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[ xvii ] Mithuna in Sanskrit means ‘(male/female) couple’, and maithuna means ‘coupledness, that which is done by couples’ – sexual intercourse. Both are used as technical terms in the study of Indian art: mithuna for any representation of a couple, who may be simply showing affection, or engaging in any sexual activity from foreplay to full intercourse; maithuna for the more explicitly erotic themes, including elaborate postures derived from the Kamasutra ( see K ama ) and those involving more than two participants. The latter seem to be restricted to Hindu iconography, though mithunas (generally just embracing) are also found in early B uddhist and J ain art. Clearly, not all mithuna/maithuna images are of the same nature. Some seem to convey simple human happiness, alongside other images of delight such as music-making and dance, or mothers playing with their babies, designed to adorn the temple with all the pleasures of life. The more complicated maithunas have been thought by some to suggest the presence of orgiastic cults. Others seem to convey supreme bliss, suggesting symbolism like that of the Brihadaranyaka U panishad , in which the bliss of the union of A tman and B rahman is likened to that of lovers in embrace [106: 262–3] ( see T antra (1) ; A rt, hindu ) [39]. In the Buddhist art of Tibet, too, B uddhas and B odhisattvas are sometimes depicted ... log in or subscribe to read full text