The purpose of Ratisastra was to provide instruction and advice to young Hindu couples before and after they cohabit as a couple. The desired outcome of lovemaking has always been, according to Hindu law and custom, the production of male issues. Conjugal love or Ratisastra is the means to assure that auspicious result. Kenneth Zysks Conjugal Love in India is a study of traditional Hindu ideas about love in the domestic abode, and deals with the two principal Sanskrit treatises on the subject, Ratisastra and Ratiraman a. These two works, leaving no stone unturned, cover every aspect of conjugal life, from the finding and selection of a suitable pair to procreation.
