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The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana Text

PREFACE

In the literature of all countries there will be found a certain numberof works treating especially of love. Everywhere the subject is dealtwith differently, and from various points of view. In the presentpublication it is proposed to give a complete translation of what isconsidered the standard work on love in Sanscrit literature, and whichis called the 'Vatsyayana Kama Sutra,'or Aphorisms on Love, byVatsyayana.

While the introduction will bear with the evidence concerning the dateof the writing, and the commentaries written upon it, the chaptersfollowing the introduction will give a translation of the work itself.

It is, however, advisable to furnish here a brief analysis of works ofthe same nature, prepared by authors who lived and wrote years afterVatsya had passed away, but who still considered him as a greatauthority, and always quoted him as the chief guide to Hindoo eroticliterature.

Besides the treatise of Vatsyayana the following works on the samesubject are procurable in India:--

1. The Ratirahasya, or secrets of love.

2. The Panchasakya, or the five arrows.

3. The Smara Pradipa, or the light of love.

4. The Ratimanjari, or the garland of love.

5. The Rasmanjari, or the sprout of love.

6. The Anunga Runga, or the stage of love; also called Kamaledhiplava, or a boat in the ocean of love.

The author of the 'Secrets of Love'(No. 1) was a poet named Kukkoka. Hecomposed his work to please one Venudutta, who was perhaps a king. Whenwriting his own name at the end of each chapter he calls himself "Siddhapatiya pandita," _i.e._, an ingenious man among learned men. The workwas translated into Hindi years ago, and in this the author's name waswritten as Koka.

And as the same name crept into all the translationsinto other languages in India, the book became generally known, and thesubject was popularly called Koka Shastra, or doctrines of Koka, whichis identical with the Kama Shastra, or doctrines of love, and the wordsKoka Shastra and Kama Shastra are used indiscriminately.

The work contains nearly eight hundred verses, and is divided into tenchapters, which are called Pachivedas. Some of the things treated of inthis work are not to be found in the Vatsyayana, such as the fourclasses of women, viz., the Padmini, Chitrini, Shankini and Hastini, asalso the enumeration of the days and hours on which the women of thedifferent classes become subject to love. The author adds that he wrotethese things from the opinions of Gonikaputra and Nandikeshwara, both ofwhom are mentioned by Vatsyayana, but their works are not now extant. Itis difficult to give any approximate idea as to the year in which thework was composed. It is only to be presumed that it was written afterthat of Vatsyayana, and previous to the other works on this subject thatare still extant.

Vatsyayana gives the names of ten authors on thesubject, all of whose works he had consulted, but none of which areextant, and does not mention this one. This would tend to show thatKukkoka wrote after Vatsya, otherwise Vatsya would assuredly havementioned him as an author in this branch of literature along with theothers.

The author of the 'Five Arrows'(No. 2 in the list) was one Jyotirisha.He is called the chief ornament of poets, the treasure of the sixty-fourarts, and the best teacher of the rules of music. He says that hecomposed the work after reflecting on the aphorisms of love as revealedby the gods, and studying the opinions of Gonikaputra, Muladeva,Babhravya, Ramtideva, Nundikeshwara and Kshemandra. It is impossible tosay whether he had perused all the works of these authors, or had onlyheard about them; anyhow, none of them appear to be in existence now.

his work contains nearly six hundred verses, and is divided into fivechapters, called Sayakas or Arrows.

The author of the 'Light of Love'(No. 3) was the poet Gunakara, the sonof Vechapati. The work contains four hundred verses, and gives only ashort account of the doctrines of love, dealing more with othermatters.

'The Garland of Love'(No. 4) is the work of the famous poet Jayadeva,who said about himself that he is a writer on all subjects. Thistreatise is, however, very short, containing only one hundred andtwenty-five verses.

The author of the 'Sprout of Love'(No. 5) was a poet called Bhanudatta.It appears from the last verse of the manuscript that he was a residentof the province of Tirhoot, the son of a Brahman named Ganeshwar, whowas also a poet. The work, written in Sanscrit, gives the descriptionsof different classes of men and women, their classes being made out fromtheir age, description, conduct, etc.

It contains three chapters, andits date is not known, and cannot be ascertained.

'The Stage of Love'(No. 6) was composed by the poet Kullianmull, forthe amusement of Ladkhan, the son of Ahmed Lodi, the same Ladkhan beingin some places spoken of as Ladana Mull, and in others as Ladanaballa.He is supposed to have been a relation or connection of the house ofLodi, which reigned in Hindostan from A.D. 1450-1526.

The work would,therefore, have been written in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Itcontains ten chapters, and has been translated into English, but onlysix copies were printed for private circulation. This is supposed to bethe latest of the Sanscrit works on the subject, and the ideas in itwere evidently taken from previous writings of the same nature.

The contents of these works are in themselves a literary curiosity.There are to be found both in Sanscrit poetry and in the Sanscrit dramaa certain amount of poetical sentiment and romance, which have, in everycountry and in every language, thrown an immortal halo round thesubject. But here it is treated in a plain, simple, matter of fact sortof way. Men and women are divided into classes and divisions in the sameway that Buffon and other writers on natural history have classified anddivided the animal world.

As Venus was represented by the Greeks tostand forth as the type of the beauty of woman, so the Hindoos describethe Padmini or Lotus woman as the type of most perfect feminineexcellence, as follows:

She in whom the following signs and symptoms appear is called a Padmini.Her face is pleasing as the full moon; her body, well clothed withflesh, is soft as the Shiras or mustard flower, her skin is fine,tender and fair as the yellow lotus, never dark coloured. Her eyes arebright and beautiful as the orbs of the fawn, well cut, and with reddishcorners. Her bosom is hard, full and high; she has a good neck; her noseis straight and lovely, and three folds or wrinkles cross hermiddle--about the umbilical region. Her yoni resembles the opening lotusbud, and her love seed (Kama salila) is perfumed like the lily that hasnewly burst. She walks with swan-like gait, and her voice is low andmusical as the note of the Kokila bird, she delights in white raiments,in fine jewels, and in rich dresses.

She eats little, sleeps lightly,and being as respectful and religious as she is clever and courteous,she is ever anxious to worship the gods, and to enjoy the conversationof Brahmans. Such, then, is the Padmini or Lotus woman.

One work in the English language is somewhat similar to these works ofthe Hindoos. It is called 'Kalogynomia: or the Laws of Female Beauty,'being the elementary principles of that science, by T. Bell, M.D., withtwenty-four plates, and printed in London in 1821.

It treats of Beauty,of Love, of sexual intercourse, of the Laws regulating that Intercourse,of Monogamy and Polygamy, of Prostitution, of Infidelity, ending with a_catalogue raisonnée_ of the defects of female beauty.

After a perusal of the Hindoo work, and of the English books abovementioned, the reader will understand the subject, at all events from amaterialistic, realistic and practical point of view. If all science isfounded more or less on a stratum of facts, there can be no harm inmaking known to mankind generally certain matters intimately connectedwith their private, domestic, and social life.

Alas! complete ignorance of them has unfortunately wrecked many a manand many a woman, while a little knowledge of a subject generallyignored by the masses would have enabled numbers of people to haveunderstood many things which they believed to be quite incomprehensible,or which were not thought worthy of their consideration.

INTRODUCTION

It may be interesting to some persons to learn how it came about thatVatsyayana was first brought to light and translated into the Englishlanguage. It happened thus. While translating with the pundits the'Anunga runga, or the stage of love,'reference was frequently found tobe made to one Vatsya. The sage Vatsya was of this opinion, or of thatopinion. The sage Vatsya said this, and so on. Naturally questions wereasked who the sage was, and the pundits replied that Vatsya was theauthor of the standard work on love in Sanscrit literature, that noSanscrit library was complete without his work, and that it was mostdifficult now to obtain in its entire state.

The copy of the manuscriptobtained in Bombay was defective, and so the pundits wrote to Benares,Calcutta and Jeypoor for copies of the manuscript from Sanscritlibraries in those places. Copies having been obtained, they were thencompared with each other, and with the aid of a Commentary called'Jayamangla'a revised copy of the entire manuscript was prepared, andfrom this copy the English translation was made. The following is thecertificate of the chief pundit:--

"The accompanying manuscript is corrected by me after comparing fourdifferent copies of the work. I had the assistance of a Commentarycalled 'Jayamangla'for correcting the portion in the first five parts,but found great difficulty in correcting the remaining portion, because,with the exception of one copy thereof which was tolerably correct, allthe other copies I had were far too incorrect.

However, I took thatportion as correct in which the majority of the copies agreed with eachother."

"After reading and considering the works of Babhravya and other ancientauthors, and thinking over the meaning of the rules given by them, thistreatise was composed, according to the precepts of the Holy Writ, forthe benefit of the world, by Vatsyayana, while leading the life of areligious student at Benares, and wholly engaged in the contemplation ofthe Deity. This work is not to be used merely as an instrument forsatisfying our desires. A person acquainted with the true principles ofthis science, who preserves his Dharma (virtue or religious merit), hisArtha (worldly wealth) and his Kama (pleasure or sensual gratification),and who has regard to the customs of the people, is sure to obtain themastery over his senses.

In short, an intelligent and knowing person,attending to Dharma and Artha and also to Kama, without becoming theslave of his passions, will obtain success in everything that he maydo."

