In a country acquired by a king by conquest, the town is the most important place; in towns, houses are important places; in houses, the bed room is an important place; in it, the cot and the bed are important, and on it a woman (strī) bedecked with jewels forms the essence of the pleasures of royalty.
Gems derive beauty from women (strī); women derive no beauty from gems; for, women, when without gems, are lovely and provoke men’s desires, and not so gems when alone.
To kings struggling to conceal their desires when in public, anxious to conquer their enemies, meditating on a hundred schemes of administration either half executed or not attempted at all, obliged to follow the advice of their ministers, ever suspecting fear and failure in every attempt and buried in a sea of cares and anxieties, the embrace of an excellent woman is the only bit of pleasure falling to their lot.
In no world has Brahmā created a gem superior to woman (strī), whose speech, sight, touch, thought, provoke pleasurable sensations. Such a gem in the shape of a woman is the fruit of a person’s good, deeds, and from such a gem a person obtains both sons and pleasure. A woman, therefore, resembles the goddess of wealth in a family, and must be treated with respect, and all her wants must be satisfied.
ये अप्यङ्गनानां प्रवदन्ति दोषान् वैराग्यमार्गेण गुणान्विहाय । ते दुर्जना मे मनसो वितर्कः सद्भाववाक्यानि न तानि तेषाम् ॥ ७४-०५ ॥
It appears to me that those are bad men who, out of a dislike for all things, speak ill of women, and these men are never found to speak of the virtues of women.