Kama Sutra

“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.”

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When people fail in obtaining their desires, they look for several recourses of attracting others to themselves. Good looks, good qualities, youth, and liberality are the chief and most natural means of making a person agreeable in the eyes of others. However, in the absence of these, a man or a woman needs to resort to artificial means or art. Highlighting the same, this chapter sheds light on some ancient recipes on personal adornment, on subjugating the hearts of others and on tonic medicines.

Beauty depends on the colour of the skin and physical fitness. Of these elements, some are permanent while others are subject to decline and become devoured by time. A man’s qualities, even if he is not beautiful, embellish him. One must therefore, strive to develop them. When one is young, he must not hestitate to try out new things. One must strive to make it last and preserve it. Growing old is one of the major causes of dissatisfaction, especially for women, which is the reason why practices such as dyeing hair and using antiageing creams should not be neglected.

The body should be massaged with ointments and balms made of tagara. It plays a big role in increasing sexual attraction. An ointment made of Tabernamontana Coronaria, Costus Speciosus or Arabicus, and Flacourtia Cataphracta, can be used as an unguent of adornment. If a fine powder is made of these plants and applied to the wick of a lamp, which is made to burn with the oil of blue vitrol, the black pigment or lamp black produced when applied to the eyelashes, has the effect of making a person look lovely. The oil of Hogweed, Echites Putescens, Sarina plant, Yellow Amaranth, and leaf of the Nymphae, if applied to the body, gives similar results. A black pigment from the same plants can also help in producing the same effect.