King’s Pleasures

Chapter Five

The King’s Pleasures

[ìúvarakàmita prakaraóa]

Not being able to introduce themselves into other men’s dwellings, how do men in power manage? This restriction has its influence on the amorous adventures of kings, which will now be described.

1 Kings and ministers cannot enter other people’s houses, since the conduct of the powerful is observed and imitated.

The masses constantly observe them as models. If they see them at fault, they imitate them. If their conduct is the highest, the same goes for others.

For kings, ministers, and important people, it is not possible to sit other men’s houses, since the people observing them will imitate their behavior.

Of this point of view, it is said:

2 “When the sun rises, the three worlds, seeing the light, awake. When it sets, even if it is still light, they do the same.”

The sun reigns over the worlds. When it rises, seeing its behavior, the people awake. When it sets, seeing that it has gone elsewhere, seeing its behavior, they go to sleep. They regulate their own actions by it.

3 This is why kings cannot behave in any blame-worthy way.

They cannot go into a house to enjoy a woman, since the powerful are models. By entering a house, they would be imitated by others, and would be setting a bad example of behavior. This is why they cannot behave thus. Since they ought not to do so, it is difficult for them to practice the pleasure of seducing other men’s wives.

4 If one of them is bent on a love affair, he must manage it while observing propriety.

If, under the impulse of passion, one of them wishes to enter another’s house for lewd purposes, he must find a pretext.

Here there are two cases, according to whether things are done secretly or openly. There are therefore two ways of considering power, according to whether it is relative or absolute. In the latter case, dissimulation is imperative. It is said:

5 The unmarried sons of the head of the village with a dissolute frame of mind copulate with the village girls merely by request. The King’s companions in pleasure call them “sex objects” (chàrsha).

Serving for pleasure, utilized by the notables, the village women are at the disposal of licentious chiefs, at the slightest sign. This is why the village people call them “fields for ploughing” (karshana hàlikà). Each of their sons takes one as a mistress. They are available simply at the prince’s call. There is no need to wait for any of them. They are known as sex objects.

For the sexual amusement of their unmarried sons, the village worthies have peasant women, who accept to sleep with them at demand. The companions of the King’s pleasures call them “utilizable”.

6 They are employed without pay for various jobs, such as storing the harvest in the barns, going to seek provisions, cleaning the house, working in the fields, patching garments, restitching bark garments, crushing or carrying materials.

He describes how these women-objects are used for unpaid work such as pulping, crushing, cooking food, and other ordinary jobs. Entering the palace, they do any job, storing wheat, etc., which they go to look for in the storerooms and put in order once it is garnered. They do housework, fieldwork, sowing and harvesting, cooking, restitching torn garments, and other needlework. They crush, pulp, and cook food. Being employed at these jobs, they are allowed to enter the royal palace.

These “sluttish” women are brought into the outbuildings or the house in order to crush and pulp the grain, do the cooking, carry burdens, do the housework, or else to work in the fields, spin cotton, wool, or hemp. When certain products are required, they are sent to the market or go to gather them. Thus, while doing all these jobs, they are utilized by minor officials.

7 The owners of herds do the same with the shepherdesses.

Cattle owners sleep with the cowgirls who come to milk the cows or make the butter.

8 The master builder [sùtradhàra] sleeps with widows, unattached women, or wandering nuns.

The contractor for the royal buildings copulates with widows.

9 During the night, the guards take advantage of the female thieves who roam about.

The town policemen, who check up on vagabonds during the night, with female thieves and vagrant women.

10 The inspector of the bazaar, who controls the buying and selling, takes advantage of the pretty salesgirls.

The main opportunities for encounters are:

11 The amusements that take place at the festivals for the eighth day of the moon, for the full moon of the month of Aúvin [May], at the spring festival, and so on. On these occasions, the women who come to the city market are invited as a group to visit the apartments of the royal palace.

