Monstrous Animals on Hindu Temples, with Special Reference to Khajuraho

Authors

  • David Smith Lancaster University (retired) Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v7i1-3.27

Keywords:

animals, animal monsters, apsaras, erotic art, Khajuraho temples, vyāla

Abstract

This article discusses the role of imaginary composite animals on medieval Hindu temples, with special reference to the vyalas at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. These monsters are frequently sculpted on temples in the company of women, but are scarcely mentioned in texts. They are subsequently replaced in other parts of India by images of ascetics. An attempt is made to elucidate their role and meaning, within the wider context of Indian religion and culture, by positing that they may express a, so to speak, subterranean power of sexuality.

Author Biography

  • David Smith, Lancaster University (retired)

    David Smith was Reader in South Asian Religions at Lancaster University from 1997 to 2011, when he took early retirement. He has written extensively on Sanskrit court culture (from Ratnakara’s Haravijaya: An Introduction to the Sanskrit Court Epic, Oxford University Press, 1985 to a translation of Bana’s Princess Kadambari vol.1, New York University Press, 2010). He is the author of Hinduism and Modernity (Blackwell, 2003) and The Dance of Siva: religion, art and poetry in South India (Cambridge University Press, 1996). He is currently writing a book on Hindu Eroticism for IBTauris; and preparing a study of the sculpture of Khajuraho.

References

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Published

2013-10-08

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1-3 (2013)

Section

First Tantra: Wonder, Monstrosity, Conflict

License

© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

For information regarding our Open Access policy, click here.

How to Cite

Smith, D. (2013). Monstrous Animals on Hindu Temples, with Special Reference to Khajuraho. Religions of South Asia, 7(1-3), 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v7i1-3.27