It is impossible to fix the exact date either of the life of Vatsyayanaor of his work. It is supposed that he must have lived between the firstand the sixth centuries of the Christian era, on the followinggrounds:--He mentions that Satkarni Srtvahan, a king of Kuntal, killedMalayevati his wife with an instrument called kartari by striking her inthe passion of love, and Vatsya quotes this case to warn people of thedanger arising from some old customs of striking women when under theinfluence of this passion. Now this king of Kuntal is believed to havelived and reigned during the first century A.C., and consequently Vatsyamust have lived after him.

On the other hand, Virahamihira, in theeighteenth chapter of his 'Brihatsanhita,'treats of the science oflove, and appears to have borrowed largely from Vatsyayana on thesubject. Now Virahamihira is said to have lived during the sixth centuryA.D., and as Vatsya must have written his works previously, thereforenot earlier than the first century, A.C., and not later than the sixthcentury A.D., must be considered as the approximate date of hisexistence.

On the text of the 'Aphorisms on Love,'by Vatsyayana, only twocommentaries have been found. One called 'Jayamangla'or 'Sutrabashya,'and the other 'Sutra vritti.'The date of the 'Jayamangla'is fixedbetween the tenth and thirteenth centuries A.D., because while treatingof the sixty-four arts an example is taken from the 'Kávyaprakásha,'which was written about the tenth century A.

. Again, the copy of thecommentary procured was evidently a transcript of a manuscript whichonce had a place in the library of a Chaulukyan king named Vishaladeva,a fact elicited from the following sentence at the end of it:--

"Here ends the part relating to the art of love in the commentary on the'Vatsyayana Kama Sutra,'a copy from the library of the king of kings,Vishaladeva, who was a powerful hero, as it were a second Arjuna, andhead jewel of the Chaulukya family."

Now it is well known that this king ruled in Guzerat from 1244 to 1262A.D., and founded a city called Visalnagur. The date, therefore, of thecommentary is taken to be not earlier than the tenth and not later thanthe thirteenth century. The author of it is supposed to be oneYashodhara, the name given him by his preceptor being Indrapada.

Heseems to have written it during the time of affliction caused by hisseparation from a clever and shrewd woman, at least that is what hehimself says at the end of each chapter. It is presumed that he calledhis work after the name of his absent mistress, or the word may havesome connection with the meaning of her name.

This commentary was most useful in explaining the true meaning ofVatsyayana, for the commentator appears to have had a considerableknowledge of the times of the older author, and gives in some placesvery minute information. This cannot be said of the other commentary,called "Sutra vritti," which was written about A.D., by Narsing Shastri,a pupil of a Sarveshwar Shastri; the latter was a descendant of Bhaskur,and so also was our author, for at the conclusion of every part he callshimself Bhaskur Narsing Shastra.

He was induced to write the work byorder of the learned Raja Vrijalala, while he was residing in Benares,but as to the merits of this commentary it does not deserve muchcommendation. In many cases the writer does not appear to haveunderstood the meaning of the original author, and has changed the textin many places to fit in with his own explanations.

A complete translation of the original work now follows. It has beenprepared in complete accordance with the text of the manuscript, and isgiven, without further comments, as made from it.

PART I.

THE VATSYAYANA SUTRA.

INTRODUCTORY PREFACE.

SALUTATION TO DHARMA, ARTHA AND KAMA.

In the beginning, the Lord of Beings created men and women, and in theform of commandments in one hundred thousand chapters laid down rulesfor regulating their existence with regard to Dharma,[1] Artha,[2] andKama.

3] Some of these commandments, namely those which treated ofDharma, were separately written by Swayambhu Manu; those that related toArtha were compiled by Brihaspati; and those that referred to Kama wereexpounded by Nandi, the follower of Mahadeva, in one thousand chapters.

1st. Sadharana (general topics).

2nd. Samprayogika (embraces, etc.).

3rd. Kanya Samprayuktaka (union of males and females).

4th. Bharyadhikarika (on one's own wife).

5th. Paradika (on the wives of other people).

6th. Vaisika (on courtesans).

7th. Aupamishadika (on the arts of seduction, tonic medicines, etc.).

The sixth part of this last work was separately expounded by Dattaka atthe request of the public women of Pataliputra (Patna), and in the sameway Charayana explained the first part of it. The remaining parts, viz.,the second, third, fourth, fifth, and seventh were each separatelyexpounded by--

Suvarnanabha (second part).

Ghotakamukha (third part).

Gonardiya (fourth part).

Gonikaputra (fifth part).

Kuchumara (seventh part), respectively.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 1: Dharma is acquisition of religious merit, and is fullydescribed in Chapter 5, Volume III., of Talboys Wheeler's 'History ofIndia,'and in the edicts of Asoka.]

[Footnote 2: Artha is acquisition of wealth and property, etc.]

[Footnote 3: Kama is love, pleasure and sensual gratification.

These three words are retained throughout in their original, astechnical terms. They may also be defined as virtue, wealth andpleasure, the three things repeatedly spoken of in the Laws of Manu.]

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

BEING THE INDEX TO OR CONTENTS OF THE WORK.

Chapter II. Observations on the three worldly attainments of Virtue, Wealth and Love.

" III. On the study of the Sixty-four Arts.

" IV. On the Arrangements of a House, and Household Furniture; and about the Daily Life of a Citizen, his Companions, Amusements, &c.

" V. About classes of Women fit and unfit for Congress with the Citizen, and of Friends, and Messengers.

PART II.

ON SEXUAL UNION.

Chapter I. Kinds of Union according to Dimensions, Force of Desire, and Time; and on the different kinds of Love.

" II. Of the Embrace.

" III. On Kissing.

" IV. On Pressing or Marking with the Nails.

" V. On Biting, and the ways of Love to be employed with regard to Women of different countries.

" VI. On the various ways of Lying Down, and the different kinds of Congress.

" VII. On the various ways of Striking, and of the Sounds appropriate to them.

" VIII. About females acting the part of Males.

" IX. On holding the Lingam in the Mouth.

" X. How to begin and how to end the Congress. Different kinds of Congress, and Love Quarrels.

PART III.

ABOUT THE ACQUISITION OF A WIFE.

Chapter I. Observations on Betrothal and Marriage.

" II. About creating Confidence in the Girl.

" III. Courtship, and the manifestations of the feelings by outward signs and deeds.

" IV. On things to be done only by the Man, and the acquisition of the Girl thereby. Also what to be done by a Girl to gain over a Man and subject him to her.

" V. On the different Forms of Marriage.

PART IV.

ABOUT A WIFE.

Chapter I. On the manner of living of a virtuous Woman, and of her behaviour during the absence of her Husband.

" II. On the conduct of the eldest Wife towards the other Wives of her husband, and of the younger Wife towards the elder ones. Also on the conduct of a Virgin Widow re-married; of a Wife disliked by her Husband; of the Women in the King's Harem; and of a Husband who has more than one Wife.

PART V.

ABOUT THE WIVES OF OTHER PEOPLE.

Chapter I. On the Characteristics of Men and Women, and the reason why Women reject the Addresses of Men. About Men who have Success with Women, and about Women who are easily gained over.

" II. About making Acquaintance with the Woman, and of the efforts to gain her over.

" III. Examination of the State of a Woman's mind.

" IV. The business of a Go-between.

" V. On the Love of Persons in authority with the Wives of other People.

" VI. About the Women of the Royal Harem, and of the keeping of one's own Wife.

PART VI.

ABOUT COURTESANS.

Chapter I. Of the Causes of a Courtesan resorting to Men; of the means of Attaching to herself the Man desired, and the kind of Man that it is desirable to be acquainted with.

" II. Of a Courtesan living with a Man as his Wife.

" III. Of the means of getting Money; of the Signs of a Lover who is beginning to be weary, and of the way to get rid of him.

" IV. About a Re-union with a former Lover.

" V. Of different kinds of Gain.

" VI. Of Gains and Losses, attendant Gains and Losses, and Doubts; and lastly, the different kinds of Courtesans.

PART VII.

ON THE MEANS OF ATTRACTING OTHERS TO ONE'S SELF.

Chapter I. On Personal Adornment, subjugating the hearts of others, and of tonic medicines.

" II. Of the Means of exciting Desire, and of the ways of enlarging the Lingam. Miscellaneous Experiments and Receipts.

PART I.

CHAPTER II.

ON THE ACQUISITION OF DHARMA, ARTHA AND KAMA.

Man, the period of whose life is one hundred years, should practiseDharma, Artha, and Kama at different times and in such a manner thatthey may harmonize together and not clash in any way. He should acquirelearning in his childhood, in his youth and middle age he should attendto Artha and Kama, and in his old age he should perform Dharma, and thusseek to gain Moksha, _i.e._, release from further transmigration.

Or, onaccount of the uncertainty of life, he may practise them at times whenthey are enjoined to be practised. But one thing is to be noted, heshould lead the life of a religious student until he finishes hiseducation.

_Dharma_ is obedience to the command of the Shastra or Holy Writ of theHindoos to do certain things, such as the performance of sacrifices,which are not generally done because they do not belong to this world,and produce no visible effect; and not to do other things, such aseating meat, which is often done because it belongs to this world, andhas visible effects.

Dharma should be learnt from the Shruti (Holy Writ), and from thoseconversant with it.

_Artha_ is the acquisition of arts, land, gold, cattle, wealth,equipages and friends. It is, further, the protection of what isacquired, and the increase of what is protected.

Artha should be learnt from the king's officers, and from merchants whomay be versed in the ways of commerce.

