In his history of the Kamasutra, James McConnachie
describes the zesty 10% of the Khajuraho sculpture as "the apogee of erotic
art":
"Twisting, broad-hipped and high breasted nymphs display
their generously contoured and bejewelled bodies on exquisitely worked
exterior wall panels. These fleshy apsaras run riot across the surface
of the stone, putting on make-up, washing their hair, playing games, dancing,
and endlessly knotting and unknotting their girdles. Beside the heavenly
nymphs are serried ranks of griffins, guardian deities and, most notoriously,
extravagantly interlocked maithunas, or lovemaking couples."
While the sexual nature of these carvings have caused
the site to be referred to as the Kamasutra temple, they do not illustrate
the meticulously described positions. Neither do they express the philosophy
of Vatsyayana's famous sutra. As "a strange union of Tantrism and fertility
motifs, with a heavy dose of magic" they belie a document which focuses
on pleasure rather than procreation.
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