Luxurious, Erotic Drinking in Literary Texts

A more poetic, literary style goes hand in hand with more elite drinking. Chapter 4 explores a range of texts on such drinking, which often involves servants, privacy, precious vessels, imported wine, erotic encounters, intense literary moods, and perfumed betel. Again, the conventions of genre are very much in evidence here, so this chapter is more a guide to those features of literature than a study of practice. The chapter also considers representations of ancient Indian “wine talk” and presents some didactic passages on how to drink properly, including a few from the Kāmasūtra. Additionally, the chapter examines the small number of Sanskrit texts devoted primarily to the pleasures and purposes of drinking.