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The Kama Sutra also lays out a man's morning duties, including washing his teeth, putting ointments on his body, rubbing collyrium on his eyes, and even coloring his lips. The inner apartment should be the dwelling of his lady (the author even provides a detailed layout for the ideal nagaraka, or male residence). He should reside in a town that can sustain his livelihood, live in a house near the water, and have two apartments - an outer one, and one for privacy. Once a man achieves the necessary financial resources, he should become the head of his household. He presents a long list of useful pastimes for a woman, including intellectual pursuits, useful arts, aphrodisiacs, and even water sports. However, the author also argues that women should be trained in a variety of other arts as well, including singing, writing, sketching, painting, arranging flowers, and the adornment of household deities. Men and women should both study the Kama Sutra, since it is an essential part of the livelihood of both. Pleasure must be sought in moderation and with caution, but it cannot be disdained or ignored, for fear of losing the most vital forces in life. The author responds that this argument cannot be maintained because sex, food, and other sensory pleasures are necessary for life - and are, moreover, the results of dharma and artha. The Kama Sutra addresses the fact that others might argue that pleasure is in itself a weak goal and only leads to misery and misfortune.
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The author, however, responds that sex is a thing dependent "on man and woman and requires the application of proper means by them." The author says that some will argue that kama is practiced by all "brute creations," and thus does not merit instruction. While dharma is learned from the vedas, and artha from those who are expert in the concept, kama is the enjoyment of the five senses and thus must be learned from the Kama Sutra manual, or through first-hand experience. For even though artha and kama may sustain survival by allowing one to find pleasure and comfort, it is the fulfillment of dharma that permits moksha, or release from the karmic cycle of birth and death. In a man's youth, for instance, artha and kama take precedence, but later on dharma should become the focus of attention. Man must realize that dharma, artha, and kama harmonize in different ways over the course of one's life. The work is divided into seven books, which cover general principles, sexual union, courtship and marriage, the role of the wife, the process of seducing others' wives, the prostitute, and secret lore. These rules will be presented in this Kama Sutra, or Aphorisms on Love. Dharma refers to a person's "duty" on Earth, artha refers to the acquisition of material possessions, friends, and talent, and kama is the enjoyment of the five senses. In the beginning, God created man and woman, and laid down a set of rules in accordance with three main ideas - dharma, artha, and kama.