Table Of ContentCONJUGAL LOVE IN INDIA
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SIR HENRY WELLCOME
ASIAN STUDIES
EDITED BY
LAWRENCE I. CONRAD
DOMINIK WUJASTYK
PAULU.UNSCHULD
EditorialBoard
DONALDJ HARPER
LUTZ RICHTER-BERNBURG
RONALD E.EMMERICK (t )
VOLUME 1
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CONJUGAL LOVE IN INDIA
Ratisastra andRatiramana.
Text, Translation, andNotes
BY
KENNETH G. ZYSK
BRILL
LEIDEN.BOSTON·KOLN
2002
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Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper.
Onthecover:DetailofTwoloverssurroundedbyanovalframe,watercolourdrawing,
©WelcomeLibrary,WellcomeTrust,no.V0045162
LibraryofCongress Cataloging-in-PublicationData
Nagarjuna,Siddha.
[Ratisastra English& Sanskrit]
ConjugalloveinIndia :Ratisastraand Ratiramana:text,translation,
and notes/ byKenneth G.Zysk.
p. em.- (SirHenryWellcomeAsianStudies,ISSN 1570-1484;
vol. I)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesand index.
ISBN9004125981
I.Love.2.Sex.3.Sexinmarriage. I.Zysk,Kenneth G. II.Nagarjuna,
Siddha.Ratiramana.EnglishandSanskrit. III.Title. IV Series.
HQ470.S3N34 2002
306.T0954-dc21 2002018607
DieDeutscheBibliothek-CIP-Einheitsaufnalune
Zysk,Kenneth G.:
ConjugalloveinIndia:RatisastraandRatiramana;text,translation,and
notes/ byKenneth G.Zysk. - Leiden ;Boston ;Koln:Brill,2002
(SirHenryWellcomeAsianStudies;Vol. I)
ISBN 90-04-12598-1
ISSN 1570-1484
ISBN 9004 12598 I
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CONTENTS
Preface . . . .
IX
Abbreviations
Xlll
Introduction 1
The Indian Expression ofEroticism through Art 1
ABriefSurveyofthe Literature ofLove . ... 5
Ratisastra and Traditional Brahminic Learning 9
The Ratisastras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
TheRelationship Between the RatisastrasandTextual Corre-
spondences 30
The EditionsofSanskritTexts 35
Ratisastra 41
The Sanskrit text . . . . . . . . 41
Text-Critical Notesto Ratisastra 63
Text-Critical Notesto Ratisastra 63
Notesto Ratisastra Translation 98
Ratiramana 139
The Sanskrit text . . . . . . . . . 139
Text-CriticalNotesto Ratiramana 175
English translation 186
Notesto Ratiramana Translation . 232
Bibliography 291
Textsand translations . 291
Secondarysources . . 299
Index ofpassagescited . 303
General Index . . . . . . 309
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PREFACE
Before beginning to unfold the intricaciesof conjugal love in India, we
should take a few moments to familiarize ourselves with some funda
mental ideas about love in India. Accordingto the brahminic tradition,
three basickinds oflovefind expression in Sanskrit. One iskama,which
means "pleasure," specifically"eroticpleasure," and refers to thepruri
ent and base sensual pleasure especially of men as found in Sanskrit
workson eroticlove (Kamasastra). Another issrngara,which defines"an
idealemotionalstateofloveandaffection," aspresented inliteratureand
drama, and is mentioned in the Sanskrit treatises on poetics (Sahitya,
Alamkarasastra) and dramaturgy (Natyasastra). The final word is rati,
which in its general sense refers to "love expressed through coition,"
and in its technical meaning is "the love that occurs between a man
and a woman in a brahminically approved relationship." Ofthe three
forms oflove,thefirstaimsatphysicalpleasures;thesecondatemotional
sentiment and feeling;and the third, on the one hand, at the combina
tion of both emotional and physical satisfaction, and, on the other, at
procreation,domestictranquillity,and furtherance ofthestatusquo.
Such an objectification of a notion as personal as love by means of
classification istypical ofbrahminic scholasticism. It isbound to antag
onize those individualswho feelthat loveshould not be reified because,
asa basic human instinct, it isexpressiveofhumankind'smost creative
potential. Aside from some discussionsofthethree words forlovefound
principally in the treatises on poetics, this idealistic notion of love is
seldom encountered in Sanskrit didactic literature. Our task is not to
debate thevirtuesofone idea over another, or toelaborate on thekinds
of love and the way they were expressed in India. We are concerned
with a single notion of love, rati, in its technical sense, and with the
establishment of it as an authorized and legitimate sdstra or system of
knowledge. In order toset thestage for thepresentation ofRatisastra or
the traditional teachings on conjugal love, we must first go behind the
scenes, as it were, and examine the possible purpose that such an insti
tutionalized form of knowledge could have served in traditional Indian
life. In order to do this,weshallfocuson themajorconcerns ofacouple
abouttoenter into aconjugalrelationship inatraditionalHindu setting.
Besides the necessary social and religious formalities, there was the
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x PREFACE
everpresent issue ofthe suitability ofthe woman and the man to their
respective families and their compatibility to each other. In the mind
ofthe girl, it would have been a terrifying thought to leave the safety
of the home and go offto live with a strange family and be intimate
with a man she had never met. For the boy, the idea ofbeing intimate
with a girl and the thought ofbearing the responsibility ofa wife and
family, even with the help of his own kin, would have been equally
unsettling. For both the boy and the girl, who, in all likelihood, had
not yet reached puberty, the prospect of having sexual intercourse with
the intention of producing offspring would have been overwhelming.
With these issues in the back of the minds of the young couple and
their families,how could apprehensionsbe eased and, at the same time,
a successful conjugal relationship be established? How could the two
young people and their families feel secure that it was the right and
correctdecision for everyone?
The traditional brahminic textbooksindicate that these questionsare
quite old and have been in the mindsofIndiansforcenturies. The text
booksoferotic love (Kamasastra) address the topic ofcouples' compati
bility onlyin a briefway. The bookson physiognomy(Sarnudrikasastra)
explain in detail the meaning of numerous physical characteristics of
both men and women. The law books(Dharrnasastra)provide the rules
for the correct behavior ofa man and woman in marriage. Finally, the
medical books(Vaidyasastra)discusswomen'shealthand theproduction
ofoffspring from the perspective of traditional Indian medicine (Ayur
veda).
The information necessary to provide security and assurance to the
couple and theirfamiliesthusexisted in thetradition,butitwasscattered
in these four kinds of scholastic books, and therefore was not easily
accessible. Sometime after AD 1600, a new discipline of brahminic
scholasticism was born. It came to be called Ratisastra, after the first
book on the subject. It brought together in two works information
particular to conjugal love from textbooks belonging to the four above
mentioned traditions. The oldest, the Ratisdstra, takes the form ofan
itihasa, legendary history, and offers the mythological basis for the dis
cipline, while the slightly younger Rauramana, has the style of a sastra,
and lends authority to the subject. Ratisastra received its own identity
as a sastra after information wascompiled from differenttext-booksand
reformulated to fit the style and purpose ofthe new sastra. With the
birth ofthisdiscipline,conjugal love was given itslegitimate place in the
hierarchyofbrahminiclearning.Authorizedadvice and guidance could
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