_Kama_ is the enjoyment of appropriate objects by the five senses ofhearing, feeling, seeing, tasting, and smelling, assisted by the mindtogether with the soul. The ingredient in this is a peculiar contactbetween the organ of sense and its object, and the consciousness ofpleasure which arises from that contact is called Kama.

Kama is to be learnt from the Kama Sutra (aphorisms on love) and fromthe practice of citizens.

When all the three, viz., Dharma, Artha, and Kama come together, theformer is better than the one which follows it, _i.e._, Dharma is betterthan Artha, and Artha is better than Kama. But Artha should be alwaysfirst practised by the king, for the livelihood of men is to be obtainedfrom it only. Again, Kama being the occupation of public women, theyshould prefer it to the other two, and these are exceptions to thegeneral rule.

_Objection 1._

Some learned men say that as Dharma is connected with things notbelonging to this world, it is appropriately treated of in a book; andso also is Artha, because it is practised only by the application ofproper means, and a knowledge of those means can only be obtained bystudy and from books. But Kama being a thing which is practised even bythe brute creation, and which is to be found everywhere, does not wantany work on the subject.

_Answer._

_Objection 2._

The Lokayatikas[4] say:--Religious ordinances should not be observed,for they bear a future fruit, and at the same time it is also doubtfulwhether they will bear any fruit at all. What foolish person will giveaway that which is in his own hands into the hands of another?

oreover, it is better to have a pigeon to-day than a peacock to-morrow;and a copper coin which we have the certainty of obtaining, is betterthan a gold coin, the possession of which is doubtful.

_Answer._

It is not so. 1st. Holy Writ, which ordains the practice of Dharma, doesnot admit of a doubt.

2nd. Sacrifices such as those made for the destruction of enemies, orfor the fall of rain, are seen to bear fruit.

3rd. The sun, moon, stars, planets and other heavenly bodies appear towork intentionally for the good of the world.

4th. The existence of this world is effected by the observance of therules respecting the four classes[5] of men and their four stages oflife.

5th. We see that seed is thrown into the ground with the hope of futurecrops.

Vatsyayana is therefore of opinion that the ordinances of religion mustbe obeyed.

_Objection 3._

Those who believe that destiny is the prime mover of all things say:--Weshould not exert ourselves to acquire wealth, for sometimes it is notacquired although we strive to get it, while at other times it comes tous of itself without any exertion on our part. Everything is thereforein the power of destiny, who is the lord of gain and loss, of successand defeat, of pleasure and pain.

Thus we see the Bali[6] was raised tothe throne of Indra by destiny, and was also put down by the same power,and it is destiny only that can re-instate him.

_Answer._

It is not right to say so. As the acquisition of every objectpre-supposes at all events some exertion on the part of man, theapplication of proper means may be said to be the cause of gaining allour ends, and this application of proper means being thus necessary(even where a thing is destined to happen), it follows that a person whodoes nothing will enjoy no happiness.

_Objection 4._

Those who are inclined to think that Artha is the chief object to beobtained argue thus. Pleasures should not be sought for, because theyare obstacles to the practice of Dharma and Artha, which are bothsuperior to them, and are also disliked by meritorious persons.Pleasures also bring a man into distress, and into contact with lowpersons; they cause him to commit unrighteous deeds, and produceimpurity in him; they make him regardless of the future, and encouragecarelessness and levity. And lastly, they cause him to be disbelieved byall, received by none, and despised by everybody, including himself.

Itis notorious, moreover, that many men who have given themselves up topleasure alone, have been ruined along with their families andrelations. Thus, King Dandakya,[7] of the Bhoja dynasty, carried off aBrahman's daughter with evil intent, and was eventually ruined and losthis kingdom. Indra, too, having violated the chastity of Ahalya,[8] wasmade to suffer for it. In a like manner the mighty Kichaka,[9] who triedto seduce Draupadi, and Ravana,[10] who attempted to gain over Sita, werepunished for their crimes. These and many others fell by reason of theirpleasures.

_Answer._

This objection cannot be sustained, for pleasures, being as necessaryfor the existence and well being of the body as food, are consequentlyequally required. They are, moreover, the results of Dharma and Artha.Pleasures are, therefore, to be followed with moderation and caution. Noone refrains from cooking food because there are beggars to ask for it,or from sowing seed because there are deer to destroy the corn when itis grown up.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 4: These were certainly materialists who seemed to think thata bird in the hand was worth two in the bush.]

[Footnote 5: Among the Hindoos the four classes of men are the Brahmansor priestly class, the Kshutrya or warlike class, the Vaishya oragricultural and mercantile class, and the Shoodra or menial class. Thefour stages of life are, the life of a religious student, the life of ahouseholder, the life of a hermit, and the life of a Sunyasi ordevotee.]

[Footnote 6: Bali was a demon who had conquered Indra and gained histhrone, but was afterwards overcome by Vishnu at the time of his fifthincarnation.]

[Footnote 7: Dandakya is said to have abducted from the forest thedaughter of a Brahman, named Bhargava, and being cursed by the Brahman,was buried with his kingdom under a shower of dust. The place was calledafter his name the Dandaka forest, celebrated in the Ramayana, but nowunknown.]

[Footnote 8: Ahalya was the wife of the sage Gautama. Indra caused herto believe that he was Gautama, and thus enjoyed her. He was cursed byGautama and subsequently afflicted with a thousand ulcers on his body.]

[Footnote 9: Kichaka was the brother-in-law of King Virata, with whomthe Pandavas had taken refuge for one year. Kichaka was killed by Bhima,who assumed the disguise of Draupadi. For this story the Mahabaratashould be referred to.]

[Footnote 10: The story of Ravana is told in the Ramayana, which with theMahabarata form the two great epic poems of the Hindoos; the latter waswritten by Vyasa, and the former by Valmiki.]

CHAPTER III.

ON THE ARTS AND SCIENCES TO BE STUDIED.

Man should study the Kama Sutra and the arts and sciences subordinatethereto, in addition to the study of the arts and sciences contained inDharma and Artha. Even young maids should study this Kama Sutra alongwith its arts and sciences before marriage, and after it they shouldcontinue to do so with the consent of their husbands.

Here some learned men object, and say that females, not being allowed tostudy any science, should not study the Kama Sutra.

But Vatsyayana is of opinion that this objection does not hold good, forwomen already know the practice of Kama Sutra, and that practice isderived from the Kama Shastra, or the science of Kama itself. Moreover,it is not only in this but in many other cases that though the practiceof a science is known to all, only a few persons are acquainted with therules and laws on which the science is based. Thus the Yadnikas orsacrificers, though ignorant of grammar, make use of appropriate wordswhen addressing the different Deities, and do not know how these wordsare framed. Again, persons do the duties required of them on auspiciousdays, which are fixed by astrology, though they are not acquainted withthe science of astrology.

In a like manner riders of horses andelephants train these animals without knowing the science of traininganimals, but from practice only. And similarly the people of the mostdistant provinces obey the laws of the kingdom from practice, andbecause there is a king over them, and without further reason.[11] Andfrom experience we find that some women, such as daughters of princesand their ministers, and public women, are actually versed in the KamaShastra.

A female, therefore, should learn the Kama Shastra, or at least a partof it, by studying its practice from some confidential friend. Sheshould study alone in private the sixty-four practices that form a partof the Kama Shastra. Her teacher should be one of the following persons,viz., the daughter of a nurse brought up with her and alreadymarried,[12] or a female friend who can be trusted in everything, or thesister of her mother (_i.

._, her aunt), or an old female servant, or afemale beggar who may have formerly lived in the family, or her ownsister, who can always be trusted.

The following are the arts to be studied, together with the KamaSutra:--

1. Singing.

2. Playing on musical instruments.

3. Dancing.

4. Union of dancing, singing, and playing instrumental music.

5. Writing and drawing.

6. Tattooing.

7. Arraying and adorning an idol with rice and flowers.

8. Spreading and arraying beds or couches of flowers, or flowers uponthe ground.

9. Colouring the teeth, garments, hair, nails, and bodies, _i.e._,staining, dyeing, colouring and painting the same.

10. Fixing stained glass into a floor.

11. The art of making beds, and spreading out carpets and cushions forreclining.

12. Playing on musical glasses filled with water.

13. Storing and accumulating water in aqueducts, cisterns andreservoirs.

14. Picture making, trimming and decorating.

15. Stringing of rosaries, necklaces, garlands and wreaths.

16. Binding of turbans and chaplets, and making crests and top-knots offlowers.

17. Scenic representations. Stage playing.

18. Art of making ear ornaments.

19. Art of preparing perfumes and odours.

20. Proper disposition of jewels and decorations, and adornment indress.

21. Magic or sorcery.

22. Quickness of hand or manual skill.

23. Culinary art, _i.e._, cooking and cookery.

24. Making lemonades, sherbets, acidulated drinks, and spirituousextracts with proper flavour and colour.

25. Tailor's work and sewing.

26. Making parrots, flowers, tufts, tassels, bunches, bosses, knobs,&c., out of yarn or thread.

27. Solution of riddles, enigmas, covert speeches, verbal puzzles andenigmatical questions.

28. A game, which consisted in repeating verses, and as one personfinished, another person had to commence at once, repeating anotherverse, beginning with the same letter with which the last speaker'sverse ended, whoever failed to repeat was considered to have lost, andto be subject to pay a forfeit or stake of some kind.

