Sexual Life in Ancient India: A Study in the Comparative History of Indian Culture Book

The aim of Sexual Life in Ancient India is to give a true and vivid account of the life of woman in India based on material found in the country's two great ancient epics--the Mahabarata and the Ramayana. According to the author, these works, which are among the world's greatest literary achievements, are not only a kind of moral encyclopedia (whose influence in India continues to this day), they also provide valuable sources of information about the relations of the sexes, and the concepts underlying those relations.

The author admits at the start that on the subject of Woman--that is, as she is perceived in the brain and heart of Man--the two great epics "contain very contradictory utterances," for "in the soul of the Indian there dwells that twin pair, burning sensuality and stark renunciation of the world and the flesh." But it is just this contradiction, as we see it come to life in the dramatic and colorful tales contained in the epics and cited by the author, that makes for such insightful reading.