Introduction
IT
may be interesting to some persons to
learn how it came about that Vatsyayana
was first brought to light and
translated into the English language. It
happened thus. While translating with
the pundits the `Anunga Runga, or the
stage of love', reference was frequently
found to be made to one Vatsya. The sage
Vatsya was of this opinion, or of that
opinion. The sage Vatsya said this, and
so on. Naturally questions were asked
who the sage was, and the pundits
replied that Vatsya was the author of
the standard work on love in Sanscrit
literature, that no Sanscrit library was
complete without his work, and that it
was most difficult now to obtain in its
entire state. The copy of the manuscript
obtained in Bombay was defective, and so
the pundits wrote to Benares, Calcutta
and Jeypoor for copies of the manuscript
from Sanscrit libraries in those places.
Copies having been obtained, they were
then compared with each other, and with
the aid of a Commentary called `Jayamangla'
a revised copy of the entire manuscript
was prepared, and from this copy the
English translation was made. The
following is the certificate of the
chief pundit:
`The
accompanying manuscript is corrected by
me after comparing four different copies
of the work. I had the assistance of a
Commentary called "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, all
the other copies I had were far too
incorrect. However, I took that portion
as correct in which the majority of the
copies agreed with each other.'
The
`Aphorisms on Love' by Vatsyayana
contain about one thousand two hundred
and fifty slokas or verses, and are
divided into parts, parts into chapters,
and chapters into paragraphs. The whole
consists of seven parts, thirty-six
chapters, and sixty-four paragraphs.
Hardly anything is known about the
author. His real name is supposed to be
Mallinaga or Mrillana, Vatsyayana being
his family name. At the close of the
work this is what he writes about
himself:
`After
reading and considering the works of
Babhravya and other ancient authors, and
thinking over the meaning of the rules
given by them, this treatise was
composed, according to the precepts of
the Holy Writ, for the benefit of the
world, by Vatsyayana, while leading the
life of a religious student at Benares,
and wholly engaged in the contemplation
of the Deity. This work is not to be
used merely as an instrument for
satisfying our desires. A person
acquainted with the true principles of
this science, who preserves his Dharma
(virtue or religious merit), his Artha
(worldly wealth) and his Kama (pleasure
or sensual gratification), and who has
regard to the customs of the people, is
sure to obtain the mastery over his
senses. In short, an intelligent and
knowing person attending to Dharma and
Artha and also to Kama, without becoming
the slave of his passions, will obtain
success in everything that he may do.'
It
is impossible to fix the exact date
either of the life of Vatsyayana or of
his work. It is supposed that he must
have lived between the first and sixth
century of the Christian era, on the
following grounds. He mentions that
Satakarni Satavahana, a king of Kuntal,
killed Malayevati his wife with an
instrument called kartari by striking
her in the passion of love, and Vatsya
quotes this case to warn people of the
danger arising from some old customs of
striking women when under the influence
of this passion. Now this king of Kuntal
is believed to have lived and reigned
during the first century A.D., and
consequently Vatsya must have lived
after him. On the other hand,
Virahamihira, in the eighteenth chapter
of his `Brihatsanhita', treats of the
science of love, and appears to have
borrowed largely from Vatsyayana on the
subject. Now Virahamihira is said to
have lived during the sixth century
A.D., and as Vatsya must have written
his works previously, therefore not
earlier than the first century A.D., and
not later than the sixth century A.D.,
must be considered as the approximate
date of his existence.
On
the text of the `Aphorisms on Love', by
Vatsyayana, only two commentaries have
been found. One called `Jayamangla' or `Sutrabashya',
and the other `Sutra vritti'. The date
of the `Jayamangla' is fixed between the
tenth and thirteenth century A.D.,
because while treating of the sixty-four
arts an example is taken from the `Kavyaprakasha'
which was written about the tenth
century A.D. Again, the copy of the
commentary procured was evidently a
transcript of a manuscript which once
had a place in the library of a
Chaulukyan king named Vishaladeva, a
fact elicited from the following
sentence at the end of it.
Swami Veet Chintan T'Zorba-Krsna
Jyotish
Shastracharya
& Vedic Astrologer of India
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