29. The art of mimicry or imitation.

30. Reading, including chanting and intoning.

31. Study of sentences difficult to pronounce. It is played as a gamechiefly by women and children, and consists of a difficult sentencebeing given, and when repeated quickly, the words are often transposedor badly pronounced.

32. Practice with sword, single stick, quarter staff, and bow and arrow.

33. Drawing inferences, reasoning or inferring.

34. Carpentry, or the work of a carpenter.

35. Architecture, or the art of building.

36. Knowledge about gold and silver coins, and jewels and gems.

37. Chemistry and mineralogy.

38. Colouring jewels, gems and beads.

39. Knowledge of mines and quarries.

40. Gardening; knowledge of treating the diseases of trees and plants,of nourishing them, and determining their ages.

41. Art of cock fighting, quail fighting and ram fighting.

42. Art of teaching parrots and starlings to speak.

43. Art of applying perfumed ointments to the body, and of dressing thehair with unguents and perfumes and braiding it.

44. The art of understanding writing in cypher, and the writing of wordsin a peculiar way.

45. The art of speaking by changing the forms of words. It is of variouskinds. Some speak by changing the beginning and end of words, others byadding unnecessary letters between every syllable of a word, and so on.

46. Knowledge of language and of the vernacular dialects.

47. Art of making flower carriages.

48. Art of framing mystical diagrams, of addressing spells and charms,and binding armlets.

50. Composing poems.

51. Knowledge of dictionaries and vocabularies.

52. Knowledge of ways of changing and disguising the appearance ofpersons.

53. Knowledge of the art of changing the appearance of things, such asmaking cotton to appear as silk, coarse and common things to appear asfine and good.

54. Various ways of gambling.

55. Art of obtaining possession of the property of others by means ofmuntras or incantations.

56. Skill in youthful sports.

57. Knowledge of the rules of society, and of how to pay respects andcompliments to others.

58. Knowledge of the art of war, of arms, of armies, &c.

59. Knowledge of gymnastics.

60. Art of knowing the character of a man from his features.

61. Knowledge of scanning or constructing verses.

62. Arithmetical recreations.

63. Making artificial flowers.

64. Making figures and images in clay.

A public woman, endowed with a good disposition, beauty and otherwinning qualities, and also versed in the above arts, obtains the nameof a Ganika, or public woman of high quality, and receives a seat ofhonour in an assemblage of men. She is, moreover, always respected bythe king, and praised by learned men, and her favour being sought for byall, she becomes an object of universal regard. The daughter of a kingtoo, as well as the daughter of a minister, being learned in the abovearts, can make their husbands favourable to them, even though these mayhave thousands of other wives besides themselves.

And in the samemanner, if a wife becomes separated from her husband, and falls intodistress, she can support herself easily, even in a foreign country, bymeans of her knowledge of these arts. Even the bare knowledge of themgives attractiveness to a woman, though the practice of them may be onlypossible or otherwise according to the circumstances of each case. A manwho is versed in these arts, who is loquacious and acquainted with thearts of gallantry, gains very soon the hearts of women, even though heis only acquainted with them for a short time.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 11: The author wishes to prove that a great many things aredone by people from practice and custom, without their being acquaintedwith the reason of things, or the laws on which they are based, and thisis perfectly true.]

[Footnote 12: The proviso of being married applies to all the teachers.]

CHAPTER IV.

THE LIFE OF A CITIZEN.[13]

Having thus acquired learning, a man, with the wealth that he may havegained by gift, conquest, purchase, deposit,[14] or inheritance from hisancestors, should become a householder, and pass the life of a citizen.He should take a house in a city, or large village, or in the vicinityof good men, or in a place which is the resort of many persons. Thisabode should be situated near some water, and divided into differentcompartments for different purposes. It should be surrounded by agarden, and also contain two rooms, an outer and an inner one. The innerroom should be occupied by the females, while the outer room, balmy withrich perfumes, should contain a bed, soft, agreeable to the sightcovered with a clean white cloth, low in the middle part, havinggarlands and bunches of flowers[15] upon it, and a canopy above it, andtwo pillows, one at the top, another at the bottom. There should be alsoa sort of couch besides, and at the head of this a sort of stool, onwhich should be placed the fragrant ointments for the night, as well asflowers, pots containing collyrium and other fragrant substances, thingsused for perfuming the mouth, and the bark of the common citron tree.

ear the couch, on the ground, there should be a pot for spitting, a boxcontaining ornaments, and also a lute hanging from a peg made of thetooth of an elephant, a board for drawing, a pot containing perfume,some books, and some garlands of the yellow amaranth flowers. Not farfrom the couch, and on the ground, there should be a round seat, a toycart, and a board for playing with dice; outside the outer roomthere should be cages of birds,[16] and a separate place for spinning,carving, and such like diversions. In the garden there should be awhirling swing and a common swing, as also a bower of creepers coveredwith flowers, in which a raised parterre should be made for sitting.

Now the householder having got up in the morning and performed hisnecessary duties,[17] should wash his teeth, apply a limited quantity ofointments and perfumes to his body, put some ornaments on his person andcollyrium on his eyelids and below his eyes, colour his lips withalacktaka,[18] and look at himself in the glass. Having then eaten betelleaves, with other things that give fragrance to the mouth, he shouldperform his usual business. He should bathe daily, anoint his body withoil every other day, apply a lathering[19] substance to his body everythree days, get his head (including face) shaved every four days, andthe other parts of his body every five or ten days.[20] All these thingsshould be done without fail, and the sweat of the armpits should also beremoved. Meals should be taken in the forenoon, in the afternoon, andagain at night, according to Charayana.

After breakfast, parrots andother birds should be taught to speak, and the fighting of cocks,quails, and rams should follow. A limited time should be devoted todiversions with Pithamardas, Vitas, and Vidushakas,[21] and then shouldbe taken the midday sleep.[22] After this the householder, having put onhis clothes and ornaments, should, during the afternoon, converse withhis friends. In the evening there should be singing, and after that thehouseholder, along with his friend, should await in his room, previouslydecorated and perfumed, the arrival of the woman that may be attached tohim, or he may send a female messenger for her, or go for her himself.After her arrival at his house, he and his friend should welcome her,and entertain her with a loving and agreeable conversation. Thus end theduties of the day.

The following are the things to be done occasionally as diversions oramusements.

1. Holding festivals[23] in honour of different Deities.

2. Social gatherings of both sexes.

3. Drinking parties.

4. Picnics.

5. Other social diversions.

_Festivals._

On some particular auspicious day, an assembly of citizens should beconvened in the temple of Saraswati.[24] There the skill of singers, andof others who may have come recently to the town, should be tested, andon the following day they should always be given some rewards. Afterthat they may either be retained or dismissed, according as theirperformances are liked or not by the assembly.

The members of theassembly should act in concert, both in times of distress as well as intimes of prosperity, and it is also the duty of these citizens to showhospitality to strangers who may have come to the assembly. What is saidabove should be understood to apply to all the other festivals which maybe held in honour of the different Deities, according to the presentrules.

_Social Gatherings._

When men of the same age, disposition and talents, fond of the samediversions and with the same degree of education, sit together incompany with public women,[25] or in an assembly of citizens, or at theabode of one among themselves, and engage in agreeable discourse witheach other, such is called a sitting in company or a social gathering.

he subjects of discourse are to be the completion of verses halfcomposed by others, and the testing the knowledge of one another in thevarious arts. The women who may be the most beautiful, who may like thesame things that the men like, and who may have power to attract theminds of others, are here done homage to.

_Drinking Parties._

Men and women should drink in one another's houses. And here the menshould cause the public women to drink, and should then drinkthemselves, liquors such as the Madhu, Aireya, Sara, and Asawa, whichare of bitter and sour taste; also drinks concocted from the barks ofvarious trees, wild fruits and leaves.

_Going to Gardens or Picnics._

In the forenoon, men, having dressed themselves should go to gardens onhorseback, accompanied by public women and followed by servants. Andhaving done there all the duties of the day, and passed the time invarious agreeable diversions, such as the fighting of quails, cocks andrams, and other spectacles, they should return home in the afternoon inthe same manner, bringing with them bunches of flowers, &c.

The same also applies to bathing in summer in water from which wicked ordangerous animals have previously been taken out, and which has beenbuilt in on all sides.

_Other Social Diversions._

Spending nights playing with dice. Going out on moonlight nights.Keeping the festive day in honour of spring. Plucking the sprouts andfruits of the mangoe trees. Eating the fibres of lotuses. Eating thetender ears of corn. Picnicing in the forests when the trees get theirnew foliage. The Udakakashvedika or sporting in the water.

Decoratingeach other with the flowers of some trees. Pelting each other with theflowers of the Kadamba tree, and many other sports which may either beknown to the whole country, or may be peculiar to particular parts ofit. These and similar other amusements should always be carried on bycitizens.

The above amusements should be followed by a person who diverts himselfalone in company with a courtesan, as well as by a courtesan who can dothe same in company with her maid servants or with citizens.

A Pithamarda[26] is a man without wealth, alone in the world, whose onlyproperty consists of his Mallika,[27] some lathering, substance and ared cloth, who comes from a good country, and who is skilled in all thearts; and by teaching these arts is received in the company of citizens,and in the abode of public women.

A Vita[28] is a man who has enjoyed the pleasures of fortune, who is acompatriot of the citizens with whom he associates, who is possessed ofthe qualities of a householder, who has his wife with him, and who ishonoured in the assembly of citizens, and in the abodes of public women,and lives on their means and on them.

