MAN should
study the Kama Sutra and the
arts and sciences
subordinate thereto, in addition to the study of the
arts
and sciences contained in Dharma and Artha. Even young
maids should study this Kama Sutra along with its arts
and
sciences before marriage, and after it they should
continue
to do so with the consent of their husbands.
Here some learned men object, and say that females, not
being allowed to study any
science, should not study
the
Kama Sutra.
But Vatsyayana is of opinion that this objection does
not
hold good, for women already know the
practice of Kama
Sutra, and that practice is derived from the Kama
Shastra,
or the science of Kama itself. Moreover, it is not only
in
this but in many other cases that, though the practice
of a
science is known to all, only a few
persons are
acquainted with the rules and laws on which the science is based.
Thus
the Yadnikas or sacrificers, though ignorant of
grammar,
make use of appropriate words when addressing the
different
Deities, and do not know how these words are framed.
Again,
persons do the duties required of them on auspicious
days,
which are fixed by astrology, though they are not
acquainted with the science of astrology. In a like
manner
riders of horses and elephants train these animals
without
knowing the science of training animals, but from
practice
only. And similarly the people of the most distant
provinces obey the laws of the kingdom from practice,
and
because there is a king over them, and without further
reason. 1 And from experience we find that some women,
such
as daughters of princes and their ministers, and public
women, are actually versed in the Kama Shastra.
A
female, therefore, should learn the Kama Shastra, or
at
least a part of it, by studying its practice from some
confidential friend. She should study alone in private
the
sixty-four practices that form a part of the Kama
Shastra.
Her teacher should be one of the following persons: the
daughter of a nurse brought up with her and already
married, 2 or a female friend who can be trusted in
everything, or the sister of her mother , or an old
female
servant, or a female beggar who may have formerly lived
in
the family, or her own sister who can always be trusted.
A public woman, endowed with a good disposition, beauty
and
other winning qualities, and also versed in the above
arts,
obtains the name of a Ganika, or public woman of high
quality, and receives a seat of honour in an assemblage
of
men. She is, moreover, always respected by the king,
and
praised by learned men, and her favour being sought for
by
all, she becomes an object of universal regard. The
daughter of a king too as well as the daughter of a
minister, being learned in the above arts, can make
their
husbands favourable to them, even though these may have
thousands of other wives besides themselves. And in the
same manner, if a wife becomes separated from her
husband,
and falls into distress, she can support herself
easily,
even in a foreign country, by means of her knowledge of
these arts. Even the bare knowledge of them gives
attractiveness to a woman, though the practice of them
may
be only possible or otherwise according to the
circumstances of each case. A man who is versed in
these
arts, who is loquacious and acquainted with the arts of
gallantry, gains very soon the hearts of women, even
though
he is only acquainted with them for a short time.HAVING
thus acquired learning, a man, with the wealth that he
may
have gained by gift, conquest, purchase, deposit, or
inheritance from his ancestors, should become a
householder, and pass the life of a citizen. He should
take a house in a city, or large village, or in the
vicinity of good men, or in a place which is the resort
of
many persons. This abode should be situated near some
water, and divided into different compartments for
different purposes. It should be surrounded by a
garden,
and also contain two rooms, an outer and an inner one.
The
inner room should be occupied by the females, while the
outer room, balmy with rich perfumes, should contain a
bed,
soft, agreeable to the sight, covered with a clean
white
cloth, low in the middle part, having garlands and
bunches
of flowers upon it, and a canopy above it, and two
pillows, one at the top, another at the bottom. There
should be also a sort of couch besides, and at the head
of
this a sort of stool, on which should be placed the
fragrant ointments for the night, as well as flowers,
pots
containing collyrium and other fragrant substances,
things
used for perfuming the mouth, and the bark of the
common
citron tree. Near the couch, on the ground, there
should be
a pot for spitting, a box containing ornaments, and
also a
lute hanging from a peg made of the tooth of an
elephant, a
board for drawing, a pot containing perfume, some
books,
and some garlands of the yellow amaranth flowers.