The Temple of the Sun at Konarak in India’s Orissa state is considered the high point of the tradition of Hindu temple building that began in the late eighth century. Shortly after the Konarak temple was built in the mid-thirteenth century the Mughal invasions put a premature end to this architectural tradition. The Konarak temple was a monumental representation of the chariot of the Sun God. It featured twelve pairs of wheels on its side walls and the figure of the god standing at the front of the building driving his horses. Almost every square inch of the temple’s outer walls is covered with carvings that range widely from abstract designs to animals, human beings, and gods and vary in size from a few inches to many feet. One of the most striking aspects of the sculptural program of this particular temple is the enormous number of erotic sculptural…