Notes

Notes to the Introduction

1.     James McConnachie, The Book of Love (Metropolitan Books, New York, 2008)

2.     ibid.

3.     Sudhir Kakar, interview in India Revisited, ed. Ramin Jahanbegloo (Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2008)

4.     Panc´atantra of Visnus´arman, ed. M.R. Kale (Bombay, 1912; reprint Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1982). This translation by A.N.D. Haksar.

5.     ibid.

6.     Kshemendra, Chaturvargasamgraha (2.24 and 3.3), in Kshemendralaghukāvyasamgraha, ed. V. V. Raghavacharya and D.G. Padhye (Osmania University, Hyderabad, 1961). This translation by A.N.D. Haksar.

7.     Yashodhara in Jayamangalā, mentioned separately in this Introduction

8.     A. K. Warder, Indian Kavya Literature, vol. 1 (Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1974) and W. Doniger and S. Kakar, Kamasutra (Oxford University Press, New York, 2002)

9.     Radhavallabha Tripathi, Kamasutra of Vatsyayana (Pratibha Prakashan, Delhi, 2005)

10.  Patrick Olivelle, Manu’s Code of Law (Oxford University Press, New York, 2005). In the present translation the word shastra has been rendered as work, treatise, rules and science, depending on the context.

11.  W. Doniger and S. Kakar, Kamasutra (Oxford University Press, New York, 2002)

12.  A.K. Warder, ‘Classical Literature’, in A Cultural History of India, ed. A.L. Basham (Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1983)

13.  For example, in Arjunavarma’s thirteenth-century commentary on Amarushatakam (1 and 3), Mallinatha’s fourteenth-century commentary on Raghuvamsha (19.16 and 19.31) and Kumbha’s fifteenth-century commentary Rasikapriya on Gitagovinda. Also, Kuttanimatam (77 and 123) of Damodaragupta.

14.  cf. 11 above

15.  cf. 1 and 11 above

16.  cf. 11 above

Notes on the Text

The figures at left indicate the page number of this work and, in the next column, the book, chapter and sutra number from the text of the Kama Sutra presented in this translation. The latter numbers are also given within individual notes to facilitate reference. The sutras have generally been shown in groups for ease of reading.

V refers to Vatsyayana, and K to Kama Sutra. M indicates Manava Dharma Shastra, also known as Manusmriti after the name of that authority. J refers to the commentary Jayamangala on K by Yashodhara. The numbers with it are of the sutras under comment. A stands for Artha Shastra.

