a misunderstood art

The most fascinating aspect of these temples is the carvings on the wood. There are different patterns of carvings some of which are of the gods and the goddesses. But some f the carvings are rather mysterious, especially the erotic art carved on wood support for the temple’s roof. It is called Tudal, which has been a subject of mystery even for the locals.

The art seems like they are straight out of the Kama sutra for an art commonly misunderstood as ancient pornography. The carvings are carved in such a way that it somehow resembles modern-day pornography. In some carvings, even some animals are depicted sharing the moment with the humans. So the question arises, why are there these kinds of art pieces in such a shy culture? Well in fact today nobody knows the reason behind this. But there are several stories behind all these mysteries,

An art misunderstood in the temples of Kathmandu valley, the carvings in the wood called Tudal are some interesting mysteries about Our traditional culture. When compared to western societies, Nepali culture has been seen as a modest culture.

There is a certain guideline to the liberty of one’s attire, behavior, social structure, or any other social aspect. It is a country where the parents cannot communicate with the young about any sexual-related topic. Even in school, the teachers are among the shyest people when it comes to the topic of sexual and reproductive health education.

It is established that in this culture showing physical affection towards the opposite gender in public places is against the social norms and has been misunderstood as an art. Here in this culture sexual activities are private and are regarded as a subject of public shame. There are certain rules and regulations in the country where you will be fined for conducting such activities in public.

Even a simple act of affection is unavailable to witness in public. But there’s a small debate about our traditional culture and its view on sexual relationships. In the valley of Kathmandu which is known as the city of Temples, there are hundreds of temples all around the valley. The skill set of our ancestors is well described in these majestic monuments.

One of the stories states that during ancient times the people of the country were so much interested in the ascetic life. People choosing ascetic life were not interested in anything physical so the king of that time was worried about the number of people going ascetic.

So it is believed that this kind of art commonly misunderstood, actually encourages people to get involved and procreate. But according to historians, it was during the Malla Reign in the valley, that this Tudal art came into existence. Artisans were influenced by the erotic art in the temples in Northern India.

It might be confusing for people to understand the real reason behind these art pieces, but one thing we can all agree on about these arts is that our ancestors were more liberal about sex than we were. Maybe the conservative approach towards sexual activity might be because of the evolution in religious beliefs and practices.

The culture that we have right now is influenced hugely by Yogic science and it symbolizes sexual activity as the source of creation. So our ancestors placed this kind of art in the temples and misunderstood it so much that the people's view towards sexual acts would change to "not sinful", and take it as a part of life.

In a sense, it is a symbolic representation as well , when you look at it closely. A temple is a place where the divine is supposed to reside, and such erotic art pieces are placed on the peripheries of these religious monuments. Inside the temples are the idols and representation of the divine entity,

Likewise, our body is also regarded as a temple in this culture, and the divine entity that creates and operates our body is inside of us. And the outer part of the physical aspect of our body is nothing but created with the act of sexual means and is useful for procreating. Thus we can draw a parallel between a temple with all the erotic "pornographic" art and our human body.