to know about it. In the Indus Valley civilization also there had was practice of fertility rituals.

How To Reach Khajuraho

Khajuraho Temples are just 600 km from New Delhi, the national capital of India. The place is we ll-connected by railways and motorways in India. Few Temples of India are as architecturally rich as the Temples of Khajuraho. Built up in the tenth and eleventh centuries AD, the complex of these temples are popular for their precise illustration of the traditional way of sexual life that prevailed in medieval times.

The work of sculpture and carvings are on the wall of the temples. Central point of these sculptures and carvings of Khajuraho site is to depict the detail of an ancient book Kamsutra, the book of knowledge about sex and sexual relationship.

When we look at the carvings done on the walls of these ancient Indian temples, we cannot say that these carvings are done for the purpose of helping sexual desire or promote eroticism. We get first impression that these artworks done before one thousand years try to educate us about the fundamentals of relationship between men and women.

Built with a desire to impart healthy knowledge about various act and postures of sexual behaviour of humans, Khajuraho temples house an idol of one or another Hindu deity in the middle of every construction. You would reach at the idol of a deity-Brahma, Visnu or Mahesh (Shiva)-in the middle of the temple; however one would reach at the idol only after walking through the circular path of temple. All the temples are built in such spiral type of structures. On the way to the centrally located idol, one would find the sculpture work representing the architectural prowess of medieval India. [Image courtesy By YashiWong (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Commons]

Sex Education and Indian Society

India has passed through various eras with regards to its sexual 'mores'... One era gives birth to a complete openness to the exploration of 'shrinagar', which is science of aesthetics. The science of the arts creating sensual sentiments values them highly--even in terms of spiritual science---while the next era is embarrassed by them and finds them as taboo. That draws back the people retreating to the dryness of self-discipline and denial. The Indian culture is so ancient that this has happened many times within its recorded history of 5,000 years. Right now there is a silent 'sexual revolution' happening within the culture--fuelled by its integration with western 'mores' and its own sexual revolution 50 years ago. It is due to availability of modern facilities for preventing pregnancy and the freedom-filled access to the immediacy of the internet. But this is mostly unspoken, as there is still the almost puritan orthodoxy of the present era in firm control. Though this is quickly crumbling, it would be good if it sex and various aspects connected with sexual relationship are talked about openly. In a huge and diverse cultured society like India’s, it will take some time for it to come to rest inside a whole new sexual paradigm.

Kama Sutra: The ancient and Sacred Book of sex Education

Kamasutra of Kamasutram is an ancient book about sex education. This book is often mistaken as the book of Tantric Sex. In fact it is like a discourse in importance of sex in human life. It narrates various facets of corporeal acts done by man and woman. It is a book of educating us bout deep intimacy and relationship between two genders, male and female.

Theme of Kama Sutra

Written by a Hindu philosopher named Mallanaga Vatsyayana, this book represents wisdom of the people living in ancient India. Though the exact time is knot known, but Vatsyayana lived in Varanasi, India. It must be the period of Gupta Empire, spanning from fourth to sixth century AD.

The book is like an authority in the science of sex that is known as Kama Shastra in India. The corporeal act was not taboo in ancient India. It was also considered to be sacred, as it keeps the human race continued. Kama Sutra is based on twin subjects of fertility and body pleasure that the acts of sex give to the men and women.

KamaSutra, the Book of Sex Education

The book is written in lyrical language consisting 1250 verses. It is divided into 36 different chapters allotted to particular aspect of sex between man and woman who are capable of enjoying sex. It educates the reader about most of the aspects concerning man and woman relationship. The subjects covered ranges from ‘how to enjoy kissing' to ‘how to reach the orgasm'. The importance of foreplay and caressing are narrated and their importance in making a partner to have sex is highlighted. All the factors which stimulate the desire for having sex are widely described. Written in Sanskrit language, the first translation of Kama Sutra is believed to be done by Captain Richard Francis Burton in the year 1885.

Templesof Khajuraho: Depicting Sex in Sculpture

The carvings and sculptures done on the walls of temples of Khajuraho (India) depict various acts of sex narrated in the book of Kama Sutra. These carvings demonstrate how the bodies of men and women involved in corporeal acts can be well positioned to arrive maximum pleasure out of the acts. The temples are built in the medieval period.

KamaSutra in Literature and Movies

Many writers have taken help of the materials given in this book to highlight the theme or subject they narrated in their books. Even the novelists of all the ages have consulted this book of wisdom whenever they wanted to read some authentic passages about the most intimate relationship between man and woman. There are number of movies, which have accepted the themes narrated in Kama Sutra.