31.1.4–5The three ends of human life are explained further in Book One, Chapter Two of K, considered in Book Six, Chapter Six, and recalled in the concluding verses 53, 58 and 59 of the Epilogue in Book Seven, Chapter Two. Also discussed in the Introduction.
31.1.6–7Manu, the son of the God of Creation, is the legendary author of M. This text exists though it may have undergone changes over time. It is now dated to c. 200 BCE–200 CE. Brihaspati was the guru of the gods. His abridgement of A is described in Book XII of the epic Mahabharata, but its text is no more available. A well-known work with the same name is extant and ascribed to the Mauryan minister Kautilya or Chanakya, c. fourth century BCE.
3–41.1.8–12The great god is Shiva. His divine attendant Nandi is usually depicted as a bull in the god’s shrines. The other writers mentioned here seem to be historical figures as most of them are separately mentioned in other texts, earlier or later than K. Their details are given in the Note on V’s Predecessors.
41.1.13–14The name V is omitted at this place in some recensions of K’s text. But all name him as the author at 7.2.56. The text does not have the name Mallanaga which is mentioned in J (1.1.1 and 1.2.19) as the author’s given name, V being his family name.
51.1.21Though named as such here and in 6.3.30 the subject Getting Him Back is not described in the text, and hence excluded from our List of Contents.
61.1.23The subjects earlier detailed in 1.1.15–22 actually total sixty-seven. They are not identified separately in the body of K’s text, but J reconciles the number with V’s total of sixty-four by omitting any separate identification of subjects at 1.5.1, 4.2.67 and 6.6.50. The aggregate of precepts or sutras seems to have been given as a round number here; the actual figure from the text comes to 1,683.
6–101.2.1–40This outlines the overarching thesis within which K is expounded and which is reiterated at its conclusion in 7.2.53, 58–59: that Kama is but one of the three ends of human life and endeavour, and all need due consideration, as in 6.6.5–43. Also discussed in the Introduction.
91.2.26–29Bali was the king of the demons and Indra of the gods. The former’s elevation and downfall are a part of ancient mythology.
91.2.32–36These examples of obsessive infatuation ending in disaster are taken from well-known stories in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
12–131.3.13–16The sixty-four arts refer both to social, domestic and artistic skills and to the techniques of love-making. The former are listed in 1.3.15 where the total could also be sixtyfive. The latter, though never detailed in the same way, are mentioned in 1.3.22, 2.10.34–39 and 3.3.21.
13–141.3.17–18The Sanskrit words for a courtesan are veshya and ganika. They are often inter-changeable, but K uses the latter for women of a better class who also provided social and cultural company like the Japanese geisha or the Greek hetaera.
151.4.4The betel leaf is still regarded as a stimulant, digestive and accompaniment to pleasurable pursuits. Touched with lime paste, catechu and other flavours and wrapped around finely chopped areca and other nuts, it is now normally consumed at the end of a meal.
161.4.8His aides are further described at 1.4.31–35. The parasite has also been translated as a hanger-on.
171.4.15Sarasvati is the goddess of the arts and learning.
201.4.37This could also be translated as refined (samskrita) and colloquial (desha) language.
211.5.3The previously married woman is discussed further in 4.2.31–44.
292.1.1J gives the numbers six, nine and twelve to suggest the dimensions, though it gives no unit of measurement for them. Some translators have equated them with four, six and nine inches.
30–312.1.13–18See the Note on V’s Predecessors.
332.1.33J has calculated the total number of combinations as 729.
37–382.2.15–17Also depicted in the famous temple sculptures at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India.
382.2.18–20The two names suggest a mix which cannot be separated.
402.3.4–6For Lata see Note on Place Names.
442.4.7–8Explaining the reference to the left hand, J suggests that as the right is used much more its nails may get broken.
452.4.9–11See Note on Place Names for Gauda and Maharashtra.
49–502.5.21–33See Note on Place Names.
52–32.6.5–22For Babhravya see 1.1.11–12 and Note on V’s Predecessors. Indrani is the consort of Indra, the king of the gods. Rigveda 10.86 contains a dialogue on sexual intercourse in which she tells him how a man unable to satisfy a woman carnally can never be prosperous.
532.6.23See 1.1.11–12 and Note on V’s Predecessors for Suvarnanabha.
542.6.35J quotes Gautama and Bhargava, two earlier authorities on Dharma, that sex in water is sinful.
552.6.45See Note on Place Names for Bahlika and the kingdom of women.
582.7.24J describes these in more detail. The ‘wedge’ is formed with the thumb overlapping the fore and middle finger of a closed fist. The ‘scissors’ involves the fingers spread out or curled and may be formed with one or both hands. The ‘stabber’ has the fist closed and the thumb protruding between the fore- and middle fingers. The ‘pincer’ seems similar, with the thumb between the middle and ring fingers.
