Kamashastra Discourse (Life in Ancient India)
by Nidheesh Kannan B. | 2018 | 52,434 words
This page relates ‘Works on Kamashastra (b): Pancasayaka’ 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.
2. Works on Kāmaśāstra (b): Pañcasāyaka
Jyotirīśvara, who is flourished with the title Kaviśekhara, is considered the author of Pañcasāyaka. The term Pañcasāyaka literally means the one with five arrows or Kāmadeva, who constitute five different flowers.
Narendranath Bhattacharrya places Pañcasāya to the first half of fourteenth century CE. on the basis of the references from Kṣemendra’s Kalāvilāsa and Śaṅkaramiśra’s Rasamañjarī commentary on Gītagovinda (1975: 115). Besides Kṣemendra, Jyotirīśvara refers to Vātsyāyana, Goṇikāputra, Mūladeva, Bābhravya, Nandikeśvara, Īśvara and Rantideva in his work[1].
The text Pañcasāyaka is divided into seven chapters and each chapter has been named as sāyaka (arrow). The first sāyaka includes characteristics of previously classified men and women, suitable dates of sexual intercourse, candrakalas of women, intrinsic nature of women like devasthāna, gandharvasattva, yakṣasattva and pretasattva. The second sāyaka discusses the types of sex, characteristics of men and women, regional peculiarities of women, nature of vagina, general view of sexual intercourse, and description of cosmetics etc. Third sāyaka deals with some medical descriptions for applying in sexual organs and tips for attracting men and women. As the continuation of this, the fourth sāyaka discusses about several mantras for the re-acquirement of sexual ability, pregnancy, normal delivery, vasectomy etc. Fifth sāyaka is about the hair-care tips, description of different hairstyles, tips for removing pimples from face, vaginal care etc. The sixth sāyaka refers to the merits and demerits of both men and women, types of marriage, approaching others” wife, qualities of messenger women, accessible and inaccessible women, comfortable places for doing sexual intercourse, types of embraces, kisses, biting and scratching with teeth and nails etc. The seventh or the last sāyaka includes description of the three veins (samīraṇī, candramāsī and gaurī) situated inside the vagina, types of sexual positions, erotic articulations and eight types of heroines etc.
In totality, most of the topics discussed in Pañcasāyaka are the amplification of Aupaniṣadika, Kanyāsamprayuktaka, Bhāryādhikārika and Pāradārika sections of Vātsyāyana’s Kāmasūtra.