India: the temple of love in Khajuraho. The history, legends and value of love temples in India

In the cultures of the peoples of the East and the West, from ancient times, almost opposite points of view on sex, erotica, carnal relations were formed. The Christian religion allowed coition between a man and a woman, first of all, for the sake of procreation. Sexual pleasures, ranging from a kiss to the lips, were considered low-lying, sinful, dirty. But high praise of love is ideal, sublime, platonic. We see a completely different attitude to carnal pleasures in the East and in Asia.

East is a delicate matter

It seems that we will not be mistaken in asserting that India is a temple of love in the broadest sense of the word. After all, not somewhere, but in this country they came up with "Kama Sutra", 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 embodied in it are taken from Indian and Arabic folklore. Moreover, most philosophical teachings from antiquity to the present day, like the ancient religious currents, have raised physical closeness to the rank of a cult. The culture of sex, the culture of interpersonal relations - all this was highly developed in the East Asian ethnos. A good example is India. "Temple of Love" - so poetically called the Hindus human body, and sexual games were perceived almost sacred action, pleasing to the supreme deities.

"Books of the art of love"

No, we are not talking about samples of printed products, even ancient ones. This is the generalized name of the temples, the foundation and walls of which are decorated with very, very indiscreet bas-reliefs and statues. Their subjects are diverse, but they are devoted to the general theme: "India is a temple of love." Young people who reached puberty before marriage and in the first months after his imprisonment were strongly encouraged to visit such buildings, carefully study and even discuss the images in order to apply the proposed variety of poses. This was the special wisdom of the ancients: improving in sexual technology, the spouses will not be bored with each other, their life will be more harmonious, joyful, and therefore - pleasing to the god! Therefore, modern tourists, expressing their enthusiastic impressions, many times said that it is India - the temple of love earthly compared with other states of the peninsula. The atmosphere of eroticism, sensuality and passion saturates the entire space near numerous religious buildings.

Pearl in the heart of the jungle

The largest and most popular of the almost pornographic works of ancient architects today is the complex of buildings in Khajuraho. In fact - this is a huge Indian temple of love under the open sky, built hundreds of centuries ago. Once it numbered 58 majestic structures, but in almost pristine form only 22 are preserved. There are rarities in the middle of the jungle - the rainforests swallowed up the city when it was abandoned by people. Due to this, most likely, the temples were not destroyed - first by Muslim conquerors, then by other aggressors, of which there were many in the long-suffering Indian land. The jungle protected its treasure for centuries, and it was only in the first half of the 19th century that the city was discovered by a British engineer. Almost two centuries in Kajuraho archaeological excavations have been carried out, many objects have been restored, restorations are carried out over others .

Myths and legends

How did this unique city-the temple of love-appear? Approximate time of construction of buildings - from 950 to 1050 AD, during the reign of Rajputs - the famous princely dynasty, who ruled the state of Chandell. The city of Khajuraho was its religious center. However, there is nothing particularly remarkable in this, if 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 permits and projects. And in everything, as usual, women's beauty and male impatience are to blame! Once Kojuraho was an ordinary Indian city. But there lived in him a girl whose beauty was 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 a girl bathed in the river, and her youthful perfect nudity so inflamed God to the Moon that he could not resist and seduced the prelest. At the appointed 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 is that the West, that the East - prejudices and laws are the same! The young mother fled from the shame and anger of the relatives to the jungle, where she raised her son, having taught him all the worldly wisdom. Semi-human demigod, he grew up a mighty warrior and became the founder of the Chandell dynasty that glorified its state.

Poem in stone

How, then, is the temple of love of Kajuraho associated with all this, the photo of which is given to your attention? Straight! Chanting the power and depth of sensual passions, feminine beauty and the greatness of love in all its manifestations, Emavati's son laid the foundation for the construction of the temple ensemble. His case was continued by descendants, because all the 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 indicate that this is a single whole. The spectators who contemplate this true wonder of the world are struck by many things: various subjects in which everyday scenes, episodes of battles, silhouettes of animals, images of gods in different hypostases are easily recognized. But most of all, attention is attracted by the most numerous erotic scenes: the passion of copulations, subtle anatomical details, realism and liveliness of postures, almost complete correspondence to the proportions of human bodies and their movements, facial expressions and facial expressions. Ancient sculptors performed their work filigree and stunningly talented!

Valley of sex

So, Khajuraho is the real sexual Eden of India. The bas-reliefs of his temples are rightly called the most outspoken and piquant of the openly accessible human eye. The endless celebration of life is represented 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 is equal to the love of life in its brightest and happiest manifestations!