Social Life in Ancient India: Studies in Vatsyayana's Kamasutra c8.s4.9

c8.s4.9

Sweet scents, we thus see, played a very important part in the toilet of the nāgaraka. He made an abundant use of flowers, he rubbed sweet-scented ointments over his body and besides, he used other perfumes—*saugandhikas*—and a box of scents, a *saugandhika-puṭikā*, was kept handy by every nāgaraka. He perfumes his mouth with betel-leaves prepared with sweet-scented spices. The fragrant smoke of incense was made to circulate through his rooms and impart a perfume to his clothes. The *Lalita-vistara* corroborates Vātsyāyana about the plentiful use of perfumes. Besides the scented ointment or *anulepana*, the *Lalita-vistara* mentions scented waters of various kinds, perfumed oils and fragrant powders of sandal, flowers or other sweet-smelling things.⁴ These objects—flowers, perfumes and betel-leaves formed the most ordinary gifts exchanged between friends and lovers.¹