[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Polity, Pleasure & Law](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti) › [Erotics and the Art of Love](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama) › [Kamasutra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana) › 2.4 # Kamasutra 2.4 Kāmasūtra 2.4 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [2.4.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.1) rāgavṛddhau saṃgharṣātmakaṃ nakhavilekhanam// > When love becomes intense, pressing with the nails or scratching the body with them is practiced, and it is done on the following occasions: On the first visit; at the time of setting out on a journey; on the return from a journey; at the time when an angry lover is reconciled; and lastly when the woman is intoxicated. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.2) tasya prathamasamāgame pravāsapratyāgamane pravāsagamane kruddhaprasannāyāṃ mattāyāṃ ca prayogaḥ/ na nityam acaṇḍavegayoḥ// > When love becomes intense, pressing with the nails or scratching the body with them is practiced, and it is done on the following occasions: On the first visit; at the time of setting out on a journey; on the return from a journey; at the time when an angry lover is reconciled; and lastly when the woman is intoxicated. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > But pressing with the nails is not an usual thing except with those who are intensely passionate, i.e., full of passion. It is employed together with biting, by those to whom the practice is agreeable. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.3) tathā daśanacchedyasya sātmyavaśād vā// > But pressing with the nails is not an usual thing except with those who are intensely passionate, i.e., full of passion. It is employed together with biting, by those to whom the practice is agreeable. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.4) tad ācchuritakam ardhacandro maṇḍalaṃ rekhā vyāghranakhaṃ mayūrapadakaṃ śaśaplutakam utpalapatrakam iti rūpato 'ṣṭavikalpam// > Pressing with the nails is of the eight following kinds, according to the forms of the marks which are produced, viz: > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > Sounding. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > Half moon. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > A circle. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > A line. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > A tiger's nail or claw. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > A peacock's foot. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > The jump of a hare. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > The leaf of a blue lotus. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.5) kakṣau stanau galaḥ pṛṣṭhaṃ jaghanam ūrū ca sthānāni// > The places that are to be pressed with the nails are as follows: the arm pit, the throat, the breasts, the lips, the jaghana, or middle parts of the body, and the thighs. But Suvarnanabha is of opinion that when the impetuosity of passion is excessive, then the places need not be considered. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.6) pravṛttaraticakrāṇāṃ na sthānam asthānaṃ vā vidyata iti suvarṇanābhaḥ// > The places that are to be pressed with the nails are as follows: the arm pit, the throat, the breasts, the lips, the jaghana, or middle parts of the body, and the thighs. But Suvarnanabha is of opinion that when the impetuosity of passion is excessive, then the places need not be considered. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.7) tatra savyahastāni pratyagraśikharāṇi dvitriśikharāṇi caṇḍavegayor nakhāni syuḥ// > Small > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > Middling > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > Large > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.8) anugatarāji samam ujjvalam amalinam avipāṭitaṃ vivardhiṣṇu mṛdusnigdhadarśanam iti nakhaguṇāḥ// > Large > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.9) dīrghāṇi hastaśobhīny āloke ca yoṣitāṃ cittagrāhīṇi gauḍānāṃ nakhāni syuḥ// > Large nails, which give grace to the hands, and attract the hearts of women from their appearance, are possessed by the Bengalees. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.10) hrasvāni karmasahiṣṇūni vikalpayojanāsu ca svecchāpātīni dākṣiṇātyānām// > Small nails, which can be used in various ways, and are to be applied only with the object of giving pleasure, are possessed by the people of the southern districts. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.11) madhyamāny ubhayabhāñji mahārāṣṭrakāṇām iti// > Middling nails, which contain the properties of both the above kinds, belong to the people of the Maharashtra. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.12) taiḥ suniyamitair hanudeśe stanayor adhare vā laghukaraṇam anudgatalekhaṃ sparśamātrajananād romāñ cakaramante saṃnipātavardhamānaśabdam ācchuritakam// > (1) When a person presses the chin, the breasts, the lower lip, or the jaghana of another so softly that no scratch or mark is left, but only the hair on the body becomes erect from the touch of the nails, and the nails themselves make a sound, it is called a "sounding or pressing with the nails." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.13) prayojyāyāṃ ca tasyāṅgasaṃvāhane śirasaḥ kaṇḍūyane piṭakabhedane vyākulīkaraṇe bhīṣaṇena prayogaḥ// > This pressing is used in the case of a young girl when her lover shampoos her, scratches her head, and wants to trouble or frighten her. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.14) grīvāyāṃ stanapṛṣṭhe ca vakro nakhapadaniveśo 'rdhacandrakaḥ// > (2) The curved mark with the nails, which is impressed on the neck and the breasts is called the "half moon." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.15) tāv eva dvau parasparābhimukhau maṇḍalam// > (3) When the half moons are impressed opposite to each other, it is called a "circle." This mark with the nails is generally made on the navel, the small cavities about the buttocks, and on the joints of the thigh. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.16) nābhimūlakakundaravaṅkṣaṇeṣu tasya prayogaḥ// > (3) When the half moons are impressed opposite to each other, it is called a "circle." This mark with the nails is generally made on the navel, the small cavities about the buttocks, and on the joints of the thigh. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.17) sarvasthāneṣu nātidīrghā lekhā// > (4) A mark in the form of a small line, and which can be made on any part of the body, is called a "line." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.18) saiva vakrā vyāghranakhakamāstanamukham// > (5) This same line, when it is curved, and made on the breast, is called a "tiger's nail." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.19) pañcabhir abhimukhair lekhā cūcukābhimukhī mayūrapadakam// > (6) When a curved mark is made on the breast by means of the five nails, it is called a "peacock's foot." This mark is made with the object of being praised, for it requires a great deal of skill to make it properly. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.20) tat saṃprayogaślāghāyāḥ stanacūcuke saṃnikṛṣṭāni pañcanakhapadāni śaśaplutakam// > (7) When five marks with the nails are made close to one another near the nipple of the breast, it is called "the jump of a hare." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > (6) When a curved mark is made on the breast by means of the five nails, it is called a "peacock's foot." This mark is made with the object of being praised, for it requires a great deal of skill to make it properly. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.21) stanapṛṣṭhe mekhalāpathe cotpalapattrākṛtīty utpalapatrakam// > (8) A mark made on the breast or on the hips in the form of a leaf of the blue lotus, is called the "leaf of a blue lotus." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.22) ūrvoḥ stanapṛṣṭhe ca pravāsaṃ gacchataḥ smāraṇīyakaṃ saṃhatāś catasras tisro vā lekhāḥ/ iti nakhakarmāṇi// > When a person is going on a journey, and makes a mark on the thighs, or on the breast, it is called a "token of remembrance." On such an occasion three or four lines are impressed close to one another with the nails. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana > Here ends the marking with the nails. Marks of other kinds than the above may also be made with the nails, for the ancient authors say, that as there are innumerable degrees of skill among men (the practice of this art being known to all), so there are innumerable ways of making these marks. And as pressing or marking with the nails is dependent on love, no one can say with certainty how many different kinds of marks with the nails do actually exist. The reason of this is, Vatsyayana says, that as variety is necessary in love, so love is to be produced by means of variety. It is on this account that courtezans, who are well acquainted with various ways and means, become so desirable, for if variety is sought in all the arts and amusements, such as archery and others, how much more should it be sought after in the present case. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.23) ākṛtivikārayuktāni cānyāny api kurvīta// > Here ends the marking with the nails. Marks of other kinds than the above may also be made with the nails, for the ancient authors say, that as there are innumerable degrees of skill among men (the practice of this art being known to all), so there are innumerable ways of making these marks. And as pressing or marking with the nails is dependent on love, no one can say with certainty how many different kinds of marks with the nails do actually exist. The reason of this is, Vatsyayana says, that as variety is necessary in love, so love is to be produced by means of variety. It is on this account that courtezans, who are well acquainted with various ways and means, become so desirable, for if variety is sought in all the arts and amusements, such as archery and others, how much more should it be sought after in the present case. