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Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c39: Introduction: Fine Arts

Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c39

Language
English

Introduction: Fine Arts

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Art is synonymous with *Śilpa* and *Kalā*, or more precisely, with *Śilpa-kalā* and is the subject-matter primarily of the *Śilpa-śāstras*. The traditional list of sixty-four arts is, however, referred to in at least three other classes of our literature. The mythological group includes the *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*, the *Harivaṁśa* and the *Vishṇu-purāṇa*. The Buddhist-Jain group is represented by the *Lalita-vistara* and the *Uttarādhyāyana-sūtra*. And the erotic group consists of the *Kāma-sūtra* of Vātsyāyana and others. The mythological group makes mention of arts in connexion with the various kinds of knowledge acquired by Kṛishṇa and Balarāma. In the text of the *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*, however, only the number, not the specification of the arts, is given. It is stated that the sixty-four arts were learnt in so many, that is sixty-four, days.¹ But of its numerous commentators, some supply both the number and the specification, while others only the number.² The commentators Vīra-rāghavāchārya and Vijaya-dhvaja-tīrtha, who make mention only of the traditional number of arts as sixty-four, do not disclose the source of their information. Viśvanātha-chakra-vartin also does not specify the sixty-four arts, but he mentions the

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¹ > प्रोवाच वेदानखिलान् साङ्गोपनिषदो गुरुः ।

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² (*a*) अहोरात्राणां चतुःषष्ट्या चतुःषष्टिसंख्याकैर्दिवसैश्चतुःषष्टिविद्याः संजगृहतुः । —(Vīra-rāghavāchārya). (*b*) चतुःषष्ट्या संख्ययातैरहोरात्रै कालावयवैस्तावतीः तावत्संख्याः कलाः चतुःषष्टिकलाः विद्या इत्यर्थः । —(Vijaya-dhvaja-tīrtha). (*c*) तावतीश्चतुःषष्टिकलाः ताः शैवतन्त्रे द्रष्टव्याः । —(Viśvanātha-Chakravartin). (*d*) तावतीश्चतुःषष्टिकलाः ताश्च शैवतन्त्रोक्ता लिख्यन्ते यथा गीतम् इत्यादि । —(Śrīdhara-svāmin.)

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सरहस्यं धनुर्वेदं धर्मान् न्यायपरांस्तथा ॥
तथा चान्वीक्षिकीं विद्यां राजनीतिञ्च षड्‌विधाम् ।
सर्वं नरवरश्रेष्ठौ सर्वविद्याप्रवर्तकौ ॥
सकृन्निगदमात्रेण तौ संजगृहतुर्नृप ।
अहोरात्रैश्चतुष्षष्ट्या संयन्तौ तावतीः कलाः ॥
—(*Śrīmad-bhāgavata*, Part x, Chap. XLV, verses 33–35.)

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*Śaiva-tantra* as his source. Śrīdhara-svāmin and Vallabhāchārya also, who give a detailed account of the sixty-four arts, derive their information from the same source. The *Śaiva-tantra*, however, it should be noted, is not the name of a book, but is a branch of mystic literature which can hardly be identified for the verification of the names and other details of the arts. Śukadeva, another commentator, who also specifies the sixty-four arts, quotes *in toto* from his authority named *Vidyāsaṅgraha-nibandha*, which, as its title indicates, is a mere compilation from some other sources. Lastly, Jīva-gosvāmin, who also describes the sixty-four arts in detail, appears to have derived his information from the *Vishṇu-purāṇa* and the *Harivaṁśa*, which is a supplement to the *Mahābhārata*. Thus, as quoted by Jīva-gosvāmin, the *Vishṇu-purāṇa*¹ and the *Harivaṁśa*² admit, indirectly though, a familiarity with the sixty-four arts, and state that the sixty-four (arts) were learnt in sixty-four days. The former, further, adds that it must be wonderful (*adbhuta*) to learn sixty-four arts in sixty-four days, while the latter explains this wonder by saying that Kṛishṇa and Balarāma had extraordinary memories (*śrutidhara*). The impracticability of learning sixty-four arts in no more than sixty-four days did not strike any of the commentators of the *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*, presumably either because they were not at all familiar with the extensive knowledge demanded from and the wide field of study required for each of the sixty-four arts,

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¹ सरहस्यं धनुर्वेदं ससंग्रहमधीयताम् । अहोरात्रैश्चतुःषष्ट्या तदद्भुतमभूद्द्विजे ॥

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² तौ च श्रुतिधरौ वीरौ यथावत्प्रतिपद्यताम् । अहोरात्रैश्चतुःषष्ट्या सांगं वेदमधीयताम् ॥

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(*e*) अहोरात्रैश्चतुःषष्ट्या संयत्तौ तावतीः कलाः । संयत्तौ रामकृष्णौ चतुःषष्टिसङ्ख्या कैरहोरात्रैस्तावतीः चतुःषष्टिकलाः विद्याः संजगृहतुः । ताश्चोक्ता विद्यासंग्रहनिबन्धे ।
—(Śuka-deva).
(*f*) यावतीः कलाः संजगृहतुरिति चतुःषष्टिकलाः । संग्रहे एतावन्त्यहोरात्राणि अखिलवेदादिसंग्रहेणाप्यहोरात्राणि ज्ञेयानि । कलानां नामानि तैरेव लिखितानि, स्वरूपाणि तु लेख्यानि । तथा च श्रीविष्णुपुराणे हरिवंशे च ।
—(Jīva-gosvāmin).
(*g*) चतुःषष्टिसंख्यायुक्तैः अहोरात्रैः संयत्तौ तावतीः कलाः चतुःषष्टिकलाः संजगृहतुः । एकस्यां कलायां बहुप्रकाराः बह्वो ग्रन्थाः । शिक्षा च महतीं तथाप्येका कला एकस्मिन्नेव दिवमे शिक्षिता । ताः कलाः शैवतन्त्रोक्ता लिख्यन्ते गीतम् इत्यादि ।
—(Vallabhāchārya).

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or because they might have had no doubt about the superhuman ability of Kṛishṇa and Balarāma, which has been admitted on so many other occasions in the *Śrīmad-bhāgavata* itself. But though equally mythological in character, this point has struck both the *Vishṇu-purāṇa* and the *Harivaṁśa* wherein an explanatory note is purposely added. In the former it is stated that it was wonderful (*adbhuta*) for Kṛishṇa and Balarāma to learn sixty-four arts in sixty-four days, while in the latter they are stated to have been gifted with the power of remembering things by hearing only once (*śrutidhara*). The explanation of the *Harivaṁśa* is more expressly admitted in the *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*, where it is stated that they retained everything by simply listening only once.¹

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¹ *See* above, p. 1, note 1; p. 2, notes 1 and 2.

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But in spite of all these explanations one cannot help thinking that at the time of the *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*, as well as in the different times of its commentaries, there was no practical knowledge of all the sixty-four arts; because, otherwise, the authors of these treatises could not have passed over the point so light-heartedly; further, in other literature such an indifference is not met with. In the times of the *Vishṇu-purāṇa* and the *Harivaṁśa*, however, the state of things seems to have been different. The arts were then living objects; they were then more real, more practical; at any rate people had more familiarity with them.

