The Scorpion Woman of Khajuraho

दे खो रे , दे खो रे , दे खो उतर गयो बिछु आ

टू ट के रह गयो डं क, उतर गयो बिछु आ
सैय ाँ को दे ख के ज ने
बकधर गयो बिछु आ
कैसो रे प पी बिछु आ, बिछु आ
(Song from Madhumati)
The scorpion chooses its quarry carefully. The women are all alone, unbelievably voluptuous and
undressed.
You are totally bewitched with the image of this voluptuous woman with a scorpion on her thigh that
shows up on the feed. A woman whose breasts defy gravity and who will never need a corset. The
image is currently housed in Kolkata’s Indian Museum (?).
The woman is apparently from Khajuraho. You have always visited Khajuraho without any zoom
cameras. All morning goes into zooming the photos and hoping to find the scorpio woman. The
women with their partners are all dressed and the undressed women are engaged in fun activities.
And there are some, where instead of the scorpion, a monkey sits tugging at the sari undressing her.
You look for the lonesome ones. And then you find her – in several places and across temples.
There are a total of 22 Scorpion Apsaras in eight temples. So what does the scorpion on the thigh
signify – is it the passion of devotee towards diety; is it unfulfilled desire; are the scorpion and apsara
combo propitious and or apotropaic.
Hundred years later the motifs of scorpion and lizard will appear in Hoysala temples but not on the
thigh as the Khajuraho woman. Does Konark, the erotic haven, has this woman? And what about the
monkey? It is all getting interesting.
Ranbir Singh Phogat There used to be a concept of Vish Kanya introduced by renowned Kautilya when he was
the Prime Minister and Rajguru of Chandragupta Maurya. They were used for espionage, keeping an eye on the
adversary and kill him. No Apsara............or celestial nymph, I would say. These were specially trained away from
the gaze of family or public. Find out literature about Vishkanya and get to know more. Vish or venom of poisonous
creatures is extremely beneficial to body if consumed in minuscule quantity over a prolonged period. That enhances
immunity as lots of antibodies circulate in the blood. But it is not cross reactive and acts only to neutralize one kind
of protein i.e. poison. Do read some bio-chemistry of poisonous creatures. But I am certain that the sculptures had
no idea about antigens and antibodies but the Vaidyas had. Lots of Vidya had gone into the making of temple
sculptures of India. None had explored the science behind the sculpting ideas.

Gitanjali Mohanty The Apsara Figure with a Scorpion on Her Thigh

Figures with this theme are depicted in almost all big temples. Though called erotic, she does not show the
pleasantness of Shringara rasa, but pain or fear on her face and actions. A detailed study revealed that this bold
exposure is due to the presence of scorpion and not intended to expose herself for sex. The symbolism of scorpion
relates to the six negative or impure qualities like lust, anger, greed, envy, etc. and in particular to lust, which is
depicted as a scorpion (Vruschika in Sanskrit). As per ancient literature, scorpion carries an ever-present aura of
passion, lust, attraction. In sculptures, scorpion is always depicted as approaching the sex organ.

Being a large poisonous insect, its danger is depicted through the large fangs that are like swords. In almost all
figures, the celestial beauty is depicted to be opening her costume out of fear to throw away the scorpion, thus
resulting in the exposure of the genital organ. Sculptures with self-exposure, though called erotic, convey a message
of over power of lust and its implications. Usually, scorpions are associated with only a female figure in order to
convey the silent approach of lust. A woman must be careful as it turns out to be a physical and social problem when
ignored.
Erotic Sentiment in Indian Temple Sculptures 08
Pictures 14 (left most) and 15: From Khajuraho temples. Picture 16 is from Rani ki Vav and Picture 17 (right most)
from Belur.

The figures of celestial beauties in the temples of medieval period like the Khajuraho temple, the step well of Rani
ki vav and Belur temple of Hoysala art all have an Apsara figure associated with a scorpion.

The scorpion is usually depicted as climbing up towards the genital region. Every movement of it is adversary. It
makes a stealthy, silent approach without making a bold display of its arrival and hides in thick layers. It strikes
quickly and decisively and injects poison which paralyzes consciousness. This is depicted as the lady showing pain
on her face. Since pain or fear are not in Shringara rasa, these sculptures though called erotic, are not depictions of
erotic love. The intended message is that sexual energy can be harnessed to progress spiritually or excel in any other
field