Kamashastra Discourse (Life in Ancient India)
by Nidheesh Kannan B. | 2018 | 52,434 words
This page relates ‘Works on Kamashastra (g): Dutikarmaprakasha’ 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 (g): Dūtīkarmaprakāśa
Dūtīkarmaprakāśa is a minor work on the female messengers. From the first verse of this work, it is known that the authorship is attributed to Paṇḍarīvihvala[1] and no more information is available about the life, period and other works of the author.
There is the description of 21 types of female messengers (Dūtīs) in Dūtīkarmaprakāśa with definition for each. They are;
- Sakhī,
- Vipraśnikā,
- Ceṭī,
- Svayamdūtī,
- Śilpinī,
- Vicitravacanā,
- Gānavatī,
- Dhātrī,
- Kumārikā,
- Prasaṅginī,
- Mālinī,
- Skhalitā,
- Prativeśinī,
- Paricitaviśeṣajñā,
- Ceṣṭhāsamvedakovidā,
- Rajakī,
- Saucikī,
- Veṣadhāriṇī,
- Maṇihāriṇī,
- Kathinī and
- Nāpikī.
At the end of the work, four types of men; Pīṭhamarda, Viṭa, Ceṭa and Vidūṣaka are also described.