he harem, and
he should be careful to be able to recognize the emissaries of the King.
When a go-between has no access to the harem, then the man should stand
in some place where the lady, whom he loves, and whom he is anxious to
enjoy, can be seen.
If that place is occupied by the King's sentinels, he should then
disguise himself as a female attendant of the lady who comes to the
place, or passes by it. When she looks at him he should let her know his
feelings by outward signs and gestures, and should show her pictures,
things with double meanings, chaplets of flowers, and rings. He should
carefully mark the answer she gives, whether by word or by sign, or by
gesture, and should then try and get into the harem. If he is certain of
her coming to some particular place he should conceal himself there, and
at the appointed time should enter along with her as one of the guards.
He may also go in and out, concealed in a folded bed, or bed covering,
or with his body made invisible,[71] by means of external applications,
a receipt for one of which is as follows:
The heart of an ichneumon, the fruit of the long gourd (Tumbi), and the
eyes of the serpent, should all be burnt without letting out the smoke,
the ashes should then be ground and mixed in equal quantities with
water. By putting this mixture upon the eyes a man can go about unseen.
Other means of invisibility are prescribed by Duyana Brahmans and
Jogashiras.
Again the man may enter the harem during the festival of the eight moon
in the month of Nargashirsha, and during the moonlight festivals when
the female attendants of the harem are all busily occupied, or in
confusion.
The following principles are laid down on this subject.
The entrance of young men into harems, and their exit from them,
generally take place when things are being brought into the palace, or
when things are being taken out of it, or when drinking festivals are
going on, or when the female attendants are in a hurry, or when the
residence of some of the royal ladies is being changed, or when the
King's wives go to gardens, or to fairs, or when they enter the palace
on their return from them; or, lastly, when the King is absent on a long
pilgrimage. The women of the royal harem know each other's secrets, and
having but one object to attain, they give assistance to each other. A
young man, who enjoys all of them, and who is common to them all, can
continue enjoying his union with them so
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