582.7.25–30Little is known about these incidents, which J also describes without shedding light on their location or time. A mythical chronology places Shatakarni of Kuntala as an Andhra king in c. seventh century BCE.
612.8.16For Suvarnanabha see Note on V’s Predecessors.
622.8.29–31The box is described at 2.6.18.
642.9.1–5According to J the third nature refers to eunuchs. The feminine ones have breasts and the masculine ones whiskers, among other characteristics. V uses the feminine gender in describing both. The word here translated as ‘oral sex’ is literally ‘the one above’.
662.9.27–32See Note on Place Names.
66–672.9.33–34This verse occurs with slight verbal changes in the scriptural smriti text Baudhayana Dharmasutra (1.5.9). Its purport is also in M (5.130). Both predate K. Their argument is that the human or animal mouth, contact with which would otherwise be polluting, does not have this effect on given practical occasions.
682.9.43–45In effect V describes the practice without giving a final opinion about its propriety.
692.10.5For example at 2.2.14–17.
70–712.10.10–13See Note on Place Names for Lata.
722.10.22The Sanskrit word here translated as ‘water-carrier’ is also used at 6.6.50 to describe the lowest grade of courtesan.
73–42.10.34–39See also the note to 1.3.13–16.
773.1.1See Book One, Chapter Two for Dharma and Artha.
773.1.3For Ghotakamukha see Note on V’s Predecessors.
78–93.1.8–13The verse about names is similar to the prohibition in M (3.9). The last sentence of this passage would seem to reflect V’s own view.
793.1.15–19The four rites mentioned in the penultimate sentence here are detailed in legal texts as also in M (3.27–30). They constitute the ‘respectable’ forms of marriage in which the bride is given away with due public ceremony by her parents or guardians to a groom of choice. There are four other recognized forms: Asura (by sale), Gandharva (a love match), Rakshasa (by capture) and Paishacha (by deception). All are mentioned at 3.5.12–30, but not named except for Gandharva, which is recommended.
79–803.1.20Verse-capping or improvising a line to complete a stanza is one of the sixty-four arts mentioned in 1.3.15.
873.3.21See 2.10.34–39 for the sixty-four techniques.
893.3.32Later works on erotics also give ages for these female categories. For example, the c. sixteenth-century Anangaranga (4.1) classifies a girl as between eleven and sixteen years, a young woman as from sixteen to thirty years and a mature woman as from thirty to fifty-five years.
89–903.4.1–9The ‘touch’ and other embraces are described at 2.2.6–13.
913.4.36A woman taking the initiative to get married is in keeping with the injunction in M (9.90–91).
923.4.40–41See 3.3.25–30.
953.5.1–2The love story of Shakuntala is recounted in the epic Mahabharata and is the subject of a famous play by Kalidasa. It is an example of the Gandharva marriage mentioned below.
95–73.5.12–24See note to 3.1.15–19. This portion describes the Gandharva form of marriage with variants. It is essentially a form based on the mutual attraction of the two parties and without any role for their families.
973.5.25–27See note to 3.1.15–19. This portion describes the Paishacha, which is considered as the worst form of marriage in legal texts. The last sentence describes the Rakshasa form.
97–83.5.28–30This makes clear V’s preference for the Gandharva form.
1014.1.1–5This presumes a polygamous society. The role of one of several wives will be discussed in the next chapter. For Gonardiya see 1.1.11–12. The wife giving due regard to the husband’s sisters is an orthodox social expectation to this day.
1034.1.31–35J explains that the chaff can be used for polishing things, broken grain for feeding pet birds, gruel for the servants and charcoal for firing iron pots.
1054.2.1–2Similar and variant conditions in which a man may take another wife are also mentioned in M (9.80–81) and legal texts like Yajnavalkya Smriti (1.73).
107–84.2.31The Sanskrit word, here translated as ‘the remarried woman’, is punarbhu. She is described in M (9.175) as a remarried woman who was abandoned by her previous husband or separated from him of her own will. Manu’s recent translator (see Introduction), Patrick Olivelle, points out that the broader term is parapurva, a woman who has previously had sexual relations with a man. But this term has a sevenfold classification, only three of which are called punarbhu. The others refer to wanton or unchaste women. M also specifies the inheritance rights of a punarbhu’s children, thus recognizing her status.
1104.2.62According to J the wives live in the central part of the harem, with the remarried women, the courtesans and the dancing girls living in successively outer parts.
1155.1.1–2Earlier discussed in 1.5.4–27.
1165.1.8–12For Gonikaputra see Note on V’s Predecessors.
116–175.1.17–42For the doe and the elephant women and their sexual impulses, see 2.1.1–7. The last sentence shows concern for Dharma while pursuing Kama, as does ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in 5.1.8–12.
