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	== References ==		== References ==
	{{reflist\|colwidth=33em}}		{{reflist\|colwidth=33em}}
	~~{{Portal\|Human sexuality}}~~
	{{Sex manuals}}		{{Sex manuals}}
	{{Sex}}		{{Sex}}

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{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox book 
| name = Ratirahasya

| image = 
| caption =
| author = Kokkoka
| title_orig =
| translator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = [[India]]
| language = [[Sanskrit]]
| series =
| subject = [[Human sexuality]]
| genre = [[Sex manual]]
| publisher =
| pub_date = 11th or 12th century
| english_pub_date = 1964
| media_type = Print
| pages = 172
| isbn = | oclc =

| dewey =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = }}
The '''''Ratirahasya''''' ([[Sanskrit]] {{lang|sa| रतिरहस्य }}) (translated in English as '''''Secrets of Love''''', also known as the '''''Koka Shastra''''') is a medieval [[India]]n [[sex manual]] written by Kokkoka, a poet, who is variously described as Koka or Koka Pundit.<ref name="Vātsy jkedaqw āyanaDane2003">{{cite book|author1=Vātsyāyana|author2=Lance Dane|title=The Complete Illustrated Kama Sutra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gNV1BP2DCWYC&pg=PT12|access-date=23 March 2012|date=7 October 2003|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|isbn=978-0-89281-138-0|pages=11–12}}</ref><ref name="FrayserWhitby1995">{{cite book|author1=Suzanne G. Frayser|author2=Thomas J. Whitby|title=Studies in Human Sexuality: a selected guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZArPH0nFGo0C&pg=PA144|access-date=23 March 2012|year=1995|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|isbn=978-1-56308-131-6|page=144}}</ref><ref name="Greenberg2008">{{cite book|author=Yudit Kornberg Greenberg|title=Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nGoag6b3JvYC&pg=PA348|access-date=23 March 2012|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-980-1|page=348}}</ref><ref name="Kalia1997">{{cite book|author=Krishan Lal Kalia|title=Eminent Personalities of Kashmir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1gctQ_ccrSMC&pg=PP16|access-date=23 March 2012|date=1 January 1997|publisher=Discovery Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7141-345-4|page=16}}</ref> The exact date of its writing is not known, but it is estimated the text was written in the 11th or 12th century.<ref name="FrayserWhitby1995"/> It is speculated that ''Ratirahasya'' was written to please a king by the name [[Venudutta]]. Kokkoka describes himself in the book as ''siddha patiya pandita'', i.e. "an ingenious man among learned men".<ref name="Vātsy jkedaqw āyanaDane2003" /><ref name="Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana">{{cite book|last=Ra|first=Frank|title=Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana|publisher=Subjective Wellbeing Instituted|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VdtO-N4vpgC&q=koka+shastra&pg=PA1}}</ref> The manual was written in [[Sanskrit]].<ref name="Goodway2011">{{cite book|author=David Goodway|title=Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8ttzKzNnJsC&pg=PA328|access-date=23 March 2012|date=1 November 2011|publisher=PM Press|isbn=978-1-60486-221-8|page=328}}</ref>

==Historical context==
Unlike the ''[[Kama Sutra]]'', which is an [[Ancient India|ancient]] sex manual related to [[Hindu literature]], ''Ratirahasya'' deals with [[medieval India]]n society. A sex manual was needed that would be suitable for the medieval cultural climate, and ''Ratirahasya'' was written, quite different from the ancient text ''Kama Sutra''.<ref name="FrayserWhitby1995"/>

==Structure==
There are fifteen ''pachivedes'' (chapters) and 800 verses in ''Ratirahasya'' which deal with various topics such as different physiques, [[lunar calendar]], different types of [[genital]]s, characteristics of women of various ages, [[hug]]s, [[kiss]]es, [[sexual intercourse]] and [[sex position]]s, sex with a strange woman, etc.<ref name="Vātsy jkedaqw āyanaDane2003" /><ref name="FrayserWhitby1995"/> Kokokka describes various stages of love in ''Ratirahasya'', the fifth stage being [[weight loss]], the ninth is [[fainting]], and the tenth and last stage is death.<ref name="Lienhard1984">{{cite book|author=Siegfried Lienhard|title=A History of Classical Poetry: Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0aYeR67booC&pg=PA119|access-date=23 March 2012|year=1984|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-02425-9|page=119}}</ref> ''Ratirahasya'' makes classifications of women, and describes [[erogenous zone]]s and days that lead to women's easy arousal.

