gain the confidence of and seduce women other
than his own wife. Part VI discusses the duties and
activities of courtesans and prostitutes and advises
them on how to earn more money; it also discusses
the different classifications of prostitutes. Part VII
discusses additional methods of seduction, includ-
ing aphrodisiacs.
There are two well-known commentaries on
the Kama Sutra. Jayamangala or Sutrabhasya was
written between the 10th and 13th centuries;
Sutravritti was written somewhat later.
Further reading: Haran Chandra Chakladar, Social
Life in Ancient India: Studies in Vatsyanana’s Kama Sutra
(New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1990); Wendy
Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, trans., Kamasutra of Vatsya-
yana Mallanaga: A New, Complete English Translation of
the Sanskrit Text with Excerpts from the Sanskrit Jaya-
mangala Commentary of Yashodhara Indrapada and the
Hindi Jaya Commentary of Devadatta Shastri (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2002).
Kamban (c. ninth to 12th century) classical
Tamil author
Kamban is the author of the Tamil language Ira-
mavataram (The Avatar of Rama), perhaps the
most ornate and aesthetically pleasing of all the
many versions of the RAMAYANA written in the
regional languages of India.
The details of Kamban’s life, as those of many
other classical Indian authors, are uncertain. Even
his name, which is not his given name, can
be interpreted in different ways. The traditional
account has him the son of Adita, a resident of
Muvalur village in Tanjore District of Tamil Nadu.
He belonged to either the drummer CASTE or the
caste of hereditary priests in the KALI temples. He
mentions his patron, Sataiyan, in his verses. A con-
temporary Chola king is said to have given him the
fief of a place called Kambanatu (a possible source
for his name) and the title of “king of poets.” Some
believe that the poet was murdered by the Chola
king himself out of jealousy for his fame.
The extant manuscripts of the Iramavataram,
varying from 10,000 to 12,000 verses in length,
probably include interpolations. From the very
beginning of the poem RAMA is presented as the
AVATA R of VISHNU; he is referred to by Vishnu’s
epithets throughout. This is quite different from
the SANSKRIT version of VALMIKI, in which Rama
is clearly associated with Vishnu only in the first
and last chapters.
In other ways, the story as told by Kamban
is very much along the lines of Valmiki; in many
places it is clear that the author is familiar with
the Sanskrit version. Among the noticeable varia-
tions is that Kamban omits the entire final chapter
of the Sanskrit version (the Uttarakanda) of the
Ramayana, which recounts a tale of Rama’s chil-
dren and the history of the demon king RAVANA.
When Kamban’s Ramayana ends Rama and SITA
live happily in the ideal kingdom.
Also, although Kamban relates Sita’s abduction
by Ravana, in his version Ravana cannot touch
Sita, who is protected by a deadly curse. Finally,
in the story of AHALYA, the maiden who was turned
to stone on account of her dalliance with INDRA,
the curse that was put upon Indra varies between
the two versions: in the Sanskrit tale he is cursed
with the testicles of a goat; in the Tamil version he
is cursed with 1,000 vaginas (which he begs the
gods to transform into eyes—thus his epithet “the
one with 1,000 eyes.”)Further reading: George L. Hart and Hank Heifetz,
trans., The Forest Book of the Ramayana of Kampan
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988); Kamil
V. Zvelibil, Tamil Literature. Vol. 10, Fascile 1, A History
of Indian Literature. Edited by Jan Gonda (Wiesbaden:
Otto Harrassowitz, 1974).Kamsa See KRISHNA.
Kanada (c. 600 B.C.E.) See NYAYA-VAISHESHIKA.
K 226 Kamban