Maithuna Relief at the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, Khajuraho

This sandstone relief depicts a man positioned horizontally, head-down, while two women stand on either side, supporting and engaging with him. The central male figure is inverted with his legs held high, and the flanking women are depicted with ornate jewelry, necklaces, and armbands, their hands touching the male figure’s waist and legs. The figures are carved in high relief with stylized anatomical proportions characteristic of Chandela-era temple architecture, set against a plain stone background.

This sculpture is a 'maithuna' (loving couple or sexual union) scene, a common iconographic feature on the exterior walls of Hindu temples in Khajuraho, often interpreted in the context of Tantric practices, the pursuit of kama (pleasure), and as symbolic representations of the union of the soul with the divine.