Kāma — Sacred Eros
Love, desire, and the body in Indian art and literature
Visual Art
Browse all art →58 works of visual art in this collection
paintingSakhi Persuades Radha to Meet Krishna — Gita Govinda
Anonymous (Pahari)
A pair of sketches depicting a standing female figure, likely a nymph or divine attendant, draped in flowing robes.
objectLovers (Mithuna)
India, Madhya Pradesh, Khajuraho, Medieval period, Candella dynasty, 11th century
printMithuna (Loving Couple)
India, Orissa, early 14th Century
objectAmorous Couple (Mithuna)
Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Ahichchatra, Gupta period (c. 320-550)
painting"Krishna and the Gopis on the Bank of the Yamuna River", Folio from the "Second" or "Tehri Garhwal" Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd)
Unknown
printBox Lid with Incised Figural Decoration
Unknown
objectFour-Sided Pillar with Loving Couples (Mithunas)
Unknown
paintingKrishna Revels with the Gopis: Page from a Dispersed Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherds)
Unknown
objectLoving Couple (Mithuna)
Unknown
objectMithuna (Loving Couple) (Study Collection)
Unknown
objectPlaque with Erotic Scene
Unknown
objectPlaque with Mithuna (Loving Couple)
Unknown
objectTwo box panels with mithuna couples
Unknown
print1 Erotic Kama statues of Khajuraho Hindu Temple Kandariya Mahadeva Khajurâho India 2013
Unknown (Chandela dynasty)
print17. Khajuraho Devi Jagadambi mithuna apsara
Unknown (Chandela dynasty)
The celebration of erotic love as one of the four goals of human life (puruṣārthas). From the Kāmasūtra of Vātsyāyana to the temple carvings of Khajuraho and Konark, Indian civilization treated sexuality as a domain worthy of systematic study, artistic expression, and spiritual integration.
Includes the great love manuals (Kāmasūtra, Ratirahasya, Anaṅga-Raṅga), erotic devotional poetry (Gīta Govinda, Amaruśataka), and the extraordinary stone carvings of the Chandela and Eastern Ganga dynasties — where divine couples (mithuna) embody the creative union at the heart of existence.
All Books
Browse Full Catalog→66 books in this collection