10. Erotic Culture

It can be inferred from the Buddhist and allied literatures that the urban cities were crowded centres with various kinds of people and merchants. A new strengthened phase in the trade relation with distant societies, particularly Roman trade relations is one of the major peculiarities of this period. Great growth in the fields of agriculture, handicrafts, production of goods reflected in the luxurious lifestyle of the upper stratum of the society. As a fundamental way of pleasure consumption, sexuality got more social sanction this time. Erotic science also was placed as an elegant symbol of art, beauty and aesthetics. While thinking about the cultural-halo at that time; city, citizens, courtesans, samājas, goṣṭhis and particularly the erotic literature are the essential factors of key consideration (Rajan Gurukkal, 2013: 102-103). The following chapters will discuss these topics in detail.

The history of the process of urbanization in Indian sub-continent discloses the development of many socio-political upheavals as the turning points of several phases. As discussed earlier, the Gupta period gave more importance to the cultural upheaval including art and literature. The new intelligentsia empowered by the social conditions of such phases reinforced the fields of knowledge. It is noted that the origin and evolution of such snippets of knowledge in the history of human beings were completely in tune with the growth of economic growth in the society. In other words, the economic foundation of certain society determines its cultural prosperity. Thus the cities emerged in the phase of grant imperious of ancient India amplified the mode of living of individuals in the stratified social situation. The indirect coercion by the implementation of the ideological apparatus of the state always moulds the taste of the people and these tastes give rise to the creation of luxury.