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The heretic group refers to the arts in connexion with the schooling of Bodhi-sattva and of Mahāvīra. It is stated in the *Lalita-vistara*² that ‘Whatever *Śāstras* are current in the regions, all figures and writings and calculations, all roots, all arts in their immensity current on earth were learnt by him in many millions of ages (*kalpas*).’ In the *Uttarādhyayana-sūtra*³ it is stated that ‘He (Mahāvīra) studied the

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² शस्त्राणि यानि प्रचरन्ति च देवलोके

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³ बावत्तरी कलाओ य सिक्खई नीइकोविए। जोव्वणेण य संपन्ने सुरूवे पियदंसणे॥ तस्म रूववइं भज्जंपियाज्जाणेइ रूविणि। पासाए कीलए रम्मे देवी दोगुन्दओ जहा॥—(Chap. XXI, 6–7).

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संख्या लिपिश्च गणनापि च धातुमन्त्रम्।

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ये शिल्पयोगपृथुलौकिक अप्रमेया—

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स्तेष्वेषु शिक्षितपुराबहुकल्प कोट्यः॥
—(Chap. X, 1, p. 142, ed. Rajendra Lal Mitra).

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seventy-two arts, constantly applying himself to them, he was in the full bloom of youth, he had a fine figure and good looks. His father procured him a beautiful and beloved sweetheart, Rūpiṇī, with whom he amused himself in his pleasant palace, like a Dvikundaka god.’ In the Buddhist and the Jain periods a far better knowledge of these arts are thus evinced. In the *Lalita-vistara* it is distinctly stated that ‘all arts were current on the earth in their immensity (*aprameya*) and they were learnt in millions of years (*bahukalpa-koṭyaḥ*).’

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That youth and beauty are essential conditions for the cultivation of arts has also been admitted in the *Lalita-vistara*. Therein it is stated that ‘when the Prince had duly grown up, he was taken to the school under a hundred thousand auspicious arrangements. . . . Now Viśvāmitra, the school-master, feeling the beauty and glory of the Bodhi-sattva to be insufferable, fell prostrate on the ground.’¹

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¹ *Lalita-vistara*, Chap. X, Trans. (R. L. Mitra), p. 181.

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In the *Uttarādhyayana-sūtra* the number of arts is limited to seventy-two, but they are not specified anywhere in the text. The context also demands a different reading for the expression *nī-i-kovi-e*,² as suggested in a similar context by the expression *bahu-kalpa-koṭyaḥ* (many millions of years) in the *Lalita-vistara*, in order to give a sense of the time or the close application of the mind required in learning the seventy-two arts. But what is really important is the fact that almost all the necessary circumstances under which the arts can be cultivated are more perfectly clear in this text. It is stated that ‘the student of arts must be in the full bloom of his youth and must have a fine figure (*surūpa*) and good looks (*priyadarśana*) himself; he must be united with a charming (*rūpavatī*) and beloved (*priyā*) wife, who should be the personified beauty (*rūpiṇī*) to keep him constantly amused and refreshed; and lastly, he must have a beautiful palace (*prāsāda*) to live in.’ In other words, a student of arts should be surrounded with all beautiful things both internally and externally; he should live in an atmosphere of beauty and youth; all his sense organs must be in a state to appreciate and enjoy; the eyes to see pretty things, the ears to hear pleasant sounds, the nose to smell fragrance, the tongue to taste sweet things, the skin to touch delicately soft objects, and, above all, the mind to think, to feel, and to will the beauties of arts.

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² It has been very curiously translated as “an acquired knowledge of the world” (Jacobi, SBE, Vol. XIV, p. 108), which can hardly be the rendering of its Sanskrit equivalent *Nītikovida*.

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Youth and beauty as an essential condition for the cultivation and development of arts reached a fuller recognition and a more elaborate treatment in the erotic group of literature. In the *Kāma-śāstra* youth and beauty is the main theme. Whatever is discussed therein is nothing but a reference to the natural inclinations of young hearts of cultured men and women in their æsthetic mood. *Kāma*, or sensual desires, can only arise in the mind of youth in an atmosphere of beauty. A seed cannot germinate in the desert, nor can an artistic idea grow up in the fossilised heart of an old person. This fact has been fully recognized in the mythological and the Buddhist-Jain groups of literature also, for, in spite of their spirit being avowedly religious, it was necessary to train Kṛishṇa and Balarāma on the one hand and Bodhisattva and Mahāvīra on the other in artistic and other matters, not in their advanced age but in their youth and in an atmosphere of beauty. This point can be abundantly developed by a reference to the extant arts of all countries, of all nations and of all sects. But before proceeding further with illustrations it would be convenient first briefly to examine the traditional list of arts. In the *Kāma-sūtra* of Vātsyāyana¹ the sixty-four arts are specified in connexion with the accomplishments to be acquired by men and women:

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¹ धर्मार्थाङ्गविद्याकालाननुरोधयन् कामसूत्रं तदङ्गविद्याश्च पुरुषोऽधीयीत॥ प्राग्यौवनात् स्त्री। प्रत्ता च पत्युरभिप्रायात्। . . . गीतम्, वाद्यम्, नृत्यम् . . . व्यायामिकानाञ्च विद्यानां ज्ञानम्, इति चतुःषष्टिरङ्गविद्याः कामसूत्रस्यावयविन्यः॥

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1. *Gīta*—Vocal music, including everything from composition to singing, in all scientific manner and comprising four or five main topics.² 2. *Vādya*—Instrumental music, which also admits four or five varieties.¹

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² स्वरगं पदगं चैव तथा लयगमेव च। चेतोऽवधानगञ्चैव गेयं ज्ञेयं चतुर्विधम्॥ —(Yaśodhara on *Kāma-sūtra*). तत्र गीतं गानशिक्षा गीतनिर्माणं स्वजातिरागभेदाः तालमात्रादिरचनाप्रकाराः सुधायकबाधकस्वरादिमेलनानां परिज्ञानञ्च। —(Jīva-gosvāmin on *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*). गीतं गानशिक्षा गीतकारणं रागभेदाः तानमात्रादिरचनाप्रकाराः साधकबाधकतांनानां परिज्ञानञ्च एवमेकस्य गीतस्य। —(Vallabhāchārya on *Śrīmad-bhāgavata*).

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¹ घनञ्च विततं वाद्यं ततं सुषिरमेव च। कांस्यपुष्करतन्त्रीभिर्वैणुना च यथाक्रमम्॥ —(*Yaśodhara on Kāma-sūtra*).

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3. *Nṛitya*—Dancing, which includes many more things than the ordinary connotations of the term.²

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² करणान्यङ्गविद्याश्च विभावो भाव एव च। अनुभावो रसाश्चेति संक्षेपान्नाट्यसंग्रहः॥ तद्विविधम् नाट्यमनाट्यञ्चेति। तथोक्तम्— स्वर्गे वा मर्त्यलोके वा पाताले वा निवासिनाम्। कृतानुकरणं नाट्यमनाट्यं नर्तकाश्रितम्॥ तन्त्रान्तरे तु नृत्यभेदज्ञापनार्थमेव पृथङ् नाट्यकलोक्तेति विज्ञेयम्। —(*Yaśodhara on Kāma-sūtra*)

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4. *Nāṭya*—Dramatic and scenic art, including acting. Vātsyāyana reads this much later in the list as *Nāṭakākhyāyikā-darśana*, which means both seeing dramatic representation and reading stories in prose and verse. This deals with the ten kinds of drama and numerous other details which are essentially artistic in matter, spirit and form.

