SANGAREDDY: With literacy low and taboos high, ancient artists found a way to teach sex education: they carved it in stone. The Narasimha temple in Bejjanki, Siddipet district, features explicit erotic sculptures that historians believe were intended to educate visitors about sex and intimacy in married life.
Far from being merely a place of worship, the temple is believed to have flourished as a centre of learning, where visitors could seek divine blessings as well as gain insights into marital relationships.
Historians believe the temple, built in the Chalukya-Kakatiya period, was designed to offer more than divine darshan. At a time when literacy was limited, artists used visual imagery to communicate knowledge about sex and intimacy, with the aim of fostering harmony between couples.
History researcher Karipe Raj Kumar said the 12th-century temple, built in the Chalukya-Kakatiya style, features unusual sculptures carved into its walls. Reaching the shrine, which stands atop a rocky hillock, requires climbing 123 steps.
Although no inscriptions directly linked to the temple have been found locally, two inscriptions discovered in nearby Shanigaram refer to the village as Bezvajankiya. The name is believed to have gradually evolved into Bejjanki through colloquial usage.
The temple is an architectural structure comprising a sanctum (garbhagriha), an antaralaya and a mukhamantapa. The mandapa has entrance porches on its southern, eastern and western sides. Its parapet walls feature elephants, lions, horses, swans and lotuses, while the four central pillars are adorned with finely carved sculptures.
The temple’s sculptural art continues to fascinate visitors. Locals said the number of people visiting the shrine rises considerably during weekends and holidays.
Traditional, mythological and social themes are represented across the structure. The explicit erotic sculptures on the outer western walls are particularly striking. They include depictions of couples in intimate poses, reflecting the range of subjects explored by the artists.
Raj Kumar said the sculptures may have been intended to impart knowledge about marital relationships, given that ordinary people visited the temple at different times.
Other carvings depict Hanuman and Garuda guarding a vessel of nectar, or amrita bhanda. A prominent Lajja Gauri sculpture appears near the southern mandapa; a similar carving can be found on the walls of the Ramalingeswara temple in nearby Koheda village.
Another distinctive feature is the depiction of male beam-carriers, or labourers, supporting the lintels of the southern doorway.
According to Raj Kumar, these carvings honour the contribution of workers and reflect the generosity of the rulers and artisans of the period.
1557 INSCRIPTION SHEDS LIGHT ON TEMPLE HISTORY
Hyderabad: An inscription dating to 1557, documenting the construction of a Siddhi-Vinayaka temple and installation of the deity at Kannemedi village in Karnataka, has been found outside the village in Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district. According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the inscription is engraved on a stone slab in Telugu using Kannada script.
Dated February 18, 1557, it belongs to the reign of Sadasivadevaraya and corresponds to Saka year 1479. It records that Narasimha Bhatta, son of Ellam Bhatta, built the temple and installed Siddhi-Vinayaka at Kannameti-agrahara in Penugonda Rajya.
The inscription also documents gifts made for the benefit of 32 temple servants, known as godugulavaru, who carried the deity’s umbrella during processions. It offers insights into temple construction, religious practices and the role of temple servants and patrons in the 16th century.