Vātsyāyana
Vātsyāyana was an influential figure from ancient India, primarily known for his contributions to philosophy and literature during the fifth century CE. He served as a physician and wrote significant commentaries on the Nyāya school of thought, particularly his work, the Nyāya-bhāṣya, which is recognized as the oldest surviving commentary on the Nyāya sūtras. Vātsyāyana is perhaps best known for the Kāmasūtra, a seminal text that explores various aspects of eroticism, love, and social conduct. This work is often misunderstood in the Western context as merely a manual on sexual practices; however, it serves as an extensive analysis of the role of sexual activity within the framework of life goals in Hindu society, including marriage, familial duties, and various forms of love.
The Kāmasūtra addresses diverse topics such as marriage rites, polygamy, and the responsibilities of spouses, reflecting the complexities of relationships in ancient India. Vātsyāyana's writings, particularly the Kāmasūtra, have significantly influenced perceptions of intimacy and social norms, enduring as foundational texts in discussions around love and sexuality. His philosophical contributions also established the Nyāya school as a central part of Indian philosophical discourse, focusing on logic and epistemology. Overall, Vātsyāyana's works continue to be studied for their depth and cultural insights into ancient Indian society.
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Vātsyāyana
Related civilizations: Gupta Dynasty, India
Major role/position: Physician, logician, commentator
Life
Little is known about the life of Vātsyāyana (vaht-SAYH-yah-nah). He was a physician and commentator on Gautama’s Nyāya school of orthodox philosophy. His Nyāya-bhāṣya (fifth century c.e.; English translation in The Nyaya-sutras of Gautama: With the Bhasya of Vatsyayana, 1912), is the oldest surviving commentary on philosophical Nyāya sūtras, which became a basic document of Nyāya interpretation. He is best known for his Kāmasūtra (fifth century c.e.; The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, 1883), a text on eroticism and social conduct in which sexual matters are exhaustively and elaborately explored. Once viewed in the West as a pornographic work, it is a classic example of analyzing and classifying every aspect of human experience in Hindu life. Dedicated to the god of love, Kāma, the work was compiled by Vātsyāyana while he was a religious student at Benares. Modeled on Kauṭilya’sArthaśāstra (dates vary, third century b.c.e.-third century c.e.; Treatise on the Good, 1961) in form and morals, it stresses sexual activity as a proper goal of life (dharma) for the householder in Indian society. It addresses marriage rites, parental duties in marriage, caste, intermarriage, duties of a devoted wife, images of conjugal love, polygamy, widowhood, remarriage, and forms of love making. It is a sophisticated, urbane, and pedantic classification of sex and love.
Influence
Vātsyāyana’s commentaries established the foundation of Nyāya as a major philosophical school preoccupied with logical and epistemological issues. His Kāmasūtra shed much light on the sexual mores of ancient India, and nothing has dislodged it from the status it has maintained throughout the centuries.
Bibliography
Gowan, Herbert H. A History of Indian Literature. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968.
Keith, Arthur Berriedale. A History of Sanskrit Literature. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
Vatsyayana. The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text by Vatsyayana. Translated by Alain Daniélou. Rochester, Vt.: Park Street Press, 1994.