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5. *Ālekhya*—Painting, which includes six essential parts, namely, varieties of beauty, proportions, representation of sentimental grace, resemblance, colours, reliefs.³

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³ रूपभेदाः प्रमाणानि भावलावण्ययोजनम्। सादृश्यं वर्णिकाभङ्ग इति चित्रं षडङ्गकम्॥ —(*Yaśodhara on Kāma-sūtra*).

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6. *Viśeshaka-chchhedya*—Tattooing, specially referring to a kind of paint on the face which is stated to be liked very much by fashionable young ladies (*vilāsinī*).

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7. *Taṇḍula-kusuma-bali-vikāra*—Obviously this refers to three separate things, namely, the artistic arrangements of rice-meal, flowers, and dishes. All the commentators⁴ seem to have missed the point.

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⁴ तण्डुलानां कुसुमानां च पूजोपहाररूपाणां नानाप्रकाररचना। —(Jīva-gosvāmin). चणकाद्विदले हस्तिलेखनं तण्डुलानां कुसुमानाञ्च आरात्रिकारेण वलिविकाराः पूजायां वा स्थापनप्रकाराः —(Vallabhāchārya). अखण्डिततण्डुलैर्नानावर्णैः सरस्वतीभवने कामदेवभवने वा मणिकुट्टिमेषु भक्तिविकाराः। तथा कुसुमैर्नानावर्णैर्ग्रथितैः शिवलिङ्गादिगूढार्थं भक्तिविकाराः।—(Yaśodhara).

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They have curiously divided the phrase thus : *Taṇḍula-bali-vikāra* and *Kusuma-vikāra*, and explain the former as referring to offerings to deities and the latter to making garlands also for worship. The context makes such interpretation untenable. These are essentially artistic matters and have nothing to do even with the worship of the god of love, as the commentator of the *Kāma-sūtra* thinks, as an alternative. Besides, worship of a deity is nowhere mentioned directly or indirectly in the list. The avowedly religious learnings are confined to the *Vedas*, *Upanishads*, *Dharma Sāstras*, etc., which are separately taught, as stated in the mythological group. Moreover, the foregoing and the following topics make such an interpretation quite unconnected. It is easily understandable that an accomplished young lady must cultivate these arts as arts and not as religion.

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8. *Pushpāstāraṇa*—Making beds of flowers. It, of course, refers to gardening, which is separately mentioned later on.¹

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¹ Yaśodhara guesses an alternative sense also : viz., making garlands with flowers which is separately mentioned later on. Vallabhāchārya passes it over, calling it as स्पष्टम्। Jīva-gosvāmin gives the real sense : पुष्पादिभिः शयनरचनम्।

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9. *Daśana-vasanāṅga-rāga*²—This also refers to three separate arts, namely, the staining of the teeth, dyeing of cloth, and colouring of the body by means of powder, etc.

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² Curiously, Vallabhāhcārya detects a sexual sense here when he says : शय्यादौ दशनवसनानां रागभेदाः अधरोष्ठयोः लक्षणपरिज्ञानं रसार्थमेषा परीक्षा।

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10. *Maṇi-bhūmika-karman*—The art of setting jewels on the (marble) floor for use particularly in summer, as stated by Yaśodhara.³

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³ According to Jīva-gosvāmin this should be done, as shown by the architect Maya in building a wonderful hall for the Pāṇḍavas (for details, *see infra*, p. 247 and the writer's *Indian Architecture*, 1st Ed., pp. 166, 167, note 4).

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11. *Sayana-rachanā*—The art of bed-making. According to Jīva-gosvāmin,⁴ and probably Vallabhāchārya,⁵ it refers to the making of bedsteads and couches, etc., which is an item of architecture mentioned as a separate art later on. According to Yaśodhara, this is necessary for digesting the food and for enjoyment.⁶ 12. *Udaka-vādya*—Playing on an instrument known as *jala-taraṅga*,¹ or china-cups containing varying quantities of water to regulate the tune and produce harmonic notes like musical glasses, or an instrument (invented by Franklin) the sounds of which are produced from bell-shaped glasses placed on a frame-work that revolves on its centre, while the rims are touched by the moistened finger.

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⁴ पर्य्यङ्कादिनिर्माणम्।

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⁵ शयनं शय्यास्थानम् तस्य निर्माणम्।

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⁶ शयनीयस्य कालापेक्षया रक्तविरक्तमध्यस्थाभिप्रायादाहारपरिणतिवशाच्च रचनम्। This is fully elaborated in connexion with शयनोपचारिका (*vide infra*).

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¹ According to Yaśodhara it is like the *muraja* or a drum. Vallabhāchārya does not think of it seriously when he says, ‘as sounds are naturally produced on water’:

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13. *Udaka-ghāta*—The art of making fountains, called *jala-stambha-vidyā* by Jīva-gosvāmin.²

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² Vallabhāchārya makes it a childish play with water:

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14. *Chitra-yoga*—Pictorial arts, i.e. various kinds of painting.³

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³ Practically all the commentators have found it difficult to explain this. Jīva-gosvāmin is vague when he interprets it as the means to see the various wonderful things:

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15. *Mālya-grathana-vikalpa*—The arts of making garlands.⁴

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⁴ Jīva-gosvāmin passes over these seven items as too easy to understand. Both Vallabhāchārya and Yaśodhara make it unnecessarily to mean the making of flowers-garlands for the head, which is mentioned in the next item.

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16. *Śekharāpīḍa-yojana*—The art of putting on ornaments (of flowers) on the hair and top of the head.⁵

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⁵ The skill consists here in artistically wearing and not making these ornaments.

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17. *Nepathya-prayoga*—Scenic representations, the art consisting in putting on clothes and ornaments for the stage. This elaborates the art mentioned in the preceding item. According to Vallabhāchārya this also includes the construction of the stage itself.

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यथा स्वन एवोदके नादाः स्पष्टीभवन्ति

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Jīva-gosvāmin thinks that this music can be produced in a tank also:

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सरोवरादिस्थापितभाण्डे उदकपरिपूर्ण्णपात्रे वा मधुरनानातानसमुत्थापनम् ।

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यथा आहतमुदकमुपरि गच्छति अधो गच्छति विपरीतं वा गच्छति ।

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Yaśodhara also thinks it to be a play with water:

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हस्तयन्त्रमुक्तैरुदकैस्ताडनम्,

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and includes the preceding one also under a general heading of ‘water-play.’ In fact Śrīdhara-svāmin has included the two items (nos. 11, 12) under one heading.

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नानाद्भुतदर्शने सम्यगुपायाः

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Vallabhāchārya thinks it to be the garlanding of flowers (विचित्राः प्रकाराः). Yaśodhara, following him, sees sexuality everywhere and says that this supplements the act of कुचुमार, a separate item (*see* below):

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नानाप्रकारदौर्भाग्यैकेन्द्रियपलीतीकरणादयः । ईर्ष्या पगभि(?नि) सन्धानार्थाः ।
तानौपनिषदके वक्ष्यति । एतं च कौचुमारयोगेषु नान्तर्भवन्तीति पृथगुक्ताः । कुचुमारेण तेषामनुक्तत्वात् ।

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18. *Karṇa-patra-bhaṅga*—Painting the cheeks before the ear with sandal and other pastes. Yaśodhara thinks it to be a part of scenic representation. No doubt it is a special kind of toileting.