A Vidushaka[29] (also called a Vaihasaka, _i.e._, one who provokeslaughter) is a person only acquainted with some of the arts who is ajester, and who is trusted by all.

These persons are employed in matters of quarrels and reconciliationsbetween citizens and public women.

This remark applies also to female beggars, to women with their headsshaved, to adulterous women, and to old public women skilled in all thevarious arts.

Thus a citizen living in his town or village, respected by all, shouldcall on the persons of his own caste who may be worth knowing. He shouldconverse in company and gratify his friends by his society, and obligingothers by his assistance in various matters, he should cause them toassist one another in the same way.

There are some verses on this subject as follows:--

A citizen discoursing, not entirely in the Sanscrit language,[30] norwholly in the dialects of the country, on various topics in society,obtains great respect. The wise should not resort to a society dislikedby the public, governed by no rules, and intent on the destruction ofothers.

But a learned man living in a society which acts according tothe wishes of the people, and which has pleasure for its only object ishighly respected in this world.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 13: This term would appear to apply generally to an inhabitantof Hindoostan. It is not meant only for a dweller in a city, like theLatin Urbanus as opposed to Rusticus.]

[Footnote 14: Gift is peculiar to a Brahman, conquest to a Kshatrya,while purchase, deposit, and other means of acquiring wealth belongs tothe Vaishya.]

[Footnote 15: Natural garden flowers.]

[Footnote 16: Such as quails, partridges, parrots, starlings, &c.]

[Footnote 17: The calls of nature always performed by the Hindoos thefirst thing in the morning.]

[Footnote 18: A colour made from lac.]

[Footnote 19: This would act instead of soap, which was not introduceduntil the rule of the Mahomedans.]

[Footnote 20: Ten days are allowed when the hair is taken out with a pairof pincers.]

[Footnote 21: These are characters generally introduced in the Hindoodrama; their characteristics will be explained further on.]

[Footnote 22: Noonday sleep is only allowed in summer, when the nightsare short.]

[Footnote 23: These are very common in all parts of India.]

[Footnote 24: In the 'Asiatic Miscellany,'and in Sir W. Jones's works,will be found a spirited hymn addressed to this goddess, who is adoredas the patroness of the fine arts, especially of music and rhetoric, asthe inventress of the Sanscrit language, &c., &c. She is the goddess ofharmony, eloquence, and language, and is somewhat analogous to Minerva.For further information about her, see Edward Moor's 'Hindoo Pantheon.']

[Footnote 25: The public women, or courtesans (Vesya), of the earlyHindoos have often been compared with the Hetera of the Greeks. Thesubject is dealt with at some length in H. H. Wilson's 'Select Specimensof the Theatre of the Hindoos,'in two volumes, Trubner & Co.

1871. Itmay be fairly considered that the courtesan was one of the elements, andan important element too, of early Hindoo society, and that hereducation and intellect were both superior to that of the women of thehousehold. Wilson says, "By the Vesya or courtesan, however, we are notto understand a female who has disregarded the obligation of law or theprecepts of virtue, but a character reared by a state of mannersunfriendly to the admission of wedded females into society, and openingit only at the expense of reputation to women who were trained forassociation with men by personal and mental acquirements to which thematron was a stranger."]

[Footnote 26: According to this description a Pithamarda would be a sortof professor of all the arts, and as such received as the friend andconfidant of the citizens.]

[Footnote 27: A seat in the form of the letter T.]

[Footnote 28: The Vita is supposed to represent somewhat the characterof the Parasite of the Greek comedy. It is possible that he was retainedabout the person of the wealthy and dissipated as a kind of privateinstructor, as well as an entertaining companion.]

[Footnote 29: Vidushaka is evidently the buffoon and jester. Wilson saysof him that he is the humble companion, not the servant, of a prince orman of rank, and it is a curious peculiarity that he is always aBrahman. He bears more affinity to Sancho Panza, perhaps, than any othercharacter in western fiction, imitating him in his combination ofshrewdness and simplicity, his fondness of good living and his love ofease.

In the dramas of intrigue he exhibits some of the talents ofMercury, but with less activity and ingenuity, and occasionally suffersby his interference. According to the technical definition of hisattributes he is to excite mirth by being ridiculous in person, age, andattire.]

[Footnote 30: This means, it is presumed, that the citizen should beacquainted with several languages. The middle part of this paragraphmight apply to the Nihilists and Fenians of the day, or to secretsocieties. It was perhaps a reference to the Thugs.]

CHAPTER V.

ABOUT THE KINDS OF WOMEN RESORTED TO BY THE CITIZENS, AND OF FRIENDS ANDMESSENGERS.

When Kama is practised by men of the four castes according to the rulesof the Holy Writ (_i.e._, by lawful marriage) with virgins of their owncaste, it then becomes a means of acquiring lawful progeny and goodfame, and it is not also opposed to the customs of the world. On thecontrary the practice of Kama with women of the higher castes, and withthose previously enjoyed by others, even though they be of the samecaste, is prohibited.

But the practice of Kama with women of the lowercastes, with women excommunicated from their own caste, with publicwomen, and with women twice married,[31] is neither enjoined norprohibited. The object of practising Kama with such women is pleasureonly.

Nayikas,[32] therefore, are of three kinds, viz., maids, women twicemarried, and public women. Gonikaputra has expressed an opinion thatthere is a fourth kind of Nayika, viz., a woman who is resorted to onsome special occasion even though she be previously married to another.These special occasions are when a man thinks thus:--

(_a_). This woman is self-willed, and has been previously enjoyed by many others besides myself. I may, therefore, safely resort to her as to a public woman though she belongs to a higher caste than mine, and in so doing I shall not be violating the ordinances of Dharma.

Or thus:--

(_b_). This is a twice-married woman and has been enjoyed by others before me, there is, therefore, no objection to my resorting to her.

Or thus:--

(_c_). This woman has gained the heart of her great and powerful husband, and exercises a mastery over him, who is a friend of my enemy; if, therefore, she becomes united with me, she will cause her husband to abandon my enemy.

Or thus:--

(_d_). This woman will turn the mind of her husband, who is very powerful, in my favour, he being at present disaffected towards me, and intent on doing me some harm.

Or thus:--

(_e_). By making this woman my friend I shall gain the object of some friend of mine, or shall be able to effect the ruin of some enemy, or shall accomplish some other difficult purpose.

Or thus:--

(_f_). By being united with this woman, I shall kill her husband, and so obtain his vast riches which I covet.

Or thus:--

(_g_). The union of this woman with me is not attended with any danger, and will bring me wealth, of which, on account of my poverty and inability to support myself, I am very much in need. I shall, therefore, obtain her vast riches in this way without any difficulty.

Or thus:--

(_h_). This woman loves me ardently, and knows all my weak points, if therefore, I am unwilling to be united with her, she will make my faults public, and thus tarnish my character and reputation. Or she will bring some gross accusation against me, of which it may be hard to clear myself, and I shall be ruined.

Or perhaps she will detach from me her husband, who is powerful, and yet under her control, and will unite him to my enemy, or will herself join the latter.

Or thus:--

(_i_). The husband of this woman has violated the chastity of my wives, I shall therefore return that injury by seducing his wives.

Or thus:--

(_j_). By the help of this woman I shall kill an enemy of the king, who has taken shelter with her, and whom I am ordered by the king to destroy.

Or thus:

(_k_). The woman whom I love is under the control of this woman. I shall, through the influence of the latter, be able to get at the former.

Or thus:--

(_l_). This woman will bring to me a maid, who possesses wealth and beauty, but who is hard to get at, and under the control of another.

Or, lastly, thus:--

(_m_). My enemy is a friend of this woman's husband, I shall therefore cause her to join him, and will thus create an enmity between her husband and him.

For these and similar other reasons the wives of other men may beresorted to, but it must be distinctly understood that is only allowedfor special reasons, and not for mere carnal desire.

Charayana thinks that under these circumstances there is also a fifthkind of Nayika, viz., a woman who is kept by a minister, and who repairsto him occasionally; or a widow who accomplishes the purpose of a manwith the person to whom she resorts.

Suvarnanabha adds that a woman who passes the life of an ascetic and inthe condition of a widow may be considered as a sixth kind of Nayika.

Ghotakamukha says that the daughter of a public woman, and a femaleservant, who are still virgins, form a seventh kind of Nayika.

Gonardiya puts forth his doctrine that any woman born of good family,after she has come of age, is an eighth kind of Nayika.

But these four latter kinds of Nayikas do not differ much from the firstfour kinds of them, as there is no separate object in resorting tothem. Therefore Vatsyayana is of opinion that there are only four kindsof Nayikas, _i.e._, the maid, the twice married woman, the public woman,and the woman resorted to for a special purpose.

The following women are not to be enjoyed:--

A leper.

A lunatic.

A woman turned out of caste.

A woman who reveals secrets.

A woman who publicly expresses desire for sexual intercourse.

A woman who is extremely white.

A woman who is extremely black.

A bad-smelling woman.

A woman who is a near relation.

A woman who is a female friend.

A woman who leads the life of an ascetic.

And, lastly, the wife of a relation, of a friend, of a learned Brahman,and of the king.

The followers of Babhravya say that any woman who has been enjoyed byfive men is a fit and proper person to be enjoyed. But Gonikaputra is ofopinion that even when this is the case, the wives of a relation, of alearned Brahman and of a king should be excepted.

