Kamashastra Discourse (Life in Ancient India)
by Nidheesh Kannan B. | 2018 | 52,434 words
This page relates ‘Advent of Kamashastra� of the study on Kamashastra representing the discipline of Kama (i.e., ‘sensual pleasure�). The Kamasutra of Vatsyayana from the 4th century is one of the most authoratitive Sanskrit texts belonging this genre. This study focusses on the vision of life of ancient India reflected in Kamashastra.
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4. Advent of 峾śٰ
It can be argues that in a background of a rich society itself the amour and sensual pleasures became part of art and that a rich society was materialized approximately from 6th century BCE. Kings and their relatives, landlords and chief merchants were the rich people at that society. It is known from the ī literatures that all of the sovereigns had many wives. Out of this, ladies imported as slaves from wars also resided in the palaces as servants and courtesans. Every landlord and merchant desired to imitate sovereigns by living with beautiful women. As a result they also started to accommodate female servants or maids along with their wives. Gradually a system of protecting beautiful women as a public property of rich society came into being. Professional groups of beautiful ladies who were well-versed in sexual arts evolved as a part of this system. The institution was called �Ҳṇi�[1] originated from this process of evolution. The first half of 1st and the latter half of 2nd century CE. was prosperous period for ṇi첹. Trade relation with distant countries especially with Roman trade relation is the peculiarity of this period. This period witnessed great improvement and prosperity in all the fields of Indian social setup. This led to more surplus expenditure for the rich classes. Dancers, divine prostitutes, passionate and seductive women were respectfully elevated in the society. As a result sex became a vital part of people in the forms of peculiar science, art and aesthetics. Citizens, courtesans, goṣṭis, Ჹ and the sex literature became important factors of social life. This led to the attainment of supreme significance to 峾puruṣārtha and came to enjoy top hegemony in the society.
ٲⲹԲ refers ten more predecessors of 峾śٰ in the text 峾ūٰ. According to him ⲹ from ñ region firstly composed a treatise on 峾 and it aimed to provide special information about sex to the courtesans. Dattaka’s ղś첹 is another important text composed just before 峾ūٰ. It also gives the guidelines for courtesans. ٲⲹԲ’s 峾ūٰ is considered a well-designed and arranged thesis in this topic. ٲⲹԲ represents the society of citizens. So, he views the entire socio-cultural and artistic field by emphasizing upon the central point of 峾. It is the usual tendency of most of the Sanskrit works composed between the periods of second or third centuries of Common Era.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
They were brought up step by step and became celebrated city women. At the first stage those women were “maids�, and then became “prostitutes� finally elevated as “courtesans� or gaṇikā. A famous story about the history of gaṇikā’s institutionalization can be seen at Pālaī literature-the story of ī.