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Illustrations: Numerous B/w Illustrations Description: Erotic sculpture around places of worship of any society would require an explanation. Its unignorable presence outside Hindu temples when the religion itself has been known for its other-worldly ideals and spiritual aspirations has both astonished and puzzled visitors. The Brahmin panda (guide) accompanying the inquisitive tourist at sites like Bhubaneswar or Konarak as well as the scholarly Hindu steeped in a less free later day morality find the anomaly embarrassing and proffer idealistic explanations in which sexual expression is interpreted either as the symbolic representation of Eternal Bliss or as the overt manifestation of kama, the third purusartha. Such explanations fail to account for themes like orgies and bestiality and the vast upsurge in sexual depiction in sculpture between AD 900 and 1400. What is the rationale of erotic depictions in religious art? What is their thematic content? Is erotic sculpture confined to temples or particular religious cults? Could esoteric Tantrikas display their own secret practices? This inquiry is concerned as much with the question of religious sanction as with the sociological factors generating the permissive atmosphere and mood for the depiction of sexual motifs. The proliferation of feudal chiefs and rulers, their interest in temple-building, the feudalization of temple institution and its growing wealth and power, the degeneration of the devadasi (sacred, prostitution) system are found to be some of the medieval developments responsible for the profuse display of eroticism. Eroticism in sculpture is compared with the dominant themes in the other modes of art prevalent during the period. The present study examines practically the entire corpus of the empirical material on erotic motives and action over the period from the third century BC to the fifteenth century AD. In the course of the examination the author brings to light a wide variety of themes in the erotic sculpture of India. The illustrations represent prominently the lesser known sites like Bavka, Modhera, Bagali, etc., along with familiar sites like Khajuraho, Konarak and Bhubaneswar and are not merely illustrative : they throw up questions for examination to begin with, and serve also as supporting evidence for the argument advanced. In the present edition the bibliography is upto dated and new illustrations added with notes.
Some sculptures adorning the outer walls of the temples of medieval period of India, depict bold erotic themes of sexual act or union of male and females in unusual postures. This has evoked curiosity in many lovers of art and philosophy as to why erotic sculptures were part of temple architecture. This well illustrated research work explores the intentions of such sculptural representations and derives how the highly abstract, philosophical and universal topic of taming the mind through Raja yoga and forms of tantra yoga has been translated into the very attractive figurative form and presented in temples to give information about the esoteric knowledge.
This Book Would Be Of Great Interest To The Students Of Archaeology, Philosophy And Art, Besides Those Who Have Interest In Religion And History.
For centuries, the erotic sculptures of the temples of Khajuraho have thrilled human imagination. Do these sculptures merely ornament, or can their presence be attributed to some other reason? All these questions related to the architecture of these templ
An engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth that offers a new way of understanding one of the world's oldest major religions, The Hindus elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds. Hinduism does not lend itself easily to a strictly chronological account: many of its central texts cannot be reliably dated even within a century; its central tenets karma, dharma, to name just two arise at particular moments in Indian history and differ in each era, between genders, and caste to caste; and what is shared among Hindus is overwhelmingly outnumbered by the things that are unique to one group or another. Yet the greatness of Hinduism - its vitality, its earthiness, its vividness - lies precisely in many of those idiosyncratic qualities that continue to inspire debate today. Wendy Doniger is one of the foremost scholars of Hinduism in the world. With her inimitable insight and expertise Doniger illuminates those moments within the tradition that resist forces that would standardize or establish a canon. Without reversing or misrepresenting the historical hierarchies, she reveals how Sanskrit and vernacular sources are rich in knowledge of and compassion toward women and lower castes; how they debate tensions surrounding religion, violence, and tolerance; and how animals are the key to important shifts in attitudes toward different social classes. The Hindus brings a fascinating multiplicity of actors and stories to the stage to show how brilliant and creative thinkers - many of them far removed from Brahmin authors of Sanskrit texts - have kept Hinduism alive in ways that other scholars have not fully explored. In this unique and authoritative account, debates about Hindu traditions become platforms from which to consider the ironies, and overlooked epiphanies, of history.
This Monography Attempts To Study The Art Of Khajuraho From An Absolutely New Perspective: Architecture Vis-À-Vis It Sornament, Mainly The Non-Religious Devangana Sculptures, Including The Mithuna , On The Basis Of The Sanskrit Texts. Mithuna Is The Most Debated And Also The Most Widely Misunderstood Phenomenon Of Indian Art. Arbitary Surmises Have Obscured Its Real Meaning And Purpose And Have Confused The Issue. Too Much Sacred, Esoteric And Metaphysical Significance Has Been Attached To The Indian Art And This Aspect Has Been Explained, Without Any Textual Support, On Fanciful Conjectures. Study Of Its Formal Aspect Has Been Almost Entirely Missed. Indian Art Is Sacred In The Sense That It Is Only Through The Religious Media That It Has Expressed Itself; Otherwise, As The Study Of The Silpa Texts, Classical Works Of Poetry And Drama Andm More Specifically The Works On Poetics Shows It Has Grown And Developed Formally And Independently Of Any Religious Injunction. The Key To Its Understanding Lies In These Texts. This Is A Classical Problem And It Is With The Textual Support Of The Classical Literature Of The Same Age That The Author Has Ventured To Solve It. In Essence, It Is A Study Of Indian Aesthetics Based On Sanskrit Texts, About 100 Of Which Have Been Quoted In Original. The Temples Of Khajuraho Have Been Dealt With Stylistically. The Work Attempts To Study Indian Art In General And The Art Of Khajuraho In Particular, In Its Formal Aspect, Over And Above The Much Professed And Generally Superfluous Esoteric, Metaphysical And Ritualistic Interpretation Thereof And As Such It Is The First Work Of This Type.