Mithuna and the art of lovemaking
“First of all, love was born”, says the Atharvaveda.
To enjoy the pleasures of love, the woman formed a beautiful relationship with man. Woman, who was Prakriti, the female energy that activates the creative process, stirred the male principle, the Purusha, to form a pair with her. This pair is called the Mithuna.⠀
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The depiction of man-woman pair in art is probably as old as art itself. Since time immemorial the Indian sculptor has adopted the Mithuna motif and presented it with amazing variety, exploring with aesthetic sensitivity all possible motives from the sophisticated to the coarse. ⠀
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The woman standing somewhat shyly beside her man in Sanchi and Bharhut became extremely accomplished in the art of lovemaking by the time she reached medieval monuments and temples like those of Khajuraho in Central India or at Bhuvaneshvar, Puri and Konark in Odisha. ⠀
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This amazing transformation might’ve been caused by the influence of erotic Sanskrit literature, some say, based on the notion that ‘shringara’ or love is the King among all aesthetic sentiments!⠀
Featured Photo: Mithuna,10th-13th Century. Location Unknown, now in Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
