India: temple of love in Khajuraho. History, legends and value of temples of love in India

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

In the cultures of the peoples of the East and the West since ancient times, there have been almost opposite points of view on sex, erotica, carnal relations. The Christian religion allowed intercourse between a man and a woman, primarily for the sake of procreation. Sexual pleasures, starting from a kiss on the lips, were considered base, sinful, and dirty. On the other hand, ideal, sublime, platonic love was highly extolled. We see a completely different attitude to carnal pleasures in the East and Asia.

East is a delicate matter

I think we will not be mistaken in saying that India is a temple of love in the broadest sense of the word. After all, not just anywhere, but it was in this country that the Kama Sutra was invented, which has become an unsurpassed textbook of sexual life and the ability to give mutual pleasure to partners. And remember the amazing collection of fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights"! The sources of most of the erotic stories depicted in it are taken from Indian and Arabic folklore. Moreover, most of the philosophical teachings from antiquity to the present day, like the ancient religious movements, erectedphysical intimacy to the rank of a cult. The culture of sex, the culture of interpersonal relationships - all this was highly developed in the East Asian ethnic group. India is a perfect example of this. "Temple of Love" - so the Indians poetically called the human body, and sexual games were perceived as almost a sacred act, pleasing to the supreme deities.

Love Art Books

No, we are not talking about samples of printing products, even ancient ones. This is a generalized name for temples, the foundation and walls of which are decorated with very, very immodest bas-reliefs and statues. Their plots are varied, but devoted to a common theme: "India - the temple of love." Young people who have reached puberty, before marriage and in the first months after marriage, were strongly encouraged to visit such buildings, carefully study and even discuss the images in order to apply the proposed variety of postures. This was the special wisdom of the ancients: by improving in sexual technique, spouses will not be able to get bored with each other, their life will be more harmonious, joyful, and therefore pleasing to God! Therefore, modern tourists, expressing their enthusiastic impressions, have said many times that it is India that is the temple of earthly love in comparison with other states of the peninsula. The atmosphere of eroticism, sensuality and passion saturates the entire space near the numerous places of worship.

A jewel in the heart of the jungle

The largest and most popular near-pornographic work to dateancient architects is considered a complex of buildings in Khajuraho. In fact, this is a huge Indian open-air temple of love, built hundreds of centuries ago. Once it consisted of 58 majestic buildings, but only 22 have survived in almost original form. There are rarities in the middle of the jungle - tropical forests swallowed up the city when it was abandoned by people. Due to this, most likely, the temples were not destroyed - first by the conquering Muslims, then by other aggressors, of which there were many on the long-suffering Indian land. The jungle protected its treasure for centuries, and only in the first half of the 19th century the city was discovered by a British engineer. For almost two centuries, archaeological excavations have been carried out in Khajuraho, many objects have been restored, and restoration work is underway on others.

Myths and legends

How did this unique city - the temple of love - appear? The approximate time of construction of the structures is from 950 to 1050 AD, during the era of the Rajputs, the famous princely dynasty that ruled the Chandella state. The city of Khajuraho was his religious center. However, there is nothing particularly remarkable in this, if it were not for the story of how and why the city was built. More precisely, why this amazing complex appeared - the temple of love in India, the photo of which is decorated with the most tempting avenues with tourist packages and projects. And in everything, as usual, female beauty and male impatience are to blame! Once Kojuraho was an ordinary Indian city. But there lived in it a girl whose beautywas worthy of the goddesses themselves. Her name was Emavati, and she was the daughter of a Brahmin - a representative of the highest spiritual caste in India. One night, the girl was bathing in the river, and her youthful, perfect nakedness inflamed the moon god so much that he could not resist and seduced the charmer. In due time, Emavati gave birth to a lovely little boy. But extramarital affairs and children are a crime against morality in the eyes of society, here it’s either the West or the East - prejudices and laws are the same! A young mother from the shame and anger of her relatives fled to the jungle, where she raised her son, teaching him all the wisdom of life. Half-man, half-god, he grew up to be a powerful warrior and became the founder of the very Chandella dynasty that glorified his state.

Poem in stone

How is the Khajuraho temple of love connected with all this, the photo of which is provided to your attention? Directly! Singing the strength and depth of sensual passions, feminine beauty and the greatness of love in all its manifestations, the son of Emavati laid the foundation for the construction of the temple ensemble. His work was continued by his descendants, because all religious buildings belong to different religions and are dedicated to various Indian gods - Shiva, Vishnu, Jaina and others, but the unity of the theme and composition suggests that this is a single whole. Spectators contemplating this real wonder of the world are amazed by many things: a variety of plots in which everyday scenes, episodes of battles, silhouettes of animals, images of gods in different guises are easily recognized. But most of all, the most numerous erotic scenes attract attention:passion for intercourse, subtle anatomical details, realism and liveliness of poses, almost complete correspondence to the proportions of human bodies and their movements, facial expressions and facial expressions. The ancient sculptors did their work with filigree and amazing talent!

Sex Valley

So, Khajuraho is a real sexy Eden of India. The bas-reliefs of his temples are rightly called the most frank and piquant of those openly accessible to the human eye. The endless triumph of life is personified by huge phalluses, the ecstasy of sexual intimacy embodies the harmony of the male and female principles of Nature, the divine Universe. And all together means the love of life in its brightest and happiest manifestations!