Abhilasitartha Chintamani or Manasollasa was written in the 12th century CE by the Chalukyan king of western India, Sri Somesvara Bhupati. The entire text is divided into five sections, named vimsatis, each containing twenty chapters. The work is described as Jagadacharya Pustaka, a book which teaches the world.
The first vimsati deals with the virtues of a king. It describes various tirthas (holy water bodies or rivers) in which the king needs to have his bath. It also describes different vices such as falsehood, treason, illicit sexual relations, eating prohibited food, jealousy, contact with fallen people, anger and self-praise, and prescribes virtues like charity, devotion to gods, protection of cows, learned people, guests, teachers and the practice of penance, the maintenance of orphans and other people in distress and the protection of people who seek refuge.
The second vimsati deals mainly with political science and discusses its seven limbs, namely, king, ministers, people, treasury, forts, army and allies. It also deals with topics in architecture and iconography, even though architecture finds limited space as compared to iconography and the ritual of image worship. The topics covered in the third and fourth vimsati are royal pastimes, elephant-riding, horse-riding, arithmetic, wrestling, cock-fights, rams, buffaloes, falcons and dogs, as well as vocal music, instrumental music, dance, story-telling and the performance of miracles.
A major part of the fifth vimsati is entitled krida (sports). This section discusses mountaineering, forestry, swings, swimming, beach-combing, moon-light walks, quizzes, chess, dice of various kinds, martial sports, and amorous sports.