Khajuraho temples, according to, do not contain sexual or erotic art inside the Temple or near the deity; however, some external carvings bear erotic art and tantric sexual poses. According to some current Hindu interpretations, they portray that, for seeing the deity, one must leave his or her sexual desires outside the Temple. They also show that divinity, such as the deities of the Temples, is pure like the atman, which is not affected by sexual desires and other characteristics of the physical body. Meanwhile, the external curvature and carvings of the Temples depict humans, human bodies, and the changes that occur in human bodies, as well as facts of life. Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes; those reportedly do not show deities, they show sexual activities between people. The rest depict the everyday life of the common Indian of the time when the carvings were made, and of various activities of other beings. For example, those depictions show women putting on makeup, musicians, potters, farmers, and other folks. Those mundane scenes are all at some distance from the Temple deities. A common misconception is that since the old structures with carvings in Khajuraho are Temples, the carvings depict sex between deities. In Khajuraho Temples, the idols of Shiva, Nandi, Goddess Durga, Incarnations of Vishnu, and other divinities are clad in modest clothing.

Between 950 and 1050, the Chandela monarchs, followers of the Tantric tradition, built these temples. Adherents of Tantrism teach that gratification of Earthly desires is a step towards accomplishing Nirvana. In olden days, before the Mughal conquests, when boys lived in hermitages, following brahmacharitva until they became men, they could learn about the world and prepare themselves to become householders through examining these sculptures and the worldly desires they pointed out.