An architectural manual written in about AD 900 includes the following instruction: ' kama is the root of the universe … erotic sculpture panels should be mounted in order to delight the general public.' There is nothing particularly Tantric about this sculpture. Two lovers caress each other, their lips about to touch. The sculpture below would have once been positioned on the wall of a Hindu temple. According to Hindu belief, the creation of the universe is believed to be a product of divine sexual union, and the goals of a fulfilling and righteous life are not only duty ( dharma), prosperity ( artha) and liberation ( moksha), but also desire ( kama).ĭuring the medieval period in India, erotic carvings of couples ( mithuna) were considered to bring good fortune and protection. The role of sexĮrotic imagery not only plays an important role in Tantra, but also in mainstream Hinduism. Such distortions went on to inform current misunderstandings of Tantra in the West as an orgiastic 'cult of ecstasy'. The Tantras were first translated into English in the 19th century, when India was under British rule, and were reductively misinterpreted by many Christian missionaries, Orientalist scholars and colonial officials. Folio from the Vajramrita Tantra (Nectar of the Thunderbolt Tantra).
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