The following are the kind of friends:--

One who has played with you in the dust, _i.e._, in childhood.

One who is bound by an obligation.

One who is of the same disposition and fond of the same things.

One who is a fellow student.

One who is acquainted with your secrets and faults, and whose faults andsecrets are also known to you.

One who is a child of your nurse.

One who is brought up with you.

One who is an hereditary friend.

These friends should possess the following qualities:--

They should tell the truth.

They should not be changed by time.

They should be favourable to your designs.

They should be firm.

They should be free from covetousness.

They should not be capable of being gained over by others.

They should not reveal your secrets.

Charayana says that citizens form friendship with washermen, barbers,cowherds, florists, druggists, betel-leaf sellers, tavern keepers,beggars, Pithamardas, Vitas and Vidushekas, as also with the wives ofall these people.

A messenger should possess the following qualities:--

Skilfulness.

Boldness.

Knowledge of the intention of men by their outward signs.

Absence of confusion, _i.e._, no shyness.

Knowledge of the exact meaning of what others do or say.

Good manners.

Knowledge of appropriate times and places for doing different things.

Ingenuity in business.

Quick comprehension.

Quick application of remedies, _i.e._, quick and ready resources.

And this part ends with a verse:--

The man who is ingenious and wise, who is accompanied by a friend, andwho knows the intentions of others, as also the proper time and placefor doing everything, can gain over, very easily, even a woman who isvery hard to be obtained.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 31: This term does not apply to a widow, but to a woman whohad probably left her husband, and is living with some other person as amarried woman, maritalement, as they say in France.]

[Footnote 32: Any woman fit to be enjoyed without sin. The object of theenjoyment of women is twofold, viz., pleasure and progeny. Any woman whocan be enjoyed without sin for the purpose of accomplishing either theone or the other of these two objects is a Nayika.

The fourth kind ofNayika which Vatsya admits further on is neither enjoyed for pleasure orfor progeny, but merely for accomplishing some special purpose in hand.The word Nayika is retained as a technical term throughout.]

=END OF PART I.=

PART II.

OF SEXUAL UNION.

CHAPTER I.

KINDS OF SEXUAL UNION ACCORDING TO

(_a_) DIMENSIONS. (_b_) FORCE OF DESIRE OR PASSION. (_c_) TIME.

_Kinds of Union._

Man is divided into three classes, viz., the hare man, the bull man, andthe horse man, according to the size of his lingam.

Woman also, according to the depth of her yoni, is either a female deer,a mare, or a female elephant.

There are thus three equal unions between persons of correspondingdimensions, and there are six unequal unions, when the dimensions do notcorrespond, or nine in all, as the following table shows:

+--------------------+--------------------+ | EQUAL. | UNEQUAL. | +--------------------+--------------------+ | MEN. | WOMEN. | MEN. | WOMEN. | +--------+-----------+--------|-----------+ | | | | | | Hare. | Deer. | Hare.

| Mare. | | Bull. | Mare. | Hare. | Elephant. | | Horse. | Elephant. | Bull. | Deer. | | | | Bull. | Elephant. | | | | Horse. | Deer. | | | | Horse. | Mare. | +--------+-----------+--------+-----------+

In these unequal unions, when the male exceeds the female in point ofsize, his union with a woman who is immediately next to him in size iscalled high union, and is of two kinds; while his union with the womanmost remote from him in size is called the highest union, and is of onekind only.

On the other hand when the female exceeds the male in pointof size, her union with a man immediately next to her in size is calledlow union, and is of two kinds; while her union with a man most remotefrom her in size is called the lowest union, and is of one kind only.

In other words, the horse and mare, the bull and deer, form the highunion, while the horse and deer form the highest union. On the femaleside, the elephant and bull, the mare and hare, form low unions, whilethe elephant and the hare make the lowest unions.

There are then, nine kinds of union according to dimensions. Amongst allthese, equal unions are the best, those of a superlative degree, _i.e._,the highest and the lowest, are the worst, and the rest are middling,and with them the high[33] are better than the low.

There are also nine kinds of union according to the force of passion orcarnal desire, as follows:

+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | MEN. | WOMEN. | MEN. | WOMEN. | +-----------+-----------+-----------|-----------+ | | | | | | Small. | Small. | Small. | Middling. | | Middling. | Middling. | Small.

| Intense. | | Intense. | Intense. | Middling. | Small. | | | | Middling. | Intense. | | | | Intense. | Small. | | | | Intense. | Middling. | +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

A man is called a man of small passion whose desire at the time ofsexual union is not great, whose semen is scanty, and who cannot bearthe warm embraces of the female.

Those who differ from this temperament are called men of middlingpassion, while those of intense passion are full of desire.

In the same way, women are supposed to have the three degrees of feelingas specified above.

Lastly, according to time there are three kinds of men and women, viz.,the short-timed, the moderate-timed, and the long-timed, and of these asin the previous statements, there are nine kinds of union.

But on this last head there is a difference of opinion about the female,which should be stated.

Auddalika says, "Females do not emit as males do. The males simplyremove their desire, while the females, from their consciousness ofdesire, feel a certain kind of pleasure, which gives them satisfaction,but it is impossible for them to tell you what kind of pleasure theyfeel.

The fact from which this becomes evident is, that males, whenengaged in coition, cease of themselves after emission, and aresatisfied, but it is not so with females."

This opinion is, however, objected to on the grounds that if a male be along-timed, the female loves him the more, but if he be short-timed, sheis dissatisfied with him. And this circumstance, some say, would provethat the female emits also.

But this opinion does not hold good, for if it takes a long time toallay a woman's desire, and during this time she is enjoying greatpleasure, it is quite natural then that she should wish for itscontinuation. And on this subject there is a verse as follows:

"By union with men the lust, desire, or passion of women is satisfied,and the pleasure derived from the consciousness of it is called theirsatisfaction."

The followers of Babhravya, however, say that the semen of womencontinues to fall from the beginning of the sexual union to its end, andit is right that it should be so, for if they had no semen there wouldbe no embryo.

To this there is an objection. In the beginning of coition the passionof the woman is middling, and she cannot bear the vigorous thrusts ofher lover, but by degrees her passion increases until she ceases tothink about her body, and then finally she wishes to stop from furthercoition.

This objection, however, does not hold good, for even in ordinary thingsthat revolve with great force, such as a potter's wheel, or a top, wefind that the motion at first is slow, but by degrees it becomes veryrapid. In the same way the passion of the woman having graduallyincreased, she has a desire to discontinue coition, when all the semenhas fallen away. And there is a verse with regard to this as follows:

"The fall of the semen of the man takes place only at the end ofcoition, while the semen of the woman falls continually, and after thesemen of both has all fallen away then they wish for the discontinuanceof coition."[34]

Lastly, Vatsyayana is of opinion that the semen of the female falls inthe same way as that of the male.

Now some may ask here: If men and women are beings of the same kind, andare engaged in bringing about the same result, why should they havedifferent works to do.

Vatsya says that this is so, because the ways of working as well as theconsciousness of pleasure in men and women are different. The differencein the ways of working, by which men are the actors, and women are thepersons acted upon, is owing to the nature of the male and the female,otherwise the actor would be sometimes the person acted upon, and viceversâ.

And from this difference in the ways of working follows thedifference in the consciousness of pleasure, for a man thinks, "thiswoman is united with me," and a woman thinks, "I am united with thisman."

It may be said that if the ways of working in men and women aredifferent, why should not there be a difference, even in the pleasurethey feel, and which is the result of those ways.

But this objection is groundless, for the person acting and the personacted upon being of different kinds, there is a reason for thedifference in their ways of working; but there is no reason for anydifference in the pleasure they feel, because they both naturally derivepleasure from the act they perform.[35]

On this again some may say that when different persons are engaged indoing the same work, we find that they accomplish the same end orpurpose: while, on the contrary, in the case of men and women we findthat each of them accomplishes his or her own end separately, and thisis inconsistent. But this is a mistake, for we find that sometimes twothings are done at the same time, as for instance in the fighting oframs, both the rams receive the shock at the same time on their heads.Again, in throwing one wood apple against another, and also in a fightor struggle of wrestlers.

If it be said that in these cases the thingsemployed are of the same kind, it is answered that even in the case ofmen and women, the nature of the two persons is the same. And as thedifference in their ways of working arises from the difference of theirconformation only, it follows that men experience the same kind ofpleasure as women do.

There is also a verse on this subject as follows: "Men and women beingof the same nature, feel the same kind of pleasure, and therefore a manshould marry such a woman as will love him ever afterwards."

The pleasure of men and women being thus proved to be of the same kind,it follows that in regard to time, there are nine kinds of sexualintercourse, in the same way as there are nine kinds, according to theforce of passion.

There being thus nine kinds of union with regard to dimensions, force ofpassion, and time, respectively, by making combinations of them,innumerable kinds of union would be produced. Therefore in eachparticular kind of sexual union, men should use such means as they maythink suitable for the occasion.[36]

At the first time of sexual union the passion of the male is intense,and his time is short, but in subsequent unions on the same day thereverse of this is the case. With the female, however, it is thecontrary, for at the first time her passion is weak, and then her timelong, but on subsequent occasions on the same day, her passion isintense and her time short, until her passion is satisfied.

