A man should study the Kama Sutra and its subsidiary subjects without detracting from his time for Dharma, Artha and the subjects related to them. A woman should study it too before she reaches the prime of her youth. If married, she should do so with her husband’s consent.
(1–2)
Some teachers say that instructing women in this knowledge is meaningless as they cannot comprehend science. But women understand application, says Vatsyayana, and that depends on science. This is also not unique. All over the world the knowledge of science is limited to a few people but its application concerns everyone. And, though science may be far removed from application, it is still the latter’s source.
(3–6)
Take grammar. Even priests who do not know it as a science use it in sacrificial incantations. The same is the case with astronomy and the determination of auspicious days for the performance of sacred rituals. Similarly, syces and mahouts train horses and elephants without having studied the respective sciences; and people do not transgress the king’s law even though he may be far away.
(7–10)
It is the same with women and the science of pleasure. Indeed there are elite courtesans, royal princesses and high officials’ daughters with minds well honed by it. A woman should therefore learn the science and its application, or at least a part of it, from some trustworthy persons in private.
(11–12)
The sixty-four arts require training for their application, and a maiden should also practise them privately by herself. Her teachers can be: her wet-nurse’s daughter, who has grown up with her and is already experienced in sex with a man; a similarly experienced girl friend who will speak to her without reserve; a maternal aunt of her own age; an old maidservant who is equally reliable; a nun well known to her; and her own sister, if she has her confidence in such matters.
(13–14)
These are the sixty-four subsidiary subjects for study with the Kama Sutra:
Singing; instrumental music; dancing; painting; cutting leaves into special shapes for use as beauty spots; making decorative patterns with rice grains and flowers; arranging flowers; colouring the teeth, the body and garments; inlaying gems in floors; making beds; making music with bowls of water; splashing water in games; various cures; stringing garlands; making diadems and chaplets; fancy dress costumes; making ear ornaments; mixing perfumes; arrangement of jewellery; conjuring tricks; casting spells; sleights of hand; preparation of unusual vegetables, soups and other things to eat; preparation of juices, wines and other things to drink; needlework; weaving tricks; playing the lute and the drum; telling and solving riddles; capping words; reciting difficult verses; reading aloud; staging plays and stories; completing stanzas; making things from cloth, cane and straw; enamelwork; wood-carving; architecture; assessment of gems; metallurgy; knowledge of colours and sources of gems; horticulture; setting up fights between rams, cocks and quails; teaching parrots and mynah birds to talk; skills of cleaning, massaging and hair-dressing; speaking in sign language; use of secret words; knowledge of dialects; making flower toys; knowledge of omens; making magical diagrams; the art of memorization; repeating heard phrases or verses; improvisation of poetry; knowledge of dictionaries; knowledge of prosody; knowledge of poetics; mimicry; using clothes for disguise; special types of gambling; games with the dice; children’s games; knowledge of etiquette; knowledge of strategic sciences; knowledge of athletic skills. The sixty-four arts of Panchala are different. They are erotic in nature and we will speak of their application in the book on sexual union.
(15–16)
A public woman who excels
in these arts, and is possessed
of character, good looks and merit,
wins the name ‘elite courtesan’
and a place in people’s assemblies.
and praised by men of quality,
she becomes a focal point
for requests and supplications
and intimate approaches.
(17–18)
A princess or a minister’s daughter
who knows these arts can win control
of her husband, even though
his harem have a thousand women.
And, separated from her lord,
fallen into dire straits,
even in a foreign land,
with these skills she will be able
still to lead a life of comfort.
(19–20)
And, in these arts adept, a man
who’s good with words and flattery,
will quickly win the hearts of women –
a stranger to them though he may be.
(21)
Luck in love can come about
with just a knowledge of these arts.
But one must also take account
of time and place to see if they
can be put to use or not.
(22)