guarded, neither do they have their desires satisfied, because their only husband is common to
many wives. For this reason among them they give pleasure to each other in various ways as
now described. Having dressed the daughters of their nurses, or their female friends, or their
female attendants, like men, they accomplish their object by means of bulbs, roots, and fruits
having the form of the male organ, or they lie down upon the statue of a male figure, in which the
male organ is visible and erect. Some kings, who are compassionate, take or apply certain
medicines to enable them to enjoy many wives in one night, simply for the purpose of satisfying
the desire of their women, though they perhaps have no desire of their own. Others enjoy with
great affection only those wives that they particularly like, while others only take them, according
as the turn of each wife arrives in due course. Such are the ways of enjoyment prevalent in
Eastern countries, and what is said about the means of enjoyment of the female is also applicable
to the male. By means of their female attendants the ladies of the royal harem generally get men
into their apartments in the disguise or dress of women. Their female attendants, and the
daughters of their nurses, who are acquainted with their secrets, should exert themselves to get
men to come to the harem in this way by telling them of the good fortune attending it, and by
describing the facilities of entering and leaving the palace, the large size of the premises, the
carelessness of the sentinels, and the irregularities of the attendants about the persons of the
royal wives. But these women should never induce a man to enter the harem by telling him
falsehoods, for that would probably lead to his destruction. As for the man himself he had better
not enter a royal harem, even though it may be easily accessible, on account of the numerous
disasters to which he may be exposed there. If however he wants to enter it, he should first
ascertain whether there is an easy way to get out, whether it is closely surrounded by the
pleasure garden, whether it has separate enclosures belonging to it, whether the sentinels are
careless, whether the king has gone abroad, and then, when he is called by the women of the
harem, he should carefully observe the localities, and enter by the way pointed out by them. If he
is able to manage it, he should hang about the harem every day, and under some pretext or
other, make friends with the sentinels, and show himself attached to the female attendants of the
harem, who may have become acquainted with his design, and to whom he should express his
regret at not being able to obtain the object of his desire. Lastly he should cause the whole
business of a go-between to be done by the woman who may have access to the harem, and he
should be careful to be able to recognize the emissaries of the king. When a go-between has no
access to the harem, then the man should stand in some place where the lady, whom he loves
and whom he is anxious to enjoy, can be seen. If that place is occupied by the king's sentinels,
he should then disguise himself as a female attendant of the lady who comes to the place, or
passes by it. When she looks at him he should let her know his feelings by outward signs and
gestures, and should show her pictures, things with double meanings, chaplets of flowers, and
rings. He should carefully mark the answer she gives, whether by word or by sign, or by gesture,
and should then try and get into the harem. If he is certain of her coming to some particular place
he should conceal himself there, and at the appointed time should enter along with her as one of
the guards. He may also go in and out, concealed in a folded bed, or bed covering, or with his
body made invisible,
The following principles are laid down on this subject.
The entrance of young men into harems, and their exit from them, generally take place when
things are being brought into the palace, or when things are being taken out of it, or when
drinking festivals are going on, or when the female attendants are in a hurry, or when the
residence of some of the royal ladies is being changed, or when the king's wives go to gardens,
or to fairs, or when they enter the palace on their return from them, or lastly, when the king is
absent on a long pilgrimage. The women of the royal harem know each other's secrets, and
having but one object to attain, they give assistance to each other. A young man, who enjoys all
of them, and who is common to them all, can continue enjoying his union with them so long as it
is kept quiet, and is not known abroad.
Thus act the wives of others.
For these reasons a man should guard his own wife. Old authors say that a king should select for
sentinels in his harem such men as have their freedom from carnal desires well tested. But such
men, though free themselves from carnal desire, by reason of their fear or avarice, may cause
other persons to enter the harem, and therefore kings should place such men in the harem as
may have had their freedom from carnal desires, their fears, and their avarice well tested.
a man should cause his wife to associate with a young woman who would tell him the secrets of
other people, and thus find out from her about his wife's chastity. But we say that, as wicked
persons are always successful with women, a man should not cause his innocent wife to be
corrupted by bringing her into the company of a deceitful woman. The following are the causes of
the destruction of a woman's chastity:
Always going into society, and sitting in company
Absence of restraint
The loose habits of her husband
Want of caution in her relations with other men
Continued and long absence of her husband
Living in a foreign country
Destruction of her love and feelings by her husband
The company of loose women
The jealousy of her husband
There are also the following verses on the subject:
'A clever man, learning from manual the ways of winning over the wives of other people, is never
deceived in the case of his own wives. No one, however, should make use of these ways for
seducing the wives of others, because they do not always succeed, and, moreover, often cause
disasters, and the destruction of Dharma and Artha. This manual, which is intended for the good
of the people, and to teach them the ways of guarding their own wives, should not be made use
of merely for gaining over the wives of others.'