_On the different kinds of Love._

Men learned in the humanities are of opinion that love is of four kinds,viz.:

1. Love acquired by continual habit.

2. Love resulting from the imagination.

3. Love resulting from belief.

4. Love resulting from the perception of external objects.

(1). Love resulting from the constant and continual performance andhabit, as for instance the love of sexual intercourse, the love ofhunting, the love of drinking, the love of gambling, etc., etc.

(2). Love which is felt for things to which we are not habituated, andwhich proceeds entirely from ideas, is called love resulting fromimagination, as for instance, that love which some men and women andeunuchs feel for the Auparishtaka or mouth congress, and that which isfelt by all for such things as embracing, kissing, etc., etc.

(3). The love which is mutual on both sides, and proved to be true, wheneach looks upon the other as his or her very own, such is called loveresulting from belief by the learned.

(4). The love resulting from the perception of eternal objects is quiteevident and well-known to the world, because the pleasure which itaffords is superior to the pleasure of the other kinds of love, whichexists only for its sake.

What has been said in this chapter upon the subject of sexual union issufficient for the learned; but for the edification of the ignorant, thesame will now be treated of at length and in detail.

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 33: High unions are said to be better than low ones, for inthe former it is possible for the male to satisfy his own passionwithout injuring the female, while in the latter it is difficult for thefemale to be satisfied by any means.]

[Footnote 34: The strength of passion with women varies a great deal,some being easily satisfied, and others eager and willing to go on for along time. To satisfy these last thoroughly a man must have recourse toart. It is certain that a fluid flows from the woman in larger orsmaller quantities, but her satisfaction is not complete until she hasexperienced the "spasme génêsique," as described in a French workrecently published and called "Breviare de l'Amour Experimental par leDr.

Jules Guyot."]

[Footnote 35: This is a long dissertation very common among Sanscritauthors, both when writing and talking socially. They start certainpropositions, and then argue for and against them. What it is presumedthe author means, is, that though both men and women derive pleasurefrom the act of coition, the way it is produced is brought about bydifferent means, each individual performing his own work in the matter,irrespective of the other, and each deriving individually their ownconsciousness of pleasure from the act they perform.

There is adifference in the work that each does, and a difference in theconsciousness of pleasure that each has, but no difference in thepleasure they feel, for each feels that pleasure to a greater or lesserdegree.]

[Footnote 36: This paragraph should be particularly noted, for itspecially applies to married men and their wives. So many men utterlyignore the feelings of the women, and never pay the slightest attentionto the passion of the latter. To understand the subject thoroughly, itis absolutely necessary to study it, and then a person will know that,as dough is prepared for baking, so must a woman be prepared for sexualintercourse, if she is to derive satisfaction from it.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE EMBRACE.

This part of the Kama Shastra, which treats of sexual union, is alsocalled "Sixty-four" (Chatushshashti). Some old authors say that it iscalled so, because it contains sixty-four chapters. Others are ofopinion that the author of this part being a person named Panchala, andthe person who recited the part of the Rig Veda called Dashatapa, whichcontains sixty-four verses, being also called Panchala, the name"sixty-four" has been given to the part of the work in honour of the RigVedas. The followers of Babhravya say on the other hand that this partcontains eight subjects, viz., the embrace, kissing, scratching with thenails or fingers, biting, lying down, making various sounds, playing thepart of a man, and the Auparishtaka, or mouth congress.

Each of thesesubjects being of eight kinds, and eight multiplied by eight beingsixty-four, this part is therefore named "sixty-four." But Vatsyayanaaffirms that as this part contains also the following subjects, viz.,striking, crying, the acts of a man during congress, the various kindsof congress, and other subjects, the name "sixty-four" is given to itonly accidentally. As, for instance, we say this tree is "Saptaparna,"or seven-leaved, this offering of rice is "Panchavarna," orfive-coloured, but the tree has not seven leaves, neither has the ricefive colours.

However the part sixty-four is now treated of, and the embrace, beingthe first subject, will now be considered.

Now the embrace which indicates the mutual love of a man and woman whohave come together is of four kinds, viz.:

Touching. Piercing. Rubbing. Pressing.

The action in each case is denoted by the meaning of the word whichstands for it.

(1). When a man under some pretext or other goes in front or alongsideof a woman and touches her body with his own, it is called the "touchingembrace."

(2). When a woman in a lonely place bends down, as if to pick upsomething, and pierces, as it were, a man sitting or standing, with herbreasts, and the man in return takes hold of them, it is called a"piercing embrace."

The above two kinds of embrace takes place only between persons who donot, as yet, speak freely with each other.

(3). When two lovers are walking slowly together, either in the dark, orin a place of public resort, or in a lonely place, and rub their bodiesagainst each other, it is called a "rubbing embrace."

(4). When on the above occasion one of them presses the other's bodyforcibly against a wall or pillar, it is called a "pressing embrace."

These two last embraces are peculiar to those who know the intentions ofeach other.

At the time of the meeting the four following kinds of embrace are used,viz.:

_Jataveshtitaka_, or the twining of a creeper.

_Vrikshadhirudhaka_, or climbing a tree.

_Tila-Tandulaka_, or the mixture of sesamum seed with rice.

_Kshiraniraka_, or milk and water embrace.

(1). When a woman, clinging to a man as a creeper twines round a tree,bends his head down to hers with the desire of kissing him and slightlymakes the sound of sut sut, embraces him, and looks lovingly towardshim, it is called an embrace like the "twining of a creeper."

(2). When a woman, having placed one of her feet on the foot of herlover, and the other on one of his thighs, passes one of her arms roundhis back, and the other on his shoulders, makes slightly the sounds ofsinging and cooing, and wishes, as it were, to climb up him in order tohave a kiss, it is called an embrace like the "climbing of a tree."

These two kinds of embrace take place when the lover is standing.

(3). When lovers lie on a bed, and embrace each other so closely thatthe arms and thighs of the one are encircled by the arms and thighs ofthe other, and are, as it were, rubbing up against them, this is calledan embrace like "the mixture of sesamum seed with rice."

(4). When a man and a woman are very much in love with each other, andnot thinking of any pain or hurt, embrace each other as if they wereentering into each other's bodies, either while the woman is sitting onthe lap of the man or in front of him, or on a bed, then it is called anembrace like a "mixture of milk and water."

These two kinds of embrace take place at the time of sexual union.

Babhravya has thus related to us the above eight kinds of embraces.

Suvarnanabha, moreover, gives us four ways of embracing simple membersof the body, which are:

The embrace of the thighs.

The embrace of the jaghana, _i.e._, the part of the body from the naveldownwards to the thighs.

The embrace of the breasts.

The embrace of the forehead.

(1). When one of two lovers presses forcibly one or both of the thighsof the other between his or her own, it is called the "embrace ofthighs."

(2). When a man presses the jaghana or middle part of the woman's bodyagainst his own, and mounts upon her to practise, either scratching withthe nail or finger, or biting, or striking, or kissing, the hair of thewoman being loose and flowing, it is called the "embrace of thejaghana."

(3). When a man places his breast between the breasts of a woman, andpresses her with it, it is called the "embrace of the breasts."

(4). When either of the lovers touches the mouth, the eyes and theforehead of the other with his or her own, it is called the "embrace ofthe forehead."

Some say that even shampooing is a kind of embrace, because there is atouching of bodies in it. But Vatsyayana thinks that shampooing isperformed at a different time, and for a different purpose, and it isalso of a different character, it cannot be said to be included in theembrace.

There are also some verses on the subject as follows: "The whole subjectof embracing is of such a nature that men who ask questions about it, orwho hear about it, or who talk about it, acquire thereby a desire forenjoyment. Even those embraces that are not mentioned in the KamaShastra should be practised at the time of sexual enjoyment, if they arein any way conducive to the increase of love or passion.

The rules ofthe Shastra apply so long as the passion of man is middling, but whenthe wheel of love is once set in motion, there is then no Shastra and noorder."

CHAPTER III.

ON KISSING.

It is said by some that there is no fixed time or order between theembrace, the kiss, and the pressing or scratching with the nails orfingers, but that all these things should be done generally beforesexual union takes place, while striking and making the various soundsgenerally takes place at the time of the union. Vatsyayana, however,thinks that anything may take place at any time, for love does not carefor time or order.

On the occasion of the first congress, kissing and the other thingsmentioned above should be done moderately, they should not be continuedfor a long time, and should be done alternately. On subsequentoccasions, however, the reverse of all this may take place, andmoderation will not be necessary, they may continue for a long time, andfor the purpose of kindling love, they may be all done at the same time.

The following are the places for kissing, viz., the forehead, the eyes,the cheeks, the throat, the bosom, the breasts, the lips, and theinterior of the mouth. Moreover, the people of the Lat country kiss alsoon the following places, viz., the joints of the thighs, the arms, andthe navel.

But Vatsyayana thinks that though kissing is practised bythese people in the above places on account of the intensity of theirlove, and the customs of their country, it is not fit to be practised byall.

Now in a case of a young girl there are three sort of kisses, viz.:

The nominal kiss. The throbbing kiss. The touching kiss.

(1). When a girl only touches the mouth of her lover with her own, butdoes not herself do anything, it is called the "nominal kiss."

(2). When a girl, setting aside her bashfulness a little, wishes totouch the lip that is pressed into her mouth, and with that objectmoves her lower lip, but not the upper one, it is called the "throbbingkiss."

(3). When a girl touches her lover's lip with her tongue, and havingshut her eyes, places her hands on those of her lover, it is called the"touching kiss."

