Khajuraho

[AmitaSarin at aol.com]

Regarding Yvette Rosser's message on Indecency on Indology Net:
I have seen but not studied the illustrative program on the temples of
Khajuraho.  Like Yvette, I have also wondered about the meaning of the
sexually explicit carvings on the walls and have not totally bought the
traditional explanations.  The recent discussions of "chaos" (dare I bring
this up again!?) on the Indology-Net have brought another idea to mind.
 Could these scenes of group sex and bestiality be the iconographic
representation of "chaos" as a precursor to order or the rightness of things.
 As I understand it, these scenes are usually on the outside and bases of
temples.  
So much in the Hindu way of life - caste system, ascriptive
role-relationships in families, rituals and so on - seem to be an attempt to
maintain order.  Vishnu has incarnated himself everytime the order of the
universe and the rightness of things have been threatened by demons and the
forces of chaos.  Are the scenes on the outside of temples a representation
of the state of the world before the gods restore order?
 Just an idea for further discussion.
Amita Sarin