Cote : R 30. 2558

The purpose of Ratisastra was to provide instruction and advice to young Hindu couples before and after they cohabit as a couple. The desired outcome of lovemaking has always been, according to Hindu law and custom, the production of male issues. Conjugal love or "Ratisastra" is the means to assure that auspicious result. This is a study of traditional Hindu ideas about love in the domestic abode, and deals with the two principle Sanskrit treatises on the subject, "Ratisastra" and "Ratiramana". These two works, leaving no stone unturned, cover every aspect of conjugal life, from the finding and selection of a suitable pair to procreation. The introduction situates the doctrine of conjugal love ("ratisastra") and the texts that explain it in the history of brahminic scholasticism.