Kama SutraThe Kama Sutra is the most renowned book on lovemaking ever written. Originally composed by an Indian guru sometime between the 4th century BC and the 1st century AD, it was not translated into English until the 1880's, and has only been available to the general reader since the 1960's. Not much is known about the writer of the Kama Sutra. He belonged to the Vatsyayana sept, and his own name was Mallanaga. He embarked on the book as he was approaching the end of his life, and saw the writing of it as part of his religious obligations. It is a learned and carefully researched work, semi-scientific and objective, and is itself based on the writings of previous sages.
The Kama Sutra was authored at a time when the civilised Hindu was expected to acquire three principles. Artha, or worldly wealth, Dharma, or religious merit and Kama, the science of pleasure and love. Vatsyayana emphasises that this work is not to be used simply as an tool for fulfilling our desires. However, it became, over the years, a vital part of the readings of thousands of Indians, and unlike other writers who wrote only for men, Vatsyayana's timeless book was used to coach young brides before their weddings. We owe a good deal to the Victorian explorer and scholar Richard Burton and his acquaintance Foster Arbuthnot, who took great pains to decipher the initial Sanskrit. Tip! The woman lies on her back and the man crouches between her legs which he then puts under his arms or on his shoulders. In the face of opposition and risking prosecution, they published the book in 1883 under the fictitious imprint The Kama Shastra Society of London and Benares. It was circulated, with other translations of eastern texts such as The Perfumed Garden, the Ananga Ranga and The Arabian Nights, among an elite group of people who were interested in the customs and behaviour of the orient, although undoubtedly it was also used as a manual for Victorian husbands. Since it was discovered, the Kama Sutra has transformed the western approach to Indian culture, showing as it does how central and natural sex was to Indian thought. The Sanskrit term Kama meant pleasure, sensual gratification, love, while Sutra meant compressed expressions, aphorisms . But Kama is far more than simply erotic pleasure. It takes in all sensory pleasures. Thus music, good food, perfumes, silken clothes and painting all came within Kama's domain. When Vatsyayana named his treatise Kama Sutra, he aimed to lay down ideals for the enjoyment of all these pleasures. So he explains how the house of the ideal citizen is to be furnished, built and provisioned. Which sweet scented plants should be grown in the gardens. With which sculptures and paintings the rooms should be adorned, which incenses should perfume the air and which music should attend the meetings of lovers. In a very real sense, sex was regarded by the Hindus not only natural and necessary, but virtually sacramental - the human counterpart of the marvel of creation. Erotic carvings and statues all over India give evidence to the fact that it was a subject to be approached with objectivity and reverence , rather than as something secret and obscene. The Kama sutra in its entirety is a long work and consists not only of exact advice on the sexual act itself - in the section of the manuscript known as the 64 - but also lays down instructions on medicine, household management, education, courtship, marriage, and a variety of accomplishments cultured men and women needed to obtain in order to catch the attention of the opposite sex. Article based on text taken from Thorsons First Directions Kama Sutra. Get Free Articles From ArticleBuilder.net
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