Kamashastra Discourse (Life in Ancient India)
by Nidheesh Kannan B. | 2018 | 52,434 words
This page relates ‘Adornments and Caring of Body in Sahridayalila’ 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.
8.2. Adornments and Caring of Body in Sahṛdayalīlā
Sahṛdayalīlā, the work on Kāmaśāstra, authored by Rājānaka Ruyyaka and is composed in four small chapters. A general outline about the text has already given in the second chapter of this thesis. Here it is aimed to analyze the content of Sahṛdayalīlā, because the text entirely deals about the importance and caring of physical body. Through four ullekhas the author explores the subjects like qualities of the connoisseur, importance of ornaments, nature of youth and beauty etc.
The first chapter called Guṇollekha or on importance of developing personality. As an aesthetician, Ruyyaka uses the word sahṛdaya which means an appreciator of arts, music and literatures to address citizen or nāgaraka. In this section, ten physical qualities or bodily factors of personality viz. figure or appearance of the body, colour of the body, lustre of the body, attractiveness, nobility, efficiency in coquettish gestures, grace, characteristic trait, magnanimous ability and fortune are discussed. Each of the qualities is also defined here separately[1].
The second chapter named Alaṅkārollekha deals about seven types of adornments to be applied in the body. They are diamonds, gold, diamond incorporated with gold, garlands, perfumed powders and creams made of different ingredients, eyebrow designers, massaging items etc. Thirteen types of diamonds, nine types of gold, four types of incorporated diamond gold, eight types of garlands, two ways of massaging etc are depicted. The chapter has concluded by proclaiming that the combination of above items is perfect costume ever and it should be applied according to the suitability of place, time and climatic conditions. Thus the beauty will be enriched by the application of such items as suitably[2].
The third chapter named Jīvitollekha briefly explains about the period of youth. Physical changes happened in the body as the symbol of adolescence after childhood stage, entertainments and major mental happenings in the youth are described here[3].
The fourth and final chapter called Parikarollekha, Parikara means the one which enumerates beauty with its nearby presence or simply, it is called the physical body. It has eight broad divisions derived from moveable and immovable or conscious and unconscious with relevant examples each.
Then the chapter concludes by interconnecting all the subjects depicted in the four chapters in a single stream of life as:
In short, quality generates, adornment cultivates, life revives and body implies the beauty[4]. So, the life span of a citizen or sahṛdaya is lays upon physical beauty to an extent. According to Ruyyaka, the aesthetical satisfaction of life is beauty and physical caring and man is living in the joyful world created by beauty. So that, the text like Sahṛdayalīlā aims to propagate the value of adornments and caring of body in delightful material life.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
