Preface
IN
the literature of all countries there
will be found a certain number of works
treating especially of love. Everywhere
the subject is dealt with differently,
and from various points of view. In the
present publication it is proposed to
give a complete translation of what is
considered the standard work on love in
Sanskrit literature, and which is called
the `Vatsyayana Kama Sutra', or
Aphorisms on Love, by Vatsyayana.
While
the introduction will deal with the
evidence concerning the date of the
writing, and the commentaries written
upon it, the chapters following the
introduction will give a translation of
the work itself. It is, however,
advisable to furnish here a brief
analysis of works of the same nature,
prepared by authors who lived and wrote
years after Vatsyayana had passed away,
but who still considered him as the
great authority, and always quoted him
as the chief guide to Hindoo erotic
literature.
Besides
the treatise of Vatsyayana the following
works on the same subject are procurable
in India:
The
Ratirahasya, or secrets of love
The Panchasakya, or the five arrows
The Smara Pradipa, or the light of
love
The Ratimanjari, or the garland of
love
The Rasmanjari, or the sprout of love
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' was a
poet named Kukkoka. He composed his work
to please one Venudutta, who was perhaps
a king. When writing his own name at the
end of each chapter he calls himself `Siddha
patiya pandita', i.e. an ingenious man
among learned men. The work was
translated into Hindi years ago, and in
this the author's name was written as
Koka. And as the same name crept into
all the translations into other
languages in India, the book became
generally known, and the subject was
popularly called Koka Shastra, or
doctrines of Koka, which is identical
with the Kama Shastra, or doctrines of
love, and the words Koka Shastra and
Kama Shastra are used indiscriminately.
The
work contains nearly eight hundred
verses, and is divided into ten
chapters, which are called Pachivedas.
Some of the things treated of in this
work are not to be found in the
Vatsyayana, such as the four classes of
women, the Padmini, Chitrini, Shankini
and Hastini, as also the enumeration of
the days and hours on which the women of
the different classes become subject to
love, The author adds that he wrote
these things from the opinions of
Gonikaputra and Nandikeshwara, both of
whom are mentioned by Vatsyayana, but
their works are not now extant. It is
difficult to give any approximate idea
as to the year in which the work was
composed. It is only to be presumed that
it was written after that of Vatsyayana,
and previous to the other works on this
subject that are still extant.
Vatsyayana gives the names of ten
authors on the subject, all of whose
works he had consulted, but none of
which are extant, and does not mention
this one. This would tend to show that
Kukkoka wrote after Vatsya, otherwise
Vatsya would assuredly have mentioned
him as an author in this branch of
literature along with the others.
The
author of the `Five Arrows' was one
Jyotirisha. He is called the chief
ornament of poets, the treasure of the
sixty-four arts, and the best teacher of
the rules of music. He says that he
composed the work after reflecting on
the aphorisms of love as revealed by the
gods, and studying the opinions of
Gonikaputra, Muladeva, Babhravya,
Ramtideva, Nundikeshwara and Kshemandra.
It is impossible to say whether he had
perused all the works of these authors,
or had only heard about them; anyhow,
none of them appear to be in existence
now. This work contains nearly six
hundred verses, and is divided into five
chapters, called Sayakas or Arrows.
The
author of the `Light of Love' was the
poet Gunakara, the son of Vechapati. The
work contains four hundred verses, and
gives only a short account of the
doctrines of love, dealing more with
other matters.
`The
Garland of Love' is the work of the
famous poet Jayadeva, who said about
himself that he is a writer on all
subjects. This treatise is, however,
very short, containing only one hundred
and twenty-five verses.
The
author of the `Sprout of Love' was a
poet called Bhanudatta. It appears from
the last verse of the manuscript that he
was a resident of the province of
Tirhoot, and son of a Brahman named
Ganeshwar, who was also a poet. The
work, written in Sanscrit, gives the
descriptions of different classes of
men.
Swami Veet Chintan T'Zorba-Krsna
Jyotish
Shastracharya
& Vedic Astrologer of India
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