At the festivals, the King’s young companions come to inspect the markets of the capital and invite the women to the apartments within the royal palace, located outside the town.

12 There, during the course of an enjoyable drinking party, the town girls who have been chosen are taken, one after the other, into the pleasure rooms of the harem to be possessed. They are well treated and, after eating and drinking, they are sent back in the evening.

During the amusements, these women drink a great deal together with the inhabitants of the gynoecium. And then what happens? The market girls from the town and the townswomen of the capital [droóamukha] are taken into the chambers of love, the scene of amusement. There, pleasantly welcomed, they converse with the inhabitants of the harem, who treat them well. They make them drink to get them inebriated, and after having seduced them, when evening comes, they send them home so that they leave the palace while it is still light.

13 The King’s maidservants are sent to speak to women selected for his use.

The King’s envoys make contact with those women who are utilizable, those with whom he wishes to sleep. The one selected is informed that she has been chosen to sleep with the king that day. This is why she is invited to the palace. She is then skilfully chatted up.

14 She is invited to see the wonders of the palace.

Since the sight of these wonders will make her lose her head.

15 First of all, the King’s messenger speaks to her in her own home: “I will show you all kinds of amusements and wonderful objects that are in the palace. I will let you see some magnificent carpets from outside. When the time comes, you will meet him.”

Coming from the royal palace, the slave goes to her house, and speaks with her so as to stimulate her. She comes to see her at the right moment and, to attract her, tells her of wonderful things and precious carpets.

16 She lets her admire the floors of precious mosaic [manibhùmikà], shady gardens, bowers of flowering lianas, chambers formed like sea grottoes, mazes [gùdhabhitti sañcàra], rooms covered with fresco paintings, tame deer, chained falcons, caged lions and tigers, etc., of which she had only heard tell.

She shows her the mosaics made of tiny pieces of crystal and other stones, gardens planted with flowering and fruit-bearing trees, bowers covered with lianas, chambers in the form of marine grottoes with labyrinths in which springs run, and secret walks for strolling, astonishing live birds chained and others stuffed or artificial, animals for the hunt, birds such as swans, wild beasts in their cages that, even if they are stuffed, look as though they were alive.

17 Then, when they are alone, she speaks to her of the King’s passion for her.

She explains that it is advisable to accept.

18 She describes the King’s skill at making love.

19 Once intercourse has taken place, she advises her not to speak about it.

 Once she has slept with the king, the slave explains to the woman that she must not speak to anyone about it.

20 If the messenger does not succeed in convincing her, the king himself comes to her politely and, having seduced her, then sends her away with kindly words.

21 If the husband of the woman the king desires seeks the King’s benevolence, he will invite his various wives to the harem. Once there, the King’s slave acts as above.

The one in whom he is interested, whom he wishes to use, is respectfully invited by the slave for a love meeting. The slave respectfully introduces her to be enjoyed.

22 It may happen that one of the inhabitants of the harem makes the acquaintance of a woman whom the king desires, and sends her a friendly message through a servant. If the friendship grows, she will invite her to come and see her, which she accepts. Once she has entered and been welcomed, she is made drunk, after which the slave delivers her to the king, who acts as above.

Acquainted with one of the harem women, she is invited in a friendly manner. Once confided in, the king, who desires her, invites her using a slave as intermediary to come and see him since “I myself cannot come.”

23 When the king wishes to show off his well-known talents, he invites the harem women for an exhibition, during which he gives them presents. When the one he desires has entered, the King’s maidservant acts as above.

If the king is an expert in singing and playing instruments, be, invites the women, making them gifts of garments or other favors, to an exhibition. It is probable that the girl he wishes to utilize will also come, mixed in among the harem women.

The king sends a maidservant to invite the girl to visit the palace and bring her to him.