Other authors describe four other kinds of kisses, viz.:

The straight kiss. The bent kiss. The turned kiss. The pressed kiss.

(1). When the lips of two lovers are brought into direct contact witheach other, it is called a "straight kiss."

(2). When the heads of two lovers are bent towards each other, and whenso bent kissing takes place, it is called a "bent kiss."

(3). When one of them turns up the face of the other by holding the headand chin, and then kissing, it is called a "turned kiss."

(4). Lastly, when the lower lip is pressed with much force, it is calleda "pressed kiss."

There is also a fifth kind of kiss called the "greatly pressed kiss,"which is effected by taking hold of the lower lip between two fingers,and then after touching it with the tongue, pressing it with great forcewith the lip.

As regards kissing, a wager may be laid as to which will get hold of thelips of the other first. If the woman loses, she should pretend to cry,should keep her lover off by shaking her hands, and turn away from himand dispute with him, saying "let another wager be laid." If she losesthis a second time, she should appear doubly distressed, and when herlover is off his guard or asleep, she should get hold of his lower lip,and hold it in her teeth, so that it should not slip away, and then sheshould laugh, make a loud noise, deride him, dance about, and saywhatever she likes in a joking way, moving her eyebrows, and rolling hereyes.

Such are the wagers and quarrels as far as kissing is concerned,but the same may be applied with regard to the pressing or scratchingwith the nails and fingers, biting and striking. All these, however, areonly peculiar to men and women of intense passion.

When a man kisses the upper lip of a woman, while she in return kisseshis lower lip, it is called the "kiss of the upper lip."

When one of them takes both the lips of the other between his or herown, it is called "a clasping kiss." A woman, however, only takes thiskind of kiss from a man who has no moustache. And on the occasion ofthis kiss, if one of them touches the teeth, the tongue, and the palateof the other, with his or her tongue, it is called the "fighting of thetongue.

In the same way, the pressing of the teeth of the one againstthe mouth of the other is to be practised.

Kissing is of four kinds, viz., moderate, contracted, pressed, and soft,according to the different parts of the body which are kissed, fordifferent kinds of kisses are appropriate for different parts of thebody.

When a woman looks at the face of her lover while he is asleep, andkisses it to show her intention or desire, it is called a "kiss thatkindles love."

When a woman kisses her lover while he is engaged in business, or whilehe is quarrelling with her, or while he is looking at something else, sothat his mind may be turned away, it is called a "kiss that turns away."

When a lover coming home late at night kisses his beloved, who is asleepor in bed, in order to show her his desire, it is called a "kiss thatawakens." On such an occasion the woman may pretend to be asleep at thetime of her lover's arrival, so that she may know his intention andobtain respect from him.

When a person kisses the reflection of the person he loves in a mirror,in water, or on a wall, it is called a "kiss showing the intention."

When a person kisses a child sitting on his lap, or a picture, or animage, or figure, in the presence of the person beloved by him, it iscalled a "transferred kiss."

When at night at a theatre, or in an assembly of caste men, a man comingup to a woman kisses a finger of her hand if she be standing, or a toeof her foot if she be sitting, or when a woman is shampooing her lover'sbody, places her face on his thigh (as if she was sleepy) so as toinflame his passion, and kisses his thigh or great toe, it is called a"demonstrative kiss."

There is also a verse on the subject as follows:--

"Whatever things may be done by one of the lovers to the other, the sameshould be returned by the other, _i.e._, if the woman kisses him he shouldkiss her in return, if she strikes him he should also strike her inreturn."

CHAPTER IV.

ON PRESSING, OR MARKING, OR SCRATCHING WITH THE NAILS.

When love becomes intense, pressing with the nails or scratching thebody with them is practised, and it is done on the following occasions:On the first visit; at the time of setting out on a journey; on thereturn from a journey; at the time when an angry lover is reconciled;and lastly when the woman is intoxicated.

But pressing with the nails is not an usual thing except with those whoare intensely passionate, _i.e._, full of passion. It is employed togetherwith biting, by those to whom the practice is agreeable.

Pressing with the nails is of the eight following kinds, according tothe forms of the marks which are produced, viz.:

1. Sounding.

2. half moon.

3. A circle.

4. A line.

5. A tiger's nail or claw.

6. A peacock's foot.

7. The jump of a hare.

8. The leaf of a blue lotus.

The places that are to be pressed with the nails are as follows: the armpit, the throat, the breasts, the lips, the jaghana, or middle parts ofthe body, and the thighs. But Suvarnanabha is of opinion that when theimpetuosity of passion is excessive, then the places need not beconsidered.

The qualities of good nails are that they should be bright, well set,clean, entire, convex, soft, and glossy in appearance. Nails are ofthree kinds according to their size, viz.:

Small. Middling. Large.

Large nails, which give grace to the hands, and attract the hearts ofwomen from their appearance, are possessed by the Bengalees.

Small nails, which can be used in various ways, and are to be appliedonly with the object of giving pleasure, are possessed by the people ofthe southern districts.

Middling nails, which contain the properties of both the above kinds,belong to the people of the Maharashtra.

(1). When a person presses the chin, the breasts, the lower lip, or thejaghana of another so softly that no scratch or mark is left, but onlythe hair on the body becomes erect from the touch of the nails, and thenails themselves make a sound, it is called a "sounding or pressing withthe nails."

This pressing is used in the case of a young girl when her lovershampoos her, scratches her head, and wants to trouble or frighten her.

(2). The curved mark with the nails, which is impressed on the neck andthe breasts, is called the "half moon."

(3). When the half moons are impressed opposite to each other, it iscalled a "circle." This mark with the nails is generally made on thenavel, the small cavities about the buttocks, and on the joints of thethigh.

(4). A mark in the form of a small line, and which can be made on anypart of the body, is called a "line."

(5). This same line, when it is curved, and made on the breast, iscalled a "tiger's nail."

(6). When a curved mark is made on the breast by means of the fivenails, it is called a "peacock's foot." This mark is made with theobject of being praised, for it requires a great deal of skill to makeit properly.

(7). When five marks with the nails are made close to one another nearthe nipple of the breast, it is called "the jump of a hare."

(8). A mark made on the breast or on the hips in the form of a leaf ofthe blue lotus, is called the "leaf of a blue lotus."

When a person is going on a journey, and makes a mark on the thighs, oron the breast, it is called a "token of remembrance." On such anoccasion three or four lines are impressed close to one another with thenails.

Here ends the marking with the nails. Marks of other kinds than theabove may also be made with the nails, for the ancient authors say,that as there are innumerable degrees of skill among men (the practiceof this art being known to all), so there are innumerable ways of makingthese marks. And as pressing or marking with the nails is independent oflove, no one can say with certainty how many different kinds of markswith the nails do actually exist.

The reason of this is, Vatsyayanasays, that as variety is necessary in love, so love is to be produced bymeans of variety. It is on this account that courtezans, who are wellacquainted with various ways and means, become so desirable, for ifvariety is sought in all the arts and amusements, such as archery andothers, how much more should it be sought after in the present case.

The marks of the nails should not be made on married women, butparticular kinds of marks may be made on their private parts for theremembrance and increase of love.

There are also some verses on the subject, as follows:

"The love of a woman who sees the marks of nails on the private parts ofher body, even though they are old and almost worn out, becomes againfresh and new. If there be no marks of nails to remind a person of thepassages of love, then love is lessened in the same way as when no uniontakes place for a long time."

Even when a stranger sees at a distance a young woman with the marks ofnails on her breast,[37] he is filled with love and respect for her.

A man, also, who carries the marks of nails and teeth on some parts ofhis body, influences the mind of a woman, even though it be ever sofirm. In short, nothing tends to increase love so much as the effects ofmarking with the nails, and biting.

FOOTNOTE:

[Footnote 37: From this it would appear that in ancient times thebreasts of women were not covered, and this is seen in the painting ofthe Ajunta and other caves, where we find that the breasts of even royalladies and others are exposed.]

CHAPTER V.

ON BITING, AND THE MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED WITH REGARD TO WOMEN OFDIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

All the places that can be kissed, are also the places that can bebitten, except the upper lip, the interior of the mouth, and the eyes.

The qualities of good teeth are as follows: They should be equal,possessed of a pleasing brightness, capable of being coloured, of properproportions, unbroken, and with sharp ends.

The defects of teeth on the other hand are, that they are blunt,protruding from the gums, rough, soft, large, and loosely set.

The following are the different kinds of biting, viz.:

The hidden bite. The swollen bite. The point. The line of points. The coral and the jewel. The line of jewels. The broken cloud. The biting of the boar.

(1). The biting which is shown only by the excessive redness of the skinthat is bitten, is called the "hidden bite."

(2). When the skin is pressed down on both sides, it is called the"swollen bite."

(3). When a small portion of the skin is bitten with two teeth only, itis called the "point."

(4). When such small portions of the skin are bitten with all the teeth,it is called the "line of points."

(5). The biting which is done by bringing together the teeth and thelips, is called the "coral and the jewel." The lip is the coral, and theteeth the jewel.

(6). When biting is done with all the teeth, it is called the "line ofjewels."

(7). The biting which consists of unequal risings in a circle, and whichcomes from the space between the teeth, is called the "broken cloud."This is impressed on the breasts.

(8). The biting which consists of many broad rows of marks near to oneanother, and with red intervals, is called the "biting of a boar." Thisis impressed on the breasts and the shoulders; and these two last modesof biting are peculiar to persons of intense passion.