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19. *Gandha-yukti*—Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes.¹

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¹ Vallabhāchārya suggests an alternative interpretation also : गन्धयुक्तिश्चन्दनादेः पुष्पवस्त्राद्याकारेण निर्माणं नानामृगन्धिनिर्माणं वा।

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20. *Bhūshaṇa-yojana*—The art of putting on ornaments on the various parts of the body. Yaśodhara interprets it as the display of jewellery on the person for stage purposes and classifies under two heads, *Saṁyojya* and *Asaṁyojya*.²

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² तत्र संयोज्यस्य काष्ठिकेन्द्रच्छन्दादेर्मणिमुक्ताप्रवालादिभिर्योजनम्। असंयोज्यस्य कटककुण्डलादेर्विरचनं योजनम्। तदुभयं नेपथ्याङ्गम्। न तु शरीरे भूषणयोजनं तस्य नेपथ्यप्रयोगा इत्यनेन सिद्धत्वात्।

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21. *Aindra-jāla*—The art of jugglery; according to Vallabhāchārya it does not admit of a rational explanation and has twenty varieties which are, however, not specified.

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22. *Kuchumāra-yoga*—The arts as taught by Kuchumāra, the author of the *Aupanishadādhikāra*. According to the commentators these refer to some unspecified tricks.³ Kuchumāra need not necessarily mean the author of that name when no arts bearing his name are generally known. The term ‘*kucha*’⁴ means the ‘female breast’; hence it is just possible that the art may refer to the nursing or decoration of the female breast.⁵

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³ स्वस्मिन्नाभारूपा व्यञ्जना। —(Jīva-gosvāmin). बहुरूपकाराः। —(Vallabhāchārya). सुभगंकरणाय उपायन्तरासिद्धसाधनार्थाः। —(Yaśodhara).

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⁴ The reading ‘*kuchāmāra*’ is not, however, available; but when the authors of the other reading (*kuchumāra*) are not clear about the sense, an emendation in the reading does not seem unjustified.

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⁵ It will be pointed out later on that some of these arts are meant for the females, some for males, and the rest for both males and females.

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23. *Hasta-lāghava*—Prestidigitation. The art is well known; this is extensively practised as an amusement in fashionable societies and considered to be an accomplishment for a young person.

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24. *Vichitra-śāka-pūpa-bhakshya-vikāra-kriyā*—The cookery, or the art of cooking various kinds of vegetables, cakes, and (all other) eatables. The vegetables comprise ten different things, namely, root, leaf, shoot (as of a bamboo), forepart, fruit, trunk, offshoot, skin, flower, and thorn.¹

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¹ मूलपत्रकरीराग्रफलकाण्डप्ररूढकम् । त्वक् पुष्पं कण्टकञ्चेति शाकं दशविधं स्मृतम् ।। —(Quoted from some unknown author by Yaśodhara.)

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Cakes, including bread, are also of various kinds, but they are not specified. The eatables are divided into four classes, namely,

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(*a*) *bhakshya* or *charvya*, things to be eaten by chewing,
(*b*) *bhojya* or *choshya*, things to be eaten by sucking,
(*c*) *lehya*, or things to be licked, and
(*d*) *peya*, or things to be drunk.

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The *peyas* are divided into two classes, namely, cooked (with fire) and uncooked. The former is called *yūsha* and admits of two varieties known as soup and decoction. The latter also has two varieties called the *asandhānakṛita* and *sandhānakṛita*. The *saṁdhānakṛita* are those which are made by distilling, such as fermented or spirituous liquors, and are divided into *drāvita* and *adrāvita*: the former is made by mixing water, sugar, and tamarind, and is known as drink or spirituous liquor; and the latter is made of liquified herbs mixed with palmyra fruit and plantain flower (*mochā*),² and is called *rasa*, i.e. essence or juice.

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² Plantain grows out of this, which looks like the cauliflower or cabbage.

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25. *Pānaka-rasa-rāgāsava-yojana*—Preparation of beverages. According to both Yaśodhara and Vallabhāchārya *āsava* implies spirituous liquor and indicates intoxication of three kinds, namely, mild, ordinary, and high. The term *rāga* is stated to imply three things, namely, those to be licked, powders and liquids tasting salt, tamarind, pungent and slightly sweet.³

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³ रागो रागविधानज्ञैर्लेह्यश्चूर्णो द्रवः स्मृतः । लवणाम्लकटुस्वाद ईषन्मधुरसंयुतः ।। —(Yaśodhara quotes from some unknown work.)

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Yaśodhara thinks⁴ this, and the preceding item, may be included under one heading, namely, cookery. But a number of most useful arts are referred to here which are even at the present time practised separately. It should be noted that the stages of development and perfection in the art of making foods and beverages are the surest indication of the state of culture and civilization as well as of the economic condition of nations and communities.

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⁴ एतच्चतुर्विधमास्वाद्यकलायां प्रपञ्चितम् शरीरस्थित्यर्थम् । योगविभागोऽग्निजानग्निजाकर्मदर्शिनार्थः। तत्र पाकेन शाकादिक्रिया, विना पाकेन पानकादियोजनम् । अन्यथा दृष्टस्वाद्यविधिरित्युक्तं स्यात् । तस्मात्कर्मभेदादास्वाद्यविधानज्ञोऽपि द्विविधः। तद्वशादेकापि कला द्विधा कृत्योक्ता ।

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26. *Sūchi-vāya-karman*—Tailoring and weaving. According to Yaśodhara tailoring is of three kinds, namely, *sīvana* or sewing of coat, etc., *ūtana* or darning of torn cloth, etc., and *virachana* or making of bed sheets, etc. Weaving implies manufacture of cloth or the whole textile industry, including making of yarn, which is separately mentioned later on (*see* no. 36).

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27. *Sūtra-krīḍā*—The art of playing with thread and rope. According to Yaśodhara the play consists in showing by sleight of hand a piece of thread in perfect condition after tearing it to pieces or burning it to ashes, and would imply a kind of magic. According to Jīva-gosvāmin the play consists in moving dolls, etc., like living beings, with the help of a thread, and also walking on rope and unbinding oneself after having been bound up with a rope. This would imply acrobatism in addition to magic.

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28. *Vīṇā-ḍamaruka-vādya*—Playing on lute and small drum.¹ These are included in the instrumental music, but they are specially mentioned, as Yośodhara says, first, because stringed instrumental music and lute music are very important, secondly, because they are difficult to learn especially at the commencement, and, lastly, because on these instruments the words (letters) played can be heard as distinctly pronounced.

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¹ See above, item no. 2.

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29. *Prahelikā*—Solution of riddles, charades, etc.

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30. *Pratimālā*—Modelling or making images, i.e. sculpturing. This interpretation is very definitely asserted by Jīva-gosvāmin and Vallabhāchārya.² But Yaśodhara interprets this in an entirely different way and says that it refers to a kind of versification beginning with a particular letter of a verse,³ but that is separately mentioned under a different heading (*see* no. 56).

