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
A sandstone relief sculpture depicting a couple in a mithuna, or amorous embrace, standing in an intimate pose with their bodies pressed together.
sculptureMithuna (Loving Couple)
India, Orissa, early 14th Century
A Mithuna couple, a man and a woman, are depicted in an intimate erotic embrace beneath an architectural arch, with the man seated behind the woman, holding her face and touching her lips with his fingers.
objectAmorous Couple (Mithuna)
Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Ahichchatra, Gupta period (c. 320-550)
A terracotta relief depicts a Mithuna, or amorous couple, seated together in a relaxed embrace, with the male figure resting his left arm on the female figure's shoulder.
paintingKrishna and the Gopis on the Yamuna River
Unknown
The blue-skinned deity Krishna stands amidst a group of Gopis (cowherd maidens) on the bank of the Yamuna River, embracing one maiden while others observe, touch, or kneel in adoration.
ritual-objectBox Lid with Incised Figural Decoration
Unknown
This circular ivory box lid features incised, densely packed figural scenes depicting figures in varied poses and actions, possibly mythological or ritualistic in nature, surrounding a central circular aperture.
objectFour-Sided Pillar with Loving Couples (Mithunas)
Unknown
A four-sided limestone pillar relief depicting mithuna (loving couples) in various states of intimacy, embrace, and courtship.
paintingKrishna Revels with the Gopis: Page from a Dispersed Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherds)
Unknown
The blue-skinned deity Krishna embraces a Gopi (cowherdess) while two other Gopis stand nearby in a stylized garden setting.
architecturalSculptural Frieze of the Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho
Unknown
A multi-tiered sandstone relief carving depicting various deities, celestial attendants (apsaras), and erotic couples (mithuna) engaged in intimate embraces, grooming, and ritual poses.
objectLoving Couple (Mithuna)
Unknown
A Mithuna couple, a male and a female, are depicted in a standing embrace, with the male lifting the female in his arms while they gaze at each other in an intimate, sexualized posture.
objectMithuna (Loving Couple) (Study Collection)
Unknown
A fragment of a terracotta sculpture depicting a mithuna, or loving couple, in a close embrace.
objectPlaque with Erotic Scene
Unknown
This bone plaque depicts a man and a woman in a sexual embrace, with the man kneeling and engaging in cunnilingus with the woman, who is positioned on her side.
objectPlaque with Mithuna (Loving Couple)
Unknown
An ivory carving depicting a mithuna, or loving couple, engaged in an amorous embrace while seated on a raised dais beneath an ornate architectural arch.
objectTwo box panels with mithuna couples
Unknown
Two ivory panels depict mithuna couples—pairs of lovers in intimate embraces—alongside a solitary female figure, all set against a dense, gilded floral background.
sculpture1 Erotic Kama statues of Khajuraho Hindu Temple Kandariya Mahadeva Khajurâho India 2013
Unknown (Chandela dynasty)
A sandstone relief sculpture depicting a group of four figures—one central male figure, one inverted male figure, and two flanking female figures—engaged in a complex, multi-partner sexual act.
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.
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