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The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, tr. by Richard Burton, [1883], at sacred-texts.com

CONCLUDING REMARKS

THUS ends, in seven parts, the Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, which might otherwise be called a treatise on men and women, their mutual relationship, and connection with each other.

It is a work that should be studied by all, both old and young; the former will find in it real truths, gathered by experience, and already tested by themselves, while the latter will derive the great advantage of learning things, which some perhaps may otherwise never learn at all, or which they may only learn when it is too late ('too late' those immortal words of Mirabeau) to profit by the learning.

It can also be fairly commended to the student of social science and of humanity, and above all to the student of those early ideas, which have gradually filtered down through the sands of time, and which seem to prove that the human nature of today is much the same as the human nature of the long ago.

It has been said of Balzac the great, if not the greatest of French novelists, that he seemed to have inherited a natural and intuitive perception of the feelings of men and women, and has described them with an analysis worthy of a man of science. The author of the present work must also have had a considerable knowledge of the humanities. Many of his remarks are so full of simplicity and truth, that they have stood the test of time, and stand out still as clear and true as when they were first written, some eighteen hundred years ago.

As a collection of facts, told in plain and simple language, it must be remembered that in those early days there was apparently no idea of embellishing the work, either with a literary style, a flow of language, or a quantity of superfluous padding. The author tells the world what he knows in very concise language, without any attempt to produce an interesting story. From his facts how many novels could be written! Indeed much of the matter contained in Parts III, IV, V and VI has formed the basis of many of the stories and the tales of past centuries.

There will be found in Part VII some curious recipes. Many of them appear to be as primitive as the book itself, but in later works of the same nature these recipes and prescriptions appear to have increased, both as regards quality and quantity. In the Anunga Runga or 'The Stage of Love', mentioned at page 85 of the Preface, there are found no less than thirty-three different subjects for which one hundred and thirty recipes and prescriptions are given.

As the details may be interesting, these subjects are described as follows:

For hastening the paroxysm of the woman
For delaying the orgasm of the man
Aphrodisiacs
For thickening and enlarging the lingam, rendering it sound and strong, hard and lusty
For narrowing and contracting the yoni
For perfuming the yoni
For removing and destroying the hair of the body
For removing the sudden stopping of the monthly ailment
For abating the immoderate appearance of the monthly ailment
For purifying the womb For causing pregnancy
For preventing miscarriage and other accidents
For ensuring easy labour and ready deliverance
For limiting the number of children
For thickening and beautifying the hair
For obtaining a good black colour to it
For whitening and bleaching it
For renewing it
For clearing the skin of the face from eruptions that break out and leave black spots upon it
For removing the black colour of the epidermis
For enlarging the breasts of women
For raising and hardening pendulous breasts
For giving a fragrance to the skin
For removing the evil savour of perspiration
For anointing the body after bathing
For causing a pleasant smell to the breath
Drugs and charms for the purposes of fascinating, overcoming, and subduing either men or women
Recipes for enabling a woman to attract and preserve her husband's love
Magical collyriums for winning love and friendship
Prescriptions for reducing other persons to submission
Philtre pills, and other charms
Fascinating incense, or fumigation
Magical verses which have the power of fascination

Of the one hundred and thirty recipes given, many of them are absurd, but not more perhaps than many of the recipes and prescriptions in use in Europe not so very long ago. Love-philtres, charms, and herbal remedies have been, in early days, as freely used in Europe as in Asia, and doubtless some people believe in them still in many places.

And now, one word about the author of the work, the good old sage Vatsyayana. It is much to be regretted that nothing can be discovered about his life, his belongings, and his surroundings. At the end of Part VII, he states that he wrote the work while leading the life of a religious student [probably at Benares] and while wholly engaged in the contemplation of the Deity. He must have arrived at a certain age at that time, for throughout he gives us the benefit of his experience, and of his opinions, and these bear the stamp of age rather than of youth; indeed the work could hardly have been written by a young man.

In a beautiful verse of the Vedas of the Christians it has been said of the peaceful dead, that they rest from their labours, and that their works do follow them. Yes indeed, the works of men of genius do follow them, and remain as a lasting treasure. And though there may be disputes and discussions about the immortality of the body or the soul, nobody can deny the immortality of genius, which ever remains as a bright and guiding star to the struggling humanities of succeeding ages. This work, then, which has stood the test of centuries, has placed Vatsyayana among the immortals, and on This, and on Him no better elegy or eulogy can be written than the following lines:

'So long as lips shall kiss, and eyes shall see,
So long lives This, and This gives life to Thee.'