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Part 1 |
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 Sanscrit 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.
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