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² सर्ववस्तुप्रतिकृतिनिर्माणम् ।—(Jīva-gosvāmin). वस्तुनामनुकरणम् ।—(Vallabhāchārya).

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³ यस्या अन्त्याक्षरिकेति प्रतीतिः । सा क्रीडार्था वादार्था च । यथोक्तम् (in some unknown work): प्रतिश्लोकं क्रमाद्यत्र सन्धायक्षरमन्तिमम् । पठेतां श्लोकमन्योन्यं प्रतिमालेति सोच्यते ॥

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Sculpture as an important art is well recognized and elaborately treated in a branch of literature like most of these arts.

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31. *Durvāchaka-yoga*—Mimicry, i.e. the art of an imitative resemblance in one animal to another or to some inanimate object in sound or sense, as stated by Yaśodhara.¹

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¹ शब्दतोऽर्थतश्च । तस्य प्रयोगाः क्रीडार्था वादार्थाश्च । Vallabhāchārya says that it refers to चतुरक्षरादिप्रकार । Jīva-gosvāmin adopts the ordinary sense : यद्यद्वक्तुं न शक्यते तत्तद्वक्तुमुपायाः ।

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32. *Pustaka-vāchana*—Elocution, i.e. the art of effective speaking, more especially of public speaking, regarding solely the utterance or delivery. This interpretation is supported by both Jīva-gosvāmin and Vallabhāchārya.² But Yaśodhara refers this to recitation in particular.³

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² अतिशीघ्रमविद्यमानानपि वर्णान् योजयित्वा तद्वाचनम् ।

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³ भरतादिकाव्यानां पुस्तकस्थानां शृङ्गारादिरसापेक्षया गीततः स्वरेण वाचनम् । अनुरागजननार्थमात्मविनोदार्थं च ।

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33. *Nāṭakākhyāyikā-darśana*—Tableaux vivants, or what are called ‘living pictures.’ The art consists in exhibiting a motionless representation of a well-known character, painting, scene, etc., by one or more living persons in costume. That it is different from a dramatic performance is clear and needs no explanation.

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34. *Kāvya-samasyā-pūraṇa*—Solution of verbal puzzles which are elaborately discussed in a class of literature known as *Alaṁkāra-śāstra*.

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35. *Paṭṭikā*(*peṭikā*)*-vetra-vāna-vikalpa*—The art of making bows (? sofa, basket), sticks, canes, etc., with thread. According to Yaśodhara this art also includes the making of cane chairs, cane beds, etc.⁴

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⁴ Vallabhāchārya reads it differently, *Patrikā-chitra-vachana-vikalpa*, and refers to ram-fighting, etc., which is however included under a separate heading (*see no.* 44).

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36. *Tarku-karaman*⁵—Making twist with a spindle or a distaff: this refers to the art of spinning. Weaving is separately mentioned (see *no.* 26).

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⁵ Both Śrīdhara-svāmin and Vallabhāchārya misread it as *Tarka-karman* (debating). In Vātsyāyana’s *Kāma-sūtra* it is read as *Taksha-karmāṇi* (carpenter’s works); and the commentator Yaśodhara interprets it as कन्दुककर्माण्यपद्रव्यार्थानि (making of balls with inferior materials). But carpentry is expressly mentioned in the next item.

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37. *Takshaṇa*—Carpentry, i.e. the art of wood-carving in making seats, beds, doors, etc.¹

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¹ Yaśodhara says that it refers to *vardhaki-karman*, but that is not correct because *takshaka* and *vardhaki* have got different works to do (*see* under the next heading *Vāstu-vidyā*).

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38. *Vāstu-vidyā*—Architecture, the different parts of which are assigned to *sthapati*, *sūtra-grāhin*, *vardhaki* and *takshaka*.² It refers to the art of building and includes everything built or constructed, from the palace to the bird’s nest and from the image of a god to that of an insect.³ Thus, in the first place, it ‘denotes the construction of all kinds of buildings, religious, residential and military, and their auxiliary members and component mouldings. Secondly, it implies town-planning, laying out gardens, constructing market-places, making roads, bridges, gates, digging wells, tanks, trenches, drains, sewers, moats, erecting enclosure-walls, embankments, dams, railings, flights of steps for hills, ladder, etc. Thirdly, it denotes articles of house furniture, such as bedsteads, couches, tables, chairs, thrones, fans, wardrobes, clocks, baskets, conveyances, cages, nests, mills, etc. It also includes the making of garments and ornaments, etc. It discusses, as preliminary matters, selection of site, testing of soil,⁴ planning, designing, finding out cardinal points for orientation of buildings, dialling, and astronomical and astrological calculations.’

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² *See infra*, p. 98 and the writer’s *Indian Architecture*, 1st Ed., p. 25, and *Dictionary of Hindu Architecture*, 1st Ed., pp. 709-712, 725-730.

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³ *See* the writer’s *Dictionary of Hindu Architecture*, 1st Ed., Preface, p. viii, and *Indian Architecture*, 1st Ed., pp. 1, 2.

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⁴ This refers to practical geology. Mining is separately mentioned (*see* no. 41).

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Architecture also implies sculpture, like many of the other arts, and deals with the carving of phalli, idols of deities, statues of sages, images of animals, birds, fish and insects.

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39. *Suvarṇa-rūpya-ratna-parīkshā*⁵—Testing of gold, silver and jewels.

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⁵ The commentators have not included *suvarṇa* which is, however, found in a text of the *Kāma-sūtra*. It should be noted that the four items beginning with this fall under one category.

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40. *Dhātu-vāda*—Metallurgy, i.e., the art of setting, purifying, and mixing up of the metals such as earth(?), stone, and quick-silver.⁶ 41. *Maṇi-rāga-jñāna* (*rāgaka-rañjana*)—Art of colouring precious stones.

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⁶ स मृत्प्रस्तररत्नधातुनां पातनशोधनमेलनादिज्ञानहेतुरर्थार्थः। (Yaśodhara prefers the reading रत्न in place of रस.)

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42. *Ākara-jñāna*—Mining, or the art of ascertaining the existence of mines from external appearances.¹

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¹ Vātsyāyana does not include this. His commentator Yaśodhara says that this is found in some other texts.

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43. *Vṛikshāyurveda-yoga*—The art of gardening, which, according to Yaśodhara, includes planting, nursing, curing, and artistically arranging trees in private house gardens.² Vallabhāchārya refers it particularly to the fruit gardens.³

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² रोपणपुष्टिचिकित्सावैचित्र्याकृते गृहोद्यानार्थः ।

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³ वृक्षाणां जीवनप्रकाराः फलैर्निर्बीजकरणं वृक्षान्तरात्फलोत्पादनमित्यादि ।

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44. *Mesha-kukkuṭa-lāvaka-yudha-vidhi*—Ram-fighting, cock-fighting, quail-fighting. Such things are shown, according to Yaśodhara in the performance of a circus party.⁴

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⁴ सजीवद्यूतविधानमेतत् । तत्रोपस्थानादिभिश्चतुरङ्गैर्युद्धविधानं क्रीडार्थं वादार्थं च । —(Yaśodhara).

