The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

renunciation, Hindu culture has also
fostered considerable eroticism, which
has a recognized place in everyday life.
One example of this is the Kama Sutra,
a well-known “manual” on the art of
love, which is but one example of a liter-
ary genre called ratishastra, or “treatises
on [sexual] pleasure.” Other examples of
eroticism in the culture can be seen in
the sculptures carved on the temples
Konarak and Khajuraho, and in the
amount of attention given to poetry on
love. In Hindu culture kama(“desire,”
particularly sexual desire) is one of the
purusharthas, or aims of life, with the
others being artha(wealth), dharma
(religious duty), and moksha(final lib-
eration of the soul). Erotic pleasure
is thus recognized as a legitimate goal,
as long as it is kept in proper perspec-
tive. Although renunciation is one of
the great themes in Hindu life, nonre-
nunciation has been stressed at least
as strongly.
In modern popular Hindu culture,
eroticism is expressed through the eso-
teric ritual tradition known as tantra, in

which sexual union is a symbol for liber-

ation. Sexual intercourse is sometimes

incorporated as an actual element in

tantric ritual, as the most notorious of

the panchamakaraor “Five Forbidden

Things.” Although tantric practice has

strong popular associations with illicit

sexuality, such acts are always per-

formed within a strict ritual context. In

tantric practice, the ultimate aim is not

to satisfy one’s carnal desires, but to

demolish the dualism between sacred

and profane that is ultimately a sign of

ignorance. The act of ritualizing normally

taboo behavior is one way to destroy this

duality, as well as a way to emphasize

the superiority of tantric practice over

other forms of religious life. In such

practice, the adept is also imitating

Shiva, who is himself both the perfect

yogiand the model husband.

Erotics, Texts on

One of the established genres in Indian

literature was ratishastra, or “treatises

on [sexual] pleasure,” of which the

Erotics, Texts on

Erotic sculptures decorate the facade of the Kandariya Mahadev Temple in Khajuraho.