Chapter 5.5-6 - Regarding the lust of Rulers and Women of the Royal Harem

The fifth and the sixth adhyayas of this chapter deal with the lust of rulers and women of the royal harem. In these adhyayas Vatsyayana has given some local customs of different countries which were current in those days. Vatsyayana narrates- "The women of the royal harem cannot see or meet any men on account of their being strictly guarded, neither do they have their desires satisfied, because there only husband is common to many wives. "101 So passionate women take pleasure from outside people By means of their female attendants the ladies secretly. of royal harem generally get men into their apartments in the dress of women. 102 The description of entering 100. Mind and art of Bhavabhuti, The Sanskrit book Depot, Delhi, 1973, p.232. 101. nantahpuranam raksanayogatpurusa samdarsanam vidyate patsusyekatvadu naikasadharanatvaccatrpti ... ka su 5.6 1 102. yosavesamsca nagarakanprayenantahpurikaparicarikabhih saha pravesayanti | ka . su . 5.6.6.

n r the royal harem in female dress to achieve the desired goal is seen in literature. Puspodbhava enters the bedroom of Balacandrika in female dress to kill Daruvarman. Pramati also enters the harem of Navamalika in female 104 form to win her heart. Thus Dandin has made use of Vatsyayana's statement in his stories. In the 15 th story of Vetalapancavimsati, Manahsvamin, the son of a rich man, having seen Sasiprabha, enters her harem in female form with the help of a magical tablet. 105 Vatsyayana warns a nagaraka not to enter royal harem, even though it may be easily accessible, on account of the numerous disasters. This idea is reflected in 106 103 ahamapi maninapura me khalaka ika eka takataka hara- ksaumakajjalam vanita yogyam mandana jatam nipunataya tatsthanesu niksipya samyagagikrtamanojnaveso vallabhaya taya saha tadagaradvaropantamagaccham | dasa . 4. pr . 40. 104. dasa . 5. pr . 146, 147. 105. vetala . 15. pr 123-125. 106. nagaraka stu suprapamapyantah puramapayabhuyisthatvanna pravesaditi vatsyayanah | ka . su . 5.6.10. 341 103

the words of Bhujangasekhara who says- "O bold one, why are you attached to wives of the king? Do you want to 107 take the jewel from the hood of poisonous serpent?" Here the dramatist Ramabhadra Diksit compares the royal harem to the hood of poisonous snake. We see here that the poet has known the above line of Kamasutra, hence he has described thus. 342 At the end of this chapter the author gives a list of the causes that lead to the destruction of a woman's chastity. They are as follows: Always going into society and sitting in company; Absence of restraint; Independence from husband; Mingling with other men; Continued and long absence of her husband; Living in a foreign country; Destruction of her love by her husband; Friendship with loose women and the jealousy of her husband. 108 107. aho sahasina kim rajanyadaresvapi vyapriyate | api saknomi kalabhujangananmanimadatum | sra • ti . bha . pr . 8. 108. atigosthi nirankusatvam - bhartuh svairata - purusah sahaniyantranata- pravasavasthanam - videse nivasah svavrtyupaghatah svairini samsargah - patyurarsyaluta ceti strinam vinasakaranani | ka . su . 5.6.49.

The Ratirahasya also gives the same reasons for the 109 destruction of woman's chastity. Having given these reasons Vatsyayana concludes this chapter thus- "This chapter, which is intended for the good of the people and to teach them the ways of guarding their own wires, should not be made use of merely for gaining over the 110 wives of others.