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45. *Śuka-sārikā-pralāpana*—Teaching of parrots, etc., to speak. The art consists in a sort of singing and delivering (good) news through the birds.⁵

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⁵ सुभाषितं पठन्ति सन्देशञ्च कथयन्ति । —(Yaśodhara).

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46. *Utsādana* (*-ne saṁvāhane cha kauśala*)—Massage or shampooing, i.e. rubbing the limbs with unguents, pomades, etc., both with hands and feet as Yaśodhara says.⁶

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⁶ मर्दनं द्विविधं पादाभ्यां हस्ताभ्याञ्च । तत्र पादाभ्यां यन्मर्दनं तदुत्सादनमुच्यते । शेषाङ्गेषु मर्दनं संवाहनम् । For the purpose of the *Kāma-śāstra* such an erotic art has obviously a great use.

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47. *Keśa-mārjana-kauśala*⁷—Coiffure or hair-dressing.

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⁷ केशग्रहणमत्रादराथैम् । तत्र कौशलं पराराधनार्थम् । —(Yaśodhara).

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48. *Akshara-mushṭikā-kathana*—Guessing unseen letters and things held in a closed fist, as stated by Jīva-gosvāmin and Vallabhāchārya. But, according to Yaśodhara, the art consists in guessing things held in a closed fist, like the revealing of the hidden and suggested meanings in a poetic composition; it admits of two varieties, namely, *sābhāsa* (suggestive) and *nirābhāsa* (unsuggestive), the object being twofold, namely, to guess hidden things and to make concise composition.¹

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¹ अक्षराणां मुष्टिरिव मुष्टिकागुप्तिरिति। सा माभासा निराभासा च । तत्र साभासा अक्षरमुद्रेति उच्यते। तया कथनं गूढ़वस्तुमन्त्रणार्थं ग्रन्थसंक्षेपार्थञ्च। निराभासा भूतमुद्रेत्युच्यते। तया कथनं गुह्यावस्तुमन्त्रणार्थम्। Yaśodhara illustrates this by quoting verses from the *Chandra-prabhā-vijaya-kāvya* of Ravigupta.

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49. *Mlechchhita-vikalpa*—Use of secret code language or modifying ordinary language so as to make it not ordinarily intelligible, as stated by Yaśodhara.²

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² यत्साधुशब्दोपनिबद्धमप्यक्षरव्यत्यासादस्पष्टार्यं तन्म्लेच्छितं गूढ़वस्तुमन्त्रणार्थम् । तस्य विकल्पा बहवः पूर्वाचार्य्योक्ताः। तद्यथा

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50. *Deśa-bhāshā-vijñāna*--Knowledge of languages of different countries.³

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³ अप्रकाश्यवस्तुज्ञापनार्थं तद्देशीयैर्व्यवहारार्थं च ।

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51. *Pushpa-śakatikā-nirmita-jñāna*⁴--Making of flower carriages.

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⁴ Vātsyāyana divides this under two headings :
(1) *Pushpa-śākaṭikā* and (2) *nirmita-jñāna*. His commentator, Yaśodhara, simply says that

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52. *Nimitta-jñāna*—The art of reading omens from the crowing of crows, etc., as stated by Vallabhāchārya.⁵

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⁵ धर्मक्षमावर्गेऽन्तर्गतं शुभाशुभादेशफलम् । तत्र च प्रष्टुरभिज्ञानार्थम् । एवरूपया स्त्रिया तत्र संप्रयोग इति कामोपहसितप्राया आदेशा इति। निमित्तज्ञानमिति सामान्येनोक्तम् ।

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53. *Yantra-mātrikā*—The art of making monograms, logographs, and diagrams. Yaśodhara attributes this to Viśva-karman and calls it *ghaṭanā-śastra* (science of accidents).⁶

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⁶ सजीवानां निर्जीवानां यन्त्राणां यानोदक (या नोदना) संग्रामार्थं (1) शास्त्रं विश्वकर्मप्रोक्तम् ।

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कौटिलीयँ यदि क्षान्तैः स्वरयोर्ह्रस्वदीर्घयोः ।
विन्दुष्मणोर्विपर्यासाद्दुर्बोधमिति संज्ञितम् ॥

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—(Yaśodhara).

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पुष्पाणि निमित्तीकृत्याहं प्रणीता।

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Jīva-gosvāmin reads it as *Pushpa-śakaṭikā-nimitta-jñānam*, but fails to explain it

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पुष्पशकटिकोपाधिकायां कस्याञ्चिद्विद्यायां निमित्तज्ञानम् ।

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Śrīdhara-svāmin reads it as :

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पुष्पशकटिकानिर्मितिज्ञानम् ।

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54. *Dhāraṇa-matṛīkā*¹—The art of composing enigmatic poetry. According to Yaśodhara it refers to a kind of science of remembering.²

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¹ Vallabhāchārya and Śrīdhara-svāmin read this along with the preceding one under the same heading.

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² श्रुतस्य ग्रन्थस्य धारणार्थं शास्त्रम्। यथोक्तम्--\ वस्तु कोषस्तथा द्रव्यं लक्षणं हेतुरेव च।\ इत्येते धारणादेशाः पञ्चाङ्गरुचिरं वपुः ॥

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55. *Sampāṭhya*—According to Yaśodhara it refers to a kind of reading which is practised for the sake of music and debate.³

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³ सम्भूयक्रीड़ार्थं वादार्थञ्च। तत्रपूर्वधारितमेको ग्रन्थं पठति, द्वितीयस्तमेवाश्रुतपूर्व तेन सह तथैव पठति।

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56. *Mānasi kāvya-kriyā*—Extempore and mental composition of versified poetry. The art comprises the filling up of stanzas of which a portion is told, the versification of thoughts in someone else's mind, and composing verses beginning with certain given letters, etc.

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57. *Abhidhāna-kośa*—Lexicography. The art consists in getting together all the synonyms of a term.

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58. *Chhando-jñāna*--Knowledge of metres. The art consists in composing metrical verses. But according to Yaśodhara it refers to character-reading, especially of man by young ladies.⁴

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⁴ पुरुषं दृष्ट्वैव तस्य छन्दोज्ञानम् अयमेवं वृत्तं इतिः कामिन्यादीनां मनोज्ञानं वा।

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59. *Kriyāvikalpa*—Derivation and conjugation of verbs in various ways. It refers to grammar and poetics, as Yaśodhara says.

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60. *Chhalitaka-yoga*--Tricks. According to Yaśodhara the art consists in assuming by one the form of somebody else in order to deceive someone, as Śūrpaṇakhā and Kīchaka did.⁵

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⁵ यद्रूपमन्यरूपेण संप्रकाशय हि वञ्चनम्।\ देवेतरप्रयोगाभ्यां ज्ञेयं तच्छलितं यथा॥\ दिव्यं शर्पणखा रूपमितरद्रायुनन्दनः।\ छलितवानभिसृत्य श्रिया रामं च कीचकम्॥ --(Quotations from some unnamed work.)

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61. *Vastra-gopana*—Changing the appearance of fabrics, such as making cotton cloth appear like silk. But according to Yaśodhara the art consists rather in concealing by cloth the very existence of certain private parts of the body, putting on a torn piece of cloth in such a manner that it looks perfect, and wearing a long piece of cloth in skilful folding so that it appears small.⁶ 62. *Dyūta-viśesha*—The art of various gamblings.

