Why nude statues in the walls of temples

Many people do not like the concept of naked statues in the walls of temples while we find these statues in a number of shrines including some famous ones. If you personally ask me my opinion is that it should not be there. But let us find some genuine reasons behind such a practice. People must have questioned about it in the earlier days, but still the practice is going on. So there must be something solid behind it.

Firstly, God is the biggest entity in this world. He/She is the supreme power. Thus, only the blessed ones get a chance to have His/Her glimpse. Putting the naked statues is a test for concentration as well as devotion. We have heard about mythological stories where, the moment a person starts ‘tapasya’, God himself put a number of good and evil things around him to distract him from the meditation. In the case of great devotees like Prahllad, Dhrub, sage Biswamitra and others, they successfully completed the meditation without being distracted by these external factors. Likewise when you visit a temple your devotion should be pure and no other thing should distract you from God. But many devotees get trapped in these statues and forget the God inside the temple. Moral is that you can see these statues, but don’t involve yourself here, rather concentrate your mind and soul in the God.

Secondly, earlier, when there was no invention of light, the temples used to be the centre of attraction. There is a concept of ‘Natya Mandap’ where the cultural programmes were carried on. Also, many earlier kings were religious and they preferred to carry on the important happenings in the temple premises with an intention that whatever is done should get blessings of the God. So, temples, in the earlier time, were the main venue for showcase of culture and heritage. We find statues of dancers and musicians in the walls of temples. Probably this was done to showcase the artistic talent and cultural glory of the kingdom.

Thirdly, in Odisha some people believe that putting naked statues in the walls of the temple makes the temple safe from lightning. Even I have come across instances where initially the temple was free from these types of statutes but later on these were built after witnessing some negative symptoms.

Whatever may be the reason the bottom line is that if you concentrate on the idol (God) in the inner sanctum (Garbha gruha) you will not be distracted and will surely get the divine blessings.