śrīmatāmutkarṣaparijñānadvaidagdhyena sahṛdayatvānnāgarikatāsiddhiḥ | yuvatyadīnāmukarṣo dehe guṇālaṃkārajīvitaparikarebhyaḥ | tatra śobhāvidhāyino dharmā guṇāḥ | rūpaṃ varṇaḥ prabhā rāgaḥ ābhijātyaṃ vilāsitā | lāvaṇyaṃ lākṣaṇaṃ chāyā saubhāgyaṃ cetyamī guṇāḥ || avayavānāṃ rekhāspāṣṭyaṃ rūpam | gaurādidharmaviśeṣo varṇaḥ | kācakācyarūpā ravikāntiḥ prabhā | naisargikasmeratvamukhaprasādādiḥ sarveṣāmeva cakṣurbandhako dharmo rāgaḥ | kusumadharmā mārdavādirlālanādirūpaḥ sparśaviśeṣaḥ peśalatākhya ābhijātyam | aṃgopāṃgānāṃ yauvanodbhedī manmathavāsanāprayuktaḥ kaṭākṣādivadvibhramākhyaśceṣṭāviśeṣovilāsitā | taraṃgidravasvabhāvāpyāyinetrapeyavyāpisnigdhamadhura iva prītimotkarṣaikasāra iva pūrṇenduvadāhlādako dharmaḥ saṃsthanamugdhimavyaṃgyo lāvaṇyam | aṃgopāṃgānāmasādhāraṇaśobhāprāśastyaheturaucityatmāsmayī dharmo lakṣaṇam | tasya yuktapramāṇatādoṣasparśasnigdhavakraniyatalomāṃgasuśliṣṭasaṃdhānatānāha-pariṇāhaucityalokaprasiddhaviśiṣṭāṃgayogākhyāḥ krameṇa ṣaṭbhedāḥ | agrāmyatayā vakrimatvakhyāpinī tāmbūlaparidhānanṛttabhaṇitigamanādisthanakeṣu sūkṣmā bhaṃgiścchāyā | sphurallakṣmyupabhogaparimalādigamyo'ntaḥsāro rañjakatayā vaśīkartā sahṛdayasaṃvedyadharmabhedaśca saubhāgyam | tatrādye smaramadapulakādayo bhedāḥ | antye tu bhaṇitarūpaparibhogādharāsvādasaurabhādibhiryugapadrasavattvātpañcendriyasukhalābhaḥ || iti śrīrājānakaruyyakaviracitāyāṃ sahṛdayalīlāyāṃ guṇollekhaḥ prathamaḥ |
[2]:
ratnaṃ hemāṃśuke mālyaṃ maṇḍanadravyayojane | prakīrṇaṃ cetyalaṃkārāḥ saptaivete mayā matāḥ || tatra vajramuktāpadmarāgamarakatendranīlavaidūryapuṣparāgakarketanapulakarudhirā kṣabhīṣmasphaṭikapravālarūpāṇi trayodaśa ratnāni | hema navadhā | jāmbūnadaśātakaumbhahāṭakavaiṇavaśrṛṃgīśuktijajātarūparasaviddhākarodgatabhedāt | tatra tāḍīkuṇḍalaśravaṇavālikādirāvedhyaḥ | aṃgadaśroṇīsūtramūrdhamaṇiśikhādṛṣṭikādirnibandhanīyaḥ | ūrmikākaṭakamañjīrasadṛśaḥ prakṣepyaḥ | prālambamālikāhāranakṣatramālāprabhṛtirāropyaḥ | caturdhāṃśukamayaḥ | tvakphalakrimiromajatvātkrameṇa kṣaumakarpāsakauśeyarāṃkavādibhedāt | punastridhā | nibandhanīyaprakṣopyāropyavaicitryāt | tatra nibandhanīyaḥ śiraḥśāṭakajaghanavasanādiḥ | prakṣepyaḥ kañculikādiḥ | āropya uttarīyapaṭādiḥ | sarvasyāsyānekavidhatvaṃ varṇavicchittinānātvāt | grathitāgrathitavaśāddvividhaḥ sannaṣṭadhā mālyamayaḥ | veṣṭitavitatasaṃghāṭyagranthimadavalaṃbamuktakamañjarīstabakalakṣaṇamālyabhedena | tatrodvartitaṃ veṣṭitam | pārśvato vistāritaṃ vitatam | bahubhiḥ puṣpaiḥ samūhena racitaṃ saṃghāṭyam | antarāntarā viṣamaṃ granthimat | spaṣṭommitamavalambam | kevalaṃ muktakaḥ | anekapuṣpamayī latā mañjarī | kusumagulucchaṃ stabakaḥ | tasyāvedhyādayo'pi catvāro bhedāḥ | kastūrīkuṃkumacandanakarpūrāgu rukulakadantasamapaṭavāsasahakāratailatāmbūlālaktakāñjanagorocanādinirvṛtto maṇḍanadravyamayaḥ | bhrūghaṭanālakaracanādhammillabandhādiryojanāmayaḥ | dvidhā prakīrṇamayaḥ | janyaniveśyabhedena | śramajalamadhumadādirjanyaḥ | dūrvāśokapallavayavāṃkurarajatatrapuśaṃkhatāladaladantapatrikāmṛṇālavalaya-karakrīḍanakādirniveśyaḥ | etatsamavāyo veṣaḥ | sa ca deśakālaprakṛtyavasthasātmyena | eteṣāṃ vicchittyā yathāsthananiveśanaparabhāgalābhādrāmaṇīyakavṛddhiḥ | iti śrīrājānakaruyyakaviracitāyāṃ sahṛdayalīlāyāmalaṃkārollekho dvitīyaḥ |
[3]:
śobhāyā anuprāṇakaṃ yauvanākhyaṃ jīvitam | bālyānantaraṃ gātrāṇāṃ vaipulyasauṣṭhavavibhaktatāvidhāyī sphuṭitadāḍimopamaḥ smaravasatiravasthabhedo yauvanam | tasya vayaḥsaṃdhirārambhaḥ | madhyaṃ tu prauḍhikālaḥ | prathame dhammillaracanālakabhaṃganīvīnahanadantaparikarmapariṣkaraṇa-darpaṇekṣaṇapuṣpoccayamālyombhanajalakrīḍādyūtāślīlacchekabhaṇityanimittalajjānubhāvaśṛṃgāraśikṣādaya āvartamānāśceṣṭāḥ | antye tu śṛṃgārānubhāvatāratamyaṃ śreyaḥ || iti śrīrājānakaruyyakaviracitāyāṃ sahṛdayalīlāyāṃ jīvitollekhastṛtīyaḥ |
[4]:
śobhāyā ārādupakārakatvādvyañjakaḥ parikaraḥ | tasya cetanācetanayoḥ sthaṇucalayoḥ pratyekaṃ śliṣṭasaṃnihitamātrarūpatvenāṣṭavidhatvam | utsaṃgopāsīnakāntahayaparivāravātāyanavitānanauchatrādīni darśanāni | tāni dvidhā | vyastasamastabhedāt | evaṃ śobhāsamutpādakasamuddīpakānuprāṇakavyañjakāḥ kramādguṇālaṃkārajīvitaparikarāḥ | evaṃ parasparopakārakatvāditaretarānugrāhakatvaṃ siddham || iti śrīrājānakaruyyakaviracitāyāṃ sahṛdayalīlāyāṃ parikarollekhaścaturthaḥ |