24 Finding himself in difficulty, or threatened, a man tells his wife to find a mendicant nun who has access to the harem. “If she speaks to the queen about my problems, the latter will lend a favorable ear and will certainly be moved. That way we can save our bacon. The nun will get you in two or three times and you will be able to circulate among the women. When the queen has been informed of the terrible difficulties of him who is your life, we shall be delivered from our anxiety.” Once her fears have been calmed, seizing the opportunity of conquering her, the King’s maidservant acts as above.

A man with money problems or threatened by the royal officials speaks to a mendicant nun who is in the Queen’s good books. Following her advice, he takes her as an intermediary. Seeking some way to help him, the latter arranges to introduce his wife into the harem. “If you please the queen, she will listen to your words. What she says, the king does. He always listens to what she has to say. Your demands will be heard, since in this way she will show her benevolent nature.”

Having pondered over her behavior, she will explain to her what she must do. “Knowing you are without resources, they will take away your fear.” The woman returns to the palace two or three times. Later on, being known, she is free to enter, without any difficulties. Once she has been accepted, the nun says to her, “Don’t make any difficulties about being possessed.”

25 The case is similar for people who are persecuted by a minister in order to squeeze money from them, for those who are forcefully thrown out of their house, for those who are economically weak, or for those whose salary is insufficient and desire a raise, those who seek the King’s favor, those who are victims of the royal officials or who want honorary posts in their caste, those who are persecuted by their family, and those who are looking for work. They arrange for their wives to be incited to sleep with the king, in the manner described.

Thus people who are frightened or in difficulty, who have no money, or are persecuted by the prime minister or other royal officials, who have been forcefully expelled by the government, have lost a lawsuit, are without income or find their salary insufficient and want a raise, who desire the King’s favor or to attract his attention, who want to be respected by the King’s men, but whose wife is pretty, should speak a mendicant nun who will arrange a meeting and bring about the union of the king with their wife, who is otherwise inaccessible in their society.

Thus, those who hope for some means of livelihood from the king, who seek fame through royal edicts, who are ill-treated by the nobles, or are looking for employ, may be caught in the trap of seeing their wife sleep with the king in the manner described.

26 It may occur that the king has a woman living as someone’s concubine seized, taking her for a slave, and makes her enter the harem in order to sleep with her.

She is friends with someone. He has her seized by order of the chief of police. Accusing her of immoral behavior in public, like a prostitute then considering her as a slave, he makes her enter the gynoecium with the ordinary women so as to enjoy her, but not immediately, keeping her for further use.

27 The King’s spies accuse the protector of a pretty woman of actions against the king, etc., so as to take possession of the woman and bring her secretly to the harem to be enjoyed. This is often practiced by princes.

Even if he is innocent, a man is accused of criminal behavior by the police. He is found guilty. His wife is arrested, but not accused. The couple is not defended by their family. This is often practiced by princes and their entourage, but not by the king himself.

Entering other men’s dwellings or secret copulation is not allowed. If, in order to accomplish their purpose, the messengers enter secretly, such behavior is not approved by decent people. On this subject it is said:

28 The king never, under any pretext, penetrates into people’s houses.

This is why he can only do it secretly.

It is also the case for respectable men, since Vàtsyàyana considers it a serious offense.

29 In the city of Kotta, the King of the Abhìras, having entered someone’s dwelling, was killed by a laundryman hired by his brother. Similarly, the King of Kàúì, Jayasena, was killed by the cavalry commander.

In a city of Gurjarat, called Kotta, the king of the Abhìra tribe penetrated into the dwelling of the merchant prince Vasamitra, in order to make love with his wife. On entering the house, he was assassinated by a laundryman at the order of the merchant’s brother.

Nevertheless, kings are often seen to have sexual adventures. He says:

30 The customs of certain countries facilitate amorous adventures.

Turning to behavior practiced since ancient times in certain countries, important men with an erotic temperament use it to their advantage, either publicly or otherwise, and kings in particular.

31 Among the republican tribes [janapada] of the Andhra country, a newlywed girl, in exchange for gifts, is led into the harem after the tenth day and, when the king has enjoyed her, she is released.