''Ratirahasya'' is the first book to describe in detail Indian [[Femininity|feminine]] beauty. The book classified women into four psycho-physical types, according to their appearance and physical features.<ref name="Our B-I-G fix">{{cite news|last=Kazmi|first=Nikhat|title=Our B-I-G fix|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bombay-times/Our-B-I-G-fix/articleshow/722511.cms|access-date=27 March 2012|newspaper=Times of India|date=Jun 7, 2004}}</ref><ref name="QI: Quite interesting facts about weddings">{{cite news|title=QI: Quite interesting facts about weddings|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/qi/8466023/QI-Quite-interesting-facts-about-weddings.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424113633/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/qi/8466023/QI-Quite-interesting-facts-about-weddings.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 April 2011|access-date=27 March 2012|date=21 Apr 2011| newspaper= The Telegraph|author=Molly Oldfield|author2=John Mitchinson}}</ref>
# Padmini (lotus woman)
# Chitrini (art woman)
# Shankini (conch woman)
# Hastini (elephant woman)

On the basis of the size of the genitals, the text classifies sexual intercourse into nine different types. [[Aphrodisiac]]s are also described in the book.<ref name="Kar2005">{{cite book|author=Kar|title=Comprehensive Textbook of Sexual Medicine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YxcjMPbGHQIC&pg=PA456|access-date=23 March 2012|date=1 January 2005|publisher=Jaypee Brothers Publishers|isbn=978-81-8061-405-7|page=456}}</ref>

==Analysis==
According to [[W.G. Archer]], Kokkoka "is concerned with how to make the most of sex, how to enjoy it and how to keep a woman happy."<ref name="FrayserWhitby1995"/> In writing this text, Kokokka depended on a number of other authors including, among others [[Nandikeshvara]], [[Gonikaputra]], and [[Vatsyayana]].<ref name="(A-mdo)1992">{{cite book|author=Dge-ʼdun-chos-ʼphel (A-mdo)|title=Tibetan arts of love|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zmxR93ZeSBMC&pg=PA35|access-date=23 March 2012|year=1992|publisher=Snow Lion Publications|isbn=978-0-937938-97-3|page=35}}</ref>

==Translations==
[[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] translations of the book are entitled ''Lizzat-al-Nissa''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night|publisher=Forgotten Books|isbn=9781440039980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2AdV8WoRMgC&q=Lizzat-al+nissa&pg=PA93}}</ref> [[Alex Comfort]], author of ''[[The Joy of Sex]]'', made an English translation of ''Ratirahasya'' in 1964 titled ''The Koka Shastra, Being the Ratirahasya of Kokkoka, and Other Medieval Indian Writings on Love'' (London: George Allen and Unwin). Another English translation was made by S. C. Upadhyaya, entitled ''Kokashastra (Rati Rahasya) of Pundit Kokkoka''. Some commentaries have been written on this text by [[Avana Rama Chandra]], [[Kavi Prabhu]], and [[Harihara]]. It is a popular text in India, second only to the ''[[Kama Sutra]]'' among sex manuals.<ref name="(A-mdo)1992"/>

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=33em}}
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
{{Sex manuals}}
{{Sex}}

[[Category:11th-century Indian books]]
[[Category:12th-century Indian books]]
[[Category:Kamashastra]]
[[Category:Sex manuals]]
[[Category:Hindu texts]]
[[Category:Hinduism and sexuality]]
[[Category:Sanskrit literature]]
[[Category:Sexology literature]]

Ratirahasya - Revision history

RaushanYoganta: typo fix

CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

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