(…many of us are under the impression that the Kamasutra (of Vatsyayana) is all about torrid sexual union, various ’64’ lustful postures and lurid acrobatic acts involved thereof etc etc… (I definitely was, till I actually sat down and read the book a few decades ago)

Unfortunately, it is a deliciously salacious myth; and, this short post is a humble non-gymnastic effort at explaining one of those ’64’ – Mlecchitavikalpa, which is actually a cryptographic protocol used to send/receive ‘love’ messages and the like…)

(originally written to kindle curiosity in the young engineers at a small ‘cryptography’ based out-fit, am sharing it here, for greater common(காமன்)good)

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Bharat that is India, has had stellar pasts in more ways than one, including in the appropriate use of Cryptography in communications. For example, म्लेच्छितविकल्प (Mlecchita Vikalpa), is one which a woman in love should make practical use of, is 44^th of the 64 arts & skills listed in Vatsyayana Mallanaga‘s Kamasutra¹ of ca. 2^nd Century CE.

Mlecchitavikalpa also finds a mention in the later day Bhagavatapurana of ca. 800 CE – as the art of understanding writing in cypher, and the writing of words in a peculiar way.

In the commentaries to the Kamasutra, some methods have been elaborated – like for example, Yasodhara in his Jayamangala commentary gives descriptions of substitution cipher methods Kautilya & Muladeviya – in Cryptographic parlance, self-reciprocal permutations² (reflections/involutions).

Mlecchita means to speak indistinctly like a ‘foreigner’ or a ‘barbarian’ who does not speak Sanskrit and vikalpa means option. Due to the conjugation of the word vikalpa with the term mlecchita, the word mlecchitavikalpa means the art of speaking of a new language, though indistinctly, as an option of communication.

Exactly our point too.

In our 21^st Century adaptation of Mlecchitavikalpa, we at XXXXXXXX, are developing a suite of Security Products and Solutions based on the exciting new frontiers of avant-garde Physics…

References:

1The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana – Translated From The Sanscrit In Seven Parts by Richard Burton, Bhagavanlal Indrajit & Shivaram Parashuram Bhide (2012 edition)

2Friedrich L Brauer (2007). Decrypted Secrets: Methods and Maxims of Cryptology. Springer. p. 47. ISBN 978-3-540-24502-5

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