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⁶ वस्त्रेणाप्रकाशयदेशस्य संवरणं यथा तद्भूयमानमपि तन्मात्रामेति। त्रुटितस्यात्रुटितस्येव परिधानम् महतो वस्त्रस्य संवरणादिनाल्पीकरणम्।

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63. *Aksha-krīḍā*—Playing with dice, mentioned as a special game by Yaśodhara. Jīva-gosvāmin refers this to an unspecified game in which a distant object is drawn in.¹

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¹ As a matter of fact this and the former item should come under one heading.

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64. *Bāla-krīḍanaka*—The art of making dolls for children. According to a modern translator (Mitra) it refers to juvenile sports.

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65. *Vainayikī-jñāna*—The art of etiquette, as Yaśodhara says.²

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² स्वपरविनयप्रयोजनाद् वैनयिक्यो आचारशास्त्राणि हस्त्यादिशिक्षा च।

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66. *Vijayikī-jñāna*—Art of warfare, including archery, etc. According to Yaśodhara, it admits of two varieties, divine and human.³

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³ विजयप्रयोजना वैजयिक्यः। दैव्यो मानुष्यश्च। तत्र दैव्यो पराजितादयः। मानुष्यो याः सांग्रामिक्यः शस्त्रविद्याः।

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67. *Vyāyāmikī-jñāna*⁴—The art of physical exercises, including hunting and other sports, as stated by Yośodhara.⁵

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⁴ Both Śrīdhara-svāmin and Śuka-deva read it as *Vaitālikī*.

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⁵ व्यायामिक्ष्यो मृगयाद्याः।

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From this list it is clear that under some headings more than one subject is discussed, that some subjects should better be discussed under one heading, and that the order is not logical. In fact, the number of arts as sixty-four is a fictitious one. Neither Vātsyāyana, nor all the commentators of the *Kāma-sūtra*, nor those of the *Śrīmad-bhāga-vata*, nor the author of the *Lalita-vistara* have been able to make up the number. Some of the commentators admit this.⁶ In the *Uttarādhyana-sūtra* the number given, as pointed out above, is seventy-two, which are not, however, specified. Yaśodhara declares that the sixty-four are the basic arts, which may be subdivided into five hundred and eighteen.⁷ These basic arts are classified under different groups in an unspecified text (of the *Kāma-sūtra*). Of these, twenty-four are stated to be the useful arts⁸; twenty refer to gambling, of which fifteen deal with theoretical things¹ and five with practical objects²; and sixteen are concerned with cohabitation³ and four with subsidiary matters connected with cohabitation.⁴ The last twenty are entirely private matters and are never meant for public discussion; they are too fine to be exhibited in a museum for fine arts, although indecent paintings of the sort are noticed in temples at Puri, Kanarak, Benares and elsewhere; they are stated to be practised in private.⁵

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⁶ केचित्त कलाः कल्पसंहितोक्ताः सुधियामेव प्रत्येकमेकाहोरात्रशिक्षर्णाहाः क्षुद्रसिद्धिरूपाः परचित्तज्ञतादूरश्रवणदर्शनचिन्तरत्नभूतविशेषनिर्माणाद्याः अन्या एवाहुः।—(Jīva-gosvāmin) पूर्वोक्ते वा अवान्तरभेदाः क्वचिद्ग्राह्याः।—(Vallabhāchārya).

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⁷ चतुःषष्टिमूलकलाः। आस्वेवान्तरनिविष्टानामन्तरकलानामष्टादशाधिकानि पञ्चशतान्युक्तानि।

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⁸ गीतम्, नृत्यम्, वाद्यम्, लिपिज्ञानम्, वचनं चोदारम्, चित्रविधिः, पुस्तककर्म, पत्रच्छेद्यम्, माल्यविधिः, आस्वाद्यविधानम्, रत्नपरीक्षा, सीव्यम्, रङ्गपरिज्ञानम्, उपस्करणक्रिया, मानविधिः, आजीवज्ञानम्, तिर्यग्योनिचिकित्सितम्, मायाकृतपाषण्डसमयज्ञानम्, क्रीड़ाकौशलम्, लोकज्ञानम्, वैचक्षण्यम्, संवाहनम् शरीरसंस्कारः, विशेषकौशलञ्चेति।

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¹ १ द्यूताश्रया विंशतिः। तत्र निर्जीवाः पञ्चदश—आयुःप्राप्तिः, अक्षविधानम्, रूपसङ्ख्या, क्रियामार्गम्, बीजग्रहणम्, नयज्ञानम्, करणादानम्, चित्राचित्रविधिः, गूढराशिः, तुल्याभिहारः, क्षिप्रग्रहणम्, अनुप्राप्तिलेखस्मृतिः, अग्निक्रमः, छलव्यामोहनम्, ग्रहदानञ्चेति।

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² २ सजीवाः पञ्च--उपस्थानविधिः, युद्धम्, रुतम्, गीतम्, नृत्तम् चेति।

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³ ३ शयनोपचारिकाः षोड़श-पुरुषस्य भावग्रहणम्, स्वरागप्रकाशनम्, प्रत्यङ्गदानम्, नखदन्तयोर्विचारः, नीवीस्त्रंसनम्, गुह्यस्य संस्पर्शानानुलोम्यम्, परमार्थकौशलम्, हर्षणम्, समानार्थता कृतार्थता अनुप्रांत्साहनम्, मृदुक्रोधप्रवर्तनम्, सम्यक्क्रोधनिवर्तनम्, क्रुद्धप्रसादनम्, सुप्त(शय्या)परित्यागः, चरमस्वापविधिः, गुप्तगूहनमिति।

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⁴ ४ चतस्र उत्तरकलाः—साश्रुपातं रमणाय शापदानम्, स्वशपथक्रिया, प्रस्थितानुगमनम्, पुनः पुनः निरीक्षणञ्चेति।

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⁵ अभ्यासप्रयोज्यांश्च चातुःषष्टिकाने योगान् कन्या रहस्येकाकिन्यभ्यसेत्। —(Vātsyāyana, Chap. III).

