70 stories

The stories are based on ancient Indian folk tales of erotic and satirical didactic content.

The stories depict ancient Indian society before the advent of Islam, in which matriarchy reigns supreme, or at least women feel free and enjoy their right to a full sensual life equally with men. Prostitution is frowned upon, but exists semi-legally. In one story, a father asks a procuress to teach his son the art of protecting his wealth from the wiles of courtesans.

Not all stories involve erotic themes. Some, such as those borrowed from the Pancha Tantra, deal with other difficult situations encountered in life.

In some cases, poems are incorporated into the stories, reminiscent of the champu style, in which prose and poetry are evenly interspersed. In other cases, the poems are quotations from other didactic works, such as the Hitopadesha, Panchatantra, and the Puranas.

A typical folktale involves a wife caught by her husband in the act of adultery and using her wits to escape the situation. In one story, she must pass between the legs of a Yaksha, an impossible feat without telling the truth. The woman manages this by dressing her lover as a madman and allowing him to embrace her—as a result, she can honestly swear that no one except her husband and the madman has ever touched her.

In one case, a wife introduces her lover to her cousin so he can enter her house. When the lover refuses to have sex with her on the grounds that he is now her brother, she threatens to accuse him of rape and succeeds.

Stories about unmarried women are very rare—except for those involving prostitutes.

There are scenes full of sarcasm and reckless audacity toward sacred objects, such as the one in which a woman promises to kiss a statue of Ganapati (the deity who removes obstacles) if she achieves a goal. The foul-smelling idol grabs her by the lips and won’t let go. The husband must make the idol laugh so it will release her lips, and to do so, he simulates sex with a donkey.