With gifts of garments, etc.

32 In the kingdoms of Vatsa and Gulma, the harem women belonging to ministers and high officials are sent to the king, at his disposal for the night.

The women who live in the gynoecium of the prime minister are at the King’s disposal. This practice occurs in the south, in the kingdoms created by the two princes Vatsa and Gulma.

33 In Vidharbha, pretty country girls are made to reside in the gynoecium fifteen days a month, in order to learn to make love.

It is the custom in Vidarbha country that the queens, the girls who play the role of queens, are the most beautiful girls in the kingdom, and each month spend a fortnight in the royal gynoecium.

34 In Aparàntaka country, men offer their wives, if they are beautiful, for the pleasure of the king and ministers.

People send their beautiful wives as homage to the king and to the minister.

35 The custom in Sauràûþra is for women of the town and those of the country to be sent, either singly or in a group, to the royal residence.

As a conclusion to what is said or is not said:

36 Here is a quotation: “Whether it is a question of these or other females, many are the ways used in various countries and practiced by kings for possessing other men’s wives.”

37 Being careful of their reputation in the world, kings do not give themselves over to such practices. The fairest victory of the great ones of this world is to overcome the six kinds of vice.

A great king is truly victorious if he is not the prisoner of the six defects, which are: lust, anger, covetousness, vanity, lack of judgment, and avarice.

In this chapter, Vàtsyàyana explains how kings, ministers, high officials, and fortunate men make love with other men’s wives, how they catch them, and what stratagems and intrigues they employ in order to sleep with them. What means do sensual kings use to violate the virtue of their subjects’ wives and daughters? What arguments do they bring to bear so that their subjects, considering it to be a tradition, make no opposition? And in royal families and kings’ dwellings, in what way, by dissimulation, are natural or unnatural excesses practiced? When no women are available, they use mares, she-goats, bitches, with which they practice intercourse contrary to nature, and they give themselves over to masturbation. Thus, all forms of copulation have been described in detail.

Vàtsyàyana condemns these tendencies and practices and declares that they are unworthy of man and should be avoided. He advises kings, nobles, and rich men to keep far from such practices, for the good of society and to avoid their spreading. Vàtsyàyana depicts the morals of kings of his own time and in previous eras. He mentions certain primitive peoples among whom the newlywed wife was first sent to the king for him to enjoy her. He also speaks of kings to whose palace the wives of ministers and other officials were sent at night at the sovereign’s disposal. While describing this behavior of kings, Vàtsyàyana recalls that the king is the people’s protector. He is not merely a respected personage. A king who desires riches, success, and glory must at all times abstain from such behavior and forbid the same wherever it takes place.

In Vàtsyàyana’s time and previously, the king had the right to be the first to enjoy newlywed wives. This is not surprising. Having once more found our independence, sovereigns of our own time have been discovered among whom amusements and the abduction of women are carried out in the name of tradition and custom. In order to satisfy their fantasy, they would sodomize boys in their harems and disguise their female companions, friends, and slaves as men, with whom they would exert themselves in erotic practices with the aid of artificial sex organs. For this purpose, they would use aubergines, turnips, etc.

Vàtsyàyana mentions all kinds of ways, both artificial and not, of causing sexual enjoyment. It is astonishing, however, that he does not speak of secret relations for unsatisfied queens. It is probable that in Vàtsyàyana’s time such excesses were not revealed, or perhaps that such a prudent man would not wish to reveal these secrets. Nowadays, when it is the fashionable practice for girls to marry late, the employment of artificial instruments is much more widespread as a means of self-satisfaction.

Vàtsyàyana had considerable power of intuition. In the chapter on other men’s wives, he describes man’s animal passions, but sometimes casts a veil over his penetrating gaze.

End of the Fifth Chapter

The King’s Pleasures

of the Fifth Part entitled Other Men’s Wives