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So far as the main list is concerned, it should be noticed, only the last twenty may be considered as exclusively feminine arts, the others from vocal music down to physical exercise being equally practised both by males and females. Even cookery, which includes the scientific preparation of all kinds of dishes and beverages, is a proper subject for the theoretical and practical study for man and woman alike. In fact, dietary is a section of the medical science. Another fact to which attention should be drawn is that barely one-fourth of the whole list can be called fine arts, which are meant only for mere culture or amusement, while others are really useful and productive arts both materially and culturally. This point is beautifully illustrated by Vātsyāyana in his *Kāma-sūtra*: ‘Even an ordinary dancing girl possessing beauty and youth when trained in these arts rises to the status of a courtesan, is welcomed in respectable society, and is respected by kings and learned people. She becomes an object of notice and is desired by everybody. As regards princesses and daughters of high officials, they can keep captivated their husbands possessing a thousand other wives. And when they become widows and deprived of their wealth they can honourably earn their livelihood even in another country. A man who is a skilful artist can command a hearing and proves a pleasant companion everywhere. Even being a stranger he can captivate the heart of young ladies in no time. Prosperity follows him in all places and at all times.’¹

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¹ अभिरभ्युच्छ्रिता वेश्या शीलरूपगुणान्विता। लभते गणिकाशब्दं स्थानं च जनसंसदि ॥ पूजिता सा सदा राज्ञा गुणवद्भिश्‍च संस्तुता। प्रार्थनीयाऽभिगम्या च लक्ष्यभूता च जायते ॥ योगज्ञा राजपुत्रां च महामात्रसुता तथा। सह्ररान्तःपुरमपि स्ववशे कुरुते पतिम् ॥ तथा पतिवियोगे च व्यसनं दारुणं गता। देशान्तरेऽपि विद्याभिः सा सुखेनैव जीवति ॥ नरः कलासु कुशलो वाचालश्‍चाटुकारकः। असंस्तुतोऽपि नारीणां चित्तमाश्वेव विन्दति ॥ कलानां ग्रहणादेव सौभाग्यमुपजायते। देशकालौ त्वपेक्ष्यासां प्रयोगः सम्भवेन्न वा ॥ —(*Kāma-sūtra*, Chap. III).

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Lastly, none of these arts can be properly cultivated by a person, community, or nation who is not endowed with a sense of beauty and youth. In this matter age is no sure test of youth. The Great Buddha could renounce the world while yet a young man and in the midst of worldly prosperity because he had grown oldish in heart and had no interest for youth and beauty. Almost at the same age Chaitanya also renounced the world, but he was never deprived of a sense of beauty and youth, and the result has been the origin of *Saṅkīrtana*, a kind of very exciting mass music, as well as the establishment of *Nava-dvīpa*, and later *Vaishṇavism*, where many of the erotic arts developed under different garbs with a tinge of religion. On the other hand, poets like Rabindranath and others write highly erotic poems and love stories in their sixties and seventies. because, in spite of their age, they have kept alive an interest for beauty and youth in their heart. In fact, beauty and youth need not always be dependent upon a well-proportioned figure or any particular complexion or upon a particular age.

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‘Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigour of the emotions. It is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of fifty more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin; but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair—these are the long long years that bow the heart and turn the greening spirit back to doubt. Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and at the starlike things and thoughts, in undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing, child-like appetite for what next, and the joy of the game of living. You are as young as your faith; as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence; as old as your fear; as young as your hope; as old as your despair.

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‘In the central place of your heart there is an evergreen tree, its name is Love. So long as it flourishes, you are young. When it dies, you are old. In the central place of your heart there is a wireless station, so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, grandeur, courage and power from the earth, from men and from the infinite, so long are you young. When the wires are down, and all the central place of your heart is covered with snows of cynicism and the vice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty.’

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Youth and beauty are an embodiment of what is called the sensual love. And love is the real life which is the source of all activities and of all arts. Life is, however, impossible without a body. Hence beauty and youth can be realized only with reference to an idol, an image, or a symbol.

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Buddhism at its origin was a religion of renunciation. Buddha himself was not attracted to his young wife, newly-born baby boy, old parents, and an extensive kingdom and other royal prosperities. Buddhism itself required no idol to worship and needed no temple. Hence Buddhism has given rise, in architecture, for instance, to heaps of stone known as *stūpa*. These topes, the real representative structures, both of the Buddhists and the Jains, were of solid masonry for the preservation of relics and never intended to be artistic. No doubt they are found surrounded with beautiful stone railings and decorated with artistic gateways; but these were obviously incongruous with the original tumulus and must have been later additions. They formed no essential parts of the main structure, just like the other accessories, such as stone umbrellas, elaborately carved pillars, and abundant statuary, usually in the form of reliefs, representing scenes connected with their religions. They show the conversion of Buddhism and Jainism to idolatry and point to the period from whence the Buddhist and the Jain arts made their appearance.

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Muhammadanism grew up in the Arabian desert. It is not a religion of renunciation, but it is non-idolatrous; hence there is no need for a temple; prayer could be said anywhere. Consequently the mosque does not represent any symbolic idea. It has been rightly stated that the Muhammadans ‘designed like giants and their Hindu workmen finished like jewellers; but from the giant killed by Jack, right through the whole genus, giants have hitherto been noted for . . . immense strength.’¹ There is no room for any sculpture. Worship is congregational, but there is no need for music, which is considered to be a disturbance rather than an incentive to the worshippers in concentrating the mind upon one object. Priests are householders, but the God of daily worship is impersonal. Thus it is not a religion of love, rather one of obedience. The sensual love, however, embodies in itself beauty and youth without which no fine art can grow. Hence Muhammadanism could not give rise to many fine arts. It is, however, a fact that the Muslims have later on developed many arts, but that is due to their war-like spirit, their militarism, and not to their religion. The wonderful Taj Mahal is a secular monument of love for a beautiful wife. The great forts at Agra, Delhi, and other places were but military settlements. The famous Mughal paintings have no religious tinge about them. The *Quran* is composed in prose and is not a book of poetical hymns like the *Bible* or the *Vedas*. In fact, both Arabic and Persian poetry is predominantly secular.

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¹ General A. Cunningham, *Archaeological Survey Reports*, Vol. IV, pp. 56–57.

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Christianity, on the other hand, is a religion of love. Christ himself was born of extreme love of youth for beauty, and gave up his life under highly romantic circumstances. It is fundamentally a religion which cannot be practised in the absence of an idol, an image, or a symbol. Christ is idolized in every church, together with the cross, which was the deadly weapon upon which he was crucified. Idol-worship needs a temple. Hence the Christian form of worship is impracticable without the church or a chapel. Like Muhammadanism, it is also congregational, but, unlike the former, it is performed with music in an atmosphere of beauty ; the church is neatly arranged and the worshippers keep a fashionable dress for the Sunday or Church day. Its priests are householders ; they can eat all things, they can amuse themselves in all possible ways, even in hunting, gambling, drinking and dancing. In other words, it is full of life and vigour ; beauty and youth reign supreme in it. Thus the Christian churches of almost all ages and in all countries were lovingly conceived and beautifully executed. The Grecian gods and goddesses were vigorously carved and were always given a youthful and beautiful appearance. Young boys (and girls) in pretty uniform are required to sing psalms from the *Bible* in chorus. In painting, the romantic incidents connected with Christ played a great part. Greek, Latin, French, English, German, Russian, all literature of the followers of Christ is full of their mythological allusions. Poetry, lyric, drama, all are based mainly on the theme of beauty and youth. Vigorous and lively music is necessary everywhere in the church, for the funeral, in the battle-field, for a dinner-party, for the dancing hall, etc. Cookery or perfumery, jugglery or mimicry, weaving or tailoring, bull-fighting or hunting, in every art of the Christian world there is evinced a real life. The theme in all these arts is that of beauty and youth.

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Hinduism combines in itself, at different stages of its development, the renunciation and respect for life of Buddhism, the stern discipline and brotherhood of Muhammadanism, and the love and life of Christianity. The inactive God beyond the conception of mind and word is impersonal, but the active God of worship is idolized to an extreme. In the early Vedic stage God is personified in natural phenomena ; then He is given a human body till at last He is conceived as having a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand arms, and so on.

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