________________
149
attired for the occasion of following their husband in his death, at the most painful moment all eyes are directed towards his favourite.
Most of the other situations are common to Indian erotic poetry in general. However, they agree with those discussed above in that they likewise deal basically with the impossibility of lovers to have a satisfying relationship. Before marriage a girl is closely watched by her parents who do not allow her to go out. She peeps through the holes in the fence at the boys passing her house but experiences considerable frustration as they do not respond. If she succeeds in attracting one boy's attention and they decide to meet, they have to do so in the fields (9) or in the dense shrubbery along the river (103). All this, however, provides hardly a romantic experience. The lovers are in fact constantly worrying about the fields which will one day be harvested or about the shrubbery which will in time become less dense. The rainy season is supposedly the ideal time of the year for meeting in secret because then the nights are really dark (249). However, the paths leading to the place of meeting are slippery and dangerous in that season (231, 445). • Married life is likewise represented as full of problems. After the marriage ceremony the girl is taken by her husband to his own house where he lives with his parents, his brothers and their wives in a joint family. This living together is dictated by economic circumstances. The woman is not supposed to entertain extravagant wishes, which would put too great a strain on the resources of her husband's family. This appears to be difficult when she is pregnant and suffers from cravings for rare and expensive things (dohada) (172). The woman is expected to restrain herself in every other respect as well, thus becoming a kulavahū.
Sex itself fails to provide real pleasure. For instance, the woman soon discovers that her husband is more quickly exhausted than she is, leaving her unsatisfied (155, 413). When she wants to continue, taking the initiative (viparitasurata), she merely annoys her husband (see *23).
A considerable number of Gathās deal with the husband's unfaithfulness which in the first place causes great grief to his wife. She takes revenge by sulking (māna), causing, in turn, considerable frustration