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.24) vikalpānām anantatvād ānantyāc ca kauśalavidher abhyāsasya ca sarvagāmitvād rāgātmakatvāc chedyasya prakārān ko 'bhisamīkṣitum arhatīty ācāryāḥ// > Here ends the marking with the nails. Marks of other kinds than the above may also be made with the nails, for the ancient authors say, that as there are innumerable degrees of skill among men (the practice of this art being known to all), so there are innumerable ways of making these marks. And as pressing or marking with the nails is dependent on love, no one can say with certainty how many different kinds of marks with the nails do actually exist. The reason of this is, Vatsyayana says, that as variety is necessary in love, so love is to be produced by means of variety. It is on this account that courtezans, who are well acquainted with various ways and means, become so desirable, for if variety is sought in all the arts and amusements, such as archery and others, how much more should it be sought after in the present case. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.25) bhavati hi rāge 'pi citrāpekṣā/ vaicitryāc ca parasparaṃ rāgo janayitavyaḥ/ vaicakṣaṇyayuktāś ca gaṇikās tat kāminaś ca parasparaṃ prārthanīyā bhavanti/ dhanur vedād iṣv api hi śastrakarmaśāstreṣu vaicitryam evāpekṣyate kiṃ punar iheti vātsyāyanaḥ// > Here ends the marking with the nails. Marks of other kinds than the above may also be made with the nails, for the ancient authors say, that as there are innumerable degrees of skill among men (the practice of this art being known to all), so there are innumerable ways of making these marks. And as pressing or marking with the nails is dependent on love, no one can say with certainty how many different kinds of marks with the nails do actually exist. The reason of this is, Vatsyayana says, that as variety is necessary in love, so love is to be produced by means of variety. It is on this account that courtezans, who are well acquainted with various ways and means, become so desirable, for if variety is sought in all the arts and amusements, such as archery and others, how much more should it be sought after in the present case. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.26) na tu paraparigṛhītāsv evaṃ \*kurthāt/ pracchanneṣu pradeśeṣu tāsām anusmaraṇārthaṃ rāgavardhanāc ca viśeṣān darśayet// > The marks of the nails should not be made on married women, but particular kinds of marks may be made on their private parts for the remembrance and increase of love. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.27) nakhakṣatāni paśyantyā gūḍhasthāneṣu yoṣitaḥ/ cirotsṛṣṭāpy abhinavā pītir bhavati peśalā// > "The love of a woman who sees the marks of nails on the private parts of her body, even though they are old and almost worn out, becomes again fresh and new. If there be no marks of nails to remind a person of the passages of love, then love is lessened in the same way as when no union takes place for a long time." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.28) cirotsṛṣṭeṣu rāgeṣu prītir gacchet parābhavam/ rāgāyatanasaṃsmāri yadi na syān nakhakṣatam// > "The love of a woman who sees the marks of nails on the private parts of her body, even though they are old and almost worn out, becomes again fresh and new. If there be no marks of nails to remind a person of the passages of love, then love is lessened in the same way as when no union takes place for a long time." > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.29) paśyato yuvatiṃ dūrān nakhocchiṣṭapayodharām/ bahumānaḥ parasyāpi rāgayogaś ca jāyate// > Even when a stranger sees at a distance a young woman with the marks of nails on her breast, he is filled with love and respect for her. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.30) puruṣaś ca pradeśeṣu nakhacihnair vicihnitaḥ/ cittaṃ sthiram api prāyaś calayaty eva yoṣitaḥ// > A man, also, who carries the marks of nails and teeth on some parts of his body, influences the mind of a woman, even though it be ever so firm. In short, nothing tends to increase love so much as the effects of marking with the nails, and biting. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ### [2.4.31](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4.31) nānyat paṭutaraṃ kiṃ cid asti rāgavivardhanam/ nakhadantasamutthānāṃ karmaṇāṃ gatayo yathā// > A man, also, who carries the marks of nails and teeth on some parts of his body, influences the mind of a woman, even though it be ever so firm. In short, nothing tends to increase love so much as the effects of marking with the nails, and biting. > — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ## Translations (1) - [The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana~en-burton.2.4.p2) — Richard Francis Burton & Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot 1883, English ## Commentaries (1) - [Jayamaṅgalā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana!jayamangala.13.1) — Yaśodhara Indrapada, Sanskrit ## Other recensions (1) - [Text edited by Jean Fezas (with notes)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana*fezas.2.4.1) — Sanskrit ## Linked texts (1) - [Kāmakuñjalatā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.kamakunjalata.22.17) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.kama.vatsyayana.2.4) · Pramāṇa