Mallanaga Vatsayana was a Hindu philosopher who is thought to have lived in India during the Gupta Empire, between the first and sixth centuries AD. As a student of religion, Vatsayana was interested in the potential for humans to use sexual behaviour to achieve spiritual enlightenment; in particular, he felt that a balance between Dharma (virtue), Artha (worldly wealth) and Kama (pleasure) was important.
