Maithuna Reliefs, Kandariya Mahadeva Temple

The image features two horizontal registers of stone relief carvings from the exterior of a temple. In each register, a central panel shows three figures entwined in a sexual embrace; the figures are stylized with elongated limbs, traditional Indian jewelry, and elaborate coiffures. They are surrounded by smaller flanking figures standing in tribhanga (triple-bend) poses, some holding ritual objects or water vessels, framed by intricate geometric and floral stone moldings typical of Chandela architecture.

These sculptures represent the maithuna, or sacred sexual union, reflecting the tantric influence on medieval Hindu temple architecture where the union of opposites serves as an allegory for the realization of ultimate reality (Brahman) and the dissolution of duality.