{"id":4638,"date":"2023-11-02T17:27:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T17:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/?page_id=4638"},"modified":"2023-11-03T03:46:44","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T03:46:44","slug":"grihastha-ashrama-and-the-kamasutra","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/shodh-sari-2\/sodha-sari-vol-2-issue-4\/grihastha-ashrama-and-the-kamasutra\/","title":{"rendered":"Grihastha Ashrama And The Kamasutra"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Grihastha Ashrama And The Kamasutra<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Bawa, Simmin<\/span><\/p>

Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Jai Hind College (Autonomous), Mumbai<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Abstract<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The <\/span>Kamasutra<\/span><\/i> is an ancient text guiding the sensual and sexual life of men and women in society. The text authored by Mallinga Vatsyayana is a work of art describing the variety of human sexual conduct and its pursuit from the time the person is in the <\/span>Grihastha<\/span><\/i> ashrama<\/span><\/i> or the householder\u2019s stage of existence. This included men, women and the third gender. The <\/span>Grihastha<\/span><\/i> stage begins from the time studentship stage of <\/span>Brahmacharya<\/span><\/i> Ashrama<\/span><\/i> ends and the person enters the stage of a householder where the person begins a professional career, acquires sources of income, gets married and begets children. The main protagonist of the <\/span>Kamasutra<\/span><\/i>, the \u201c<\/span>nagaraka<\/span><\/i>\u201d after acquiring education, sets up a lifestyle for himself, follows duties, participates in festivities, attends social gatherings, etc. The <\/span>nagaraka<\/span><\/i> also has a set of social skills and etiquettes to follow; maintain a wardrobe full of various attires for each function and makes efforts to maintain personal grooming; hosting and entertaining family, friends, lovers, courtesans and acquaintances, conduct business trade and maintain networking in social circles as well as indulge in cultural pursuits. Women had to focus on grooming, acquiring skills, maintaining the household and balancing between various relationships. But nowhere has Vatsyayana focused on mentioning stages of life where one procreates or prepares for <\/span>Vanaprastha<\/span><\/i> Ashrama<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>Sanyasa<\/span><\/i> Ashrama<\/span><\/i> or pursuit of <\/span>Moksha<\/span><\/i> or liberation. These aspects of the life of a commoner need to be explored at greater lengths in the academic arena for a holistic study on the great monumental work of Vatsyayana as <\/span>Kamasutra<\/span><\/i> is only seen as a work on sexual positions and portrayals. The current study proposes to explore various facets of the <\/span>Grihastha<\/span><\/i> life spelled out explicitly and implicitly by the author and aspects missed or avoided by him in the greater good of life. As we spend a large part of our life as householders, the views expressed by Vatsyayana hold good and true in these contemporary times as well which needs to be investigated exhaustively.<\/span><\/p>

Keywords: <\/b>Grihastha<\/span><\/i> Ashrama<\/span><\/i>, Householder, <\/span>Kamasutra<\/span><\/i>, Vatsyayana, Men, Women, <\/span>Nagaraka<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Brahmacharya<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Vanaprastha<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Sanyasa<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Impact Statement<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The article is a representation and reflection of the much controversial text, the Kamasutra with a focus on the analysis of the life of a common man.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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About The Author<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ms. Simmin Bawa is an Assistant Professor and Head of Department, Philosophy at Jai Hind College (Autonomous) since 2008. She has presented many papers in National and International conferences and seminars; and published many articles in various journals and conference proceedings. Ms. Simmin is currently pursuing a PhD course from the research center of R. J. College, Mumbai on the theme of sexual ethics. Her areas of interest are applied ethics and comparative religion.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ali, D (2011). Rethinking the History of the K\u0101ma World in Early India. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 39(1), 1\u201313. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10781-010-9115-7<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

Doniger, W. The \u201cKamasutra\u201d: It isn\u2019t all about sex. <\/span>Kenyon Review, New Series<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>25<\/span><\/i>(1), 18\u201337.<\/span><\/p>

Doniger, W. (2002). On the Kamasutra. <\/span>D\u00e6dalus, Spring<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>131<\/span><\/i>(2), 126\u2013129.<\/span><\/p>

Doniger, W. (2007). Reading the \u201cKamasutra\u201d: The strange and the familiar. <\/span>Daedalus<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>136<\/span><\/i>(2), 66\u201378. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/daed.2007.136.2.66<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Gaur, K. (2011). Wives and courtesans <\/span>WIVES versus COURTESANS<\/span><\/i>? An inquiry into the social aspects of the Kamasutra. In <\/span>Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Volume<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>72<\/span><\/i> (pp. 159\u2013168).<\/span><\/p>

India\u2019s sensual past. (2011). <\/span>Wilson Quarterly<\/span><\/i>, vol., <\/span>35<\/span><\/i>(4), 73\u201374.<\/span><\/p>

Kochuthara, Shaji G. (2009). K\u0100MA without dharma? Understanding the ethics of pleasure in K\u0101mas\u016btra. <\/span>Journal of Dharma<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>34<\/span><\/i>, 69\u201395.<\/span><\/p>

Puri, J. (2002). Concerning Kamasutra s: Challenging Narratives of History and Sexuality. <\/span>Signs<\/span><\/i>. University of Chicago Press, <\/span>27<\/span><\/i>(3), 603\u2013639. <\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1086\/337937<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Ratnpriya. (2017). The k\u0101mas\u016btra of v\u0101tsy\u0101yana. In <\/span>Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Volume<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>78<\/span><\/i> (pp. 184\u2013191).<\/span><\/p>

Roy, K. <\/span>\u2018Unravelling the Kamasutra.\u2019 A question of silence? The sexual economies of modern India<\/span><\/i> (pp. 52\u201376).<\/span><\/p>

Sahgal, S. Masculinity in early India: Constructing an embryonic frame. In <\/span>Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Volume<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>70<\/span><\/i> (pp. 151\u2013163).<\/span><\/p>

Olivelle, P. (Ed.). (2019). G\u1e5bhastha: The householder in ancient Indian religious culture. <\/span>Print<\/span><\/i>. Oxford University Press.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grihastha Ashrama And The Kamasutra Bawa, Simmin Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Jai Hind College (Autonomous), Mumbai Abstract The Kamasutra is an ancient text guiding the sensual and sexual life of men and women in society. The text authored by Mallinga Vatsyayana is a work of art describing the variety of human sexual conduct and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3057,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4638","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4638"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4698,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4638\/revisions\/4698"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icertpublication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}