1175.1.43–49J glosses the aforesaid elements as follows. Related to nobility: love for husband, concern for children, onset of age and concern for Dharma. To inability: sympathy, self-disgust, absence of opportunity. To respect: shyness, comradeship, doubt. To lack of respect: suspicion, revulsion, contempt, scorn. To the man’s disrespect: anger, alarm, his care for friends. To fear: diffidence, the doe woman’s apprehension, the elephant woman’s concern, fear of the family.
1195.1.55This could be a general statement or refer in particular to the woman’s desire.
1225.2.19–22The methods with a virgin girl are described in 3.3.6–8.
126–75.4.2–8For the doe woman and the others see 2.1.1–4.
1275.4.9–12See note to 5.1.8–12 for Gonikaputra. V’s own opinion about using a messenger is at 5.2.1–3.
1275.4.13–15Ahalya, the wife of a sage, was seduced by Indra, the king of the gods. The story occurs in the epic Ramayana. For Shakuntala, see note to 3.5.1–2. Avimaraka’s love affair with a princess is the subject of a play with the same name by the celebrated c. second-century CE Sanskrit dramatist Bhasa. For the sixty-four arts see note to 1.3.13–16.
1285.4.32–35See Note on V’s Predecessors for these persons cited by V. Auddalaki is the patronymic of Shvetaketu.
128–95.4.36–41The supplication, as explained by J, is the imprint on the cloth of the man’s palms which he would otherwise join together to beseech the woman.
1295.4.42–44‘Times of trouble’ are notably not excluded from the list of occasions for a romantic rendezvous. As to the venue, V is both prudent and cynical.
130–315.4.54–60The seduction of a woman’s lover by her own scheming messenger is a common subject in Sanskrit erotic poetry. Good examples are available at vv. 203–207 of the translation of the fifteenth-century verse anthology Subhashitavali, published by Penguin Books India (2007).
131–25.4.64–66The ‘other person’ is the one who has sent the go-between to the woman he desires. In the next verse he is mentioned as ‘the man’.
1335.5.5–10The spinning-master supervised poor women who made their livings by spinning yarn.
135–65.5.28–35See Note on Place Names.
1365.5.36–37The six inner enemies are lust, anger, greed, arrogance, infatuation and envy. They are often enumerated in Sanskrit verses, for example in the c. sixth-century Kiratarjuniya (1.9) of the celebrated poet Bharavi.
136–75.6.1–5The Sanskrit word apadravya, literally a bad thing, is translated here as dildo. It is glossed in J 6.6.4 as an artificial device tied to the hips.
139–405.6.29–38See Note on Place Names.
1415.6.46–48In effect, the descriptions here are not to be viewed as recommendations. Also see 7.2.54–55.
145–66.1.7–9The professional companions, jesters and hangers-on or parasites included in this list of a woman’s helpers were earlier described in 1.4.31–35 as the helpers of a man.
1476.1.15–16The first sentence refers to the qualities of both women and men given at 6.1.10–14. But the passage as a whole refers only to men. The word vayasasya, here translated as ‘breath which smells of crows,’ literally means ‘crow-mouth’ and could refer to the bird’s indiscriminate eating habits.
1506.2.3–11Leftover flowers could be those from the last encounter or from a ceremony of worship.
150–516.2.12–19For the sixty-four arts see 2.2.1–5 and 2.10.34–39.
1516.2.27–32Like saying ‘God bless you’ when someone sneezes.
152–36.2.53–61The first sentence expresses the wish that they be together again in her next life.
1536.2.62–71The crows are fed on the occasion for good luck.
153–46.2.72–76For Dattaka see Note on V’s Predecessors.
1556.3.14–20The last sentence, according to J, amplifies a quotation the commentary cites from Dattaka, cf. note above.
1596.4.14–16The penultimate sentence puns on the word raga which has the meanings of both passion and colour.
167–86.6.5–12This is set in the context of the three ends of human life mentioned at 1.1.1–5 and 1.2.1–13.
168–96.6.17–20Commenting on 6.6.20, J calculates twenty-four combined consequences.
170–716.6.34–40For Auddalaki and Babhravya see Note on V’s Predecessors.
1726.6.50–51Compare with 6.5.28–32, where courtesans are placed in three grades on the basis of their profits.
175–67.1.8–11Atharva Veda is the fourth of the four Vedas which are regarded by the faithful as shruti or revealed scripture. Its verses also include incantations for magical and prescriptions for medicinal use.
1807.1.49–51The Veda mentioned here is glossed by J as Atharva Veda, for which see the preceding note. Ayurveda is a separate later text on health and longevity.
180–817.2.1–3For intense and dull sexual impulses see 2.1.5–7.
1817.2.4–13Another artificial device is mentioned at 5.6.1–5 for use between women, and translated as dildo. Here the device appears to be one or more rings, a beaded string or a sheath in which the penis is enclosed.
181–27.2.14–24The suggestion here is for the insertion of variously shaped objects into a cut made on the penis. From J’s gloss to 7.2.16 it would appear that the cut is made after pushing back the foreskin.
1837.2.32–34Methods presumably for getting rid of an unwanted lover. See 6.3.42.
183–47.2.35–42The phrase ‘turns it black again’ has been used following J’s gloss of the words in 7.2.39 which mean literally, ‘restoration of the hair’.
185–67.2.54–55This is a general disclaimer, as also in 5.6.46–48.