Kama SutraThe Kama Sutra is the most celebrated book on lovemaking ever composed. Originally written by an Indian guru sometime between the fourth century BC and the first 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. Very little is known about the creator of the Kama Sutra. He belonged to the Vatsyayana sept, and his own name was Mallanaga. He embarked on the book as he was nearing 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, objective and semi-scientific, and is itself founded on the writings of past sages.
The Kama Sutra was authored in a time when the refined Hindu was expected to obtain three main beliefs. Dharma, or religious merit, Artha, or worldly wealth and Kama, the science of pleasure and love. Vatsyayana emphasises that this work is not to be used merely as an mechanism for fulfilling our desires. However, it became, over the years, a vital part of the readings of thousands of Indians, and unlike other authors who wrote solely for men, Vatsyayana's timeless book was used to train young brides ahead of their weddings. We owe a great deal to the Victorian explorer and scholar Richard Burton and his acquaintance Foster Arbuthnot, who took great pains to decode the original 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. Risking prosecution and in the face of opposition, they published the book in 1883 under the fictitious imprint The Kama Shastra Society of London and Benares. It was distributed, with other translations of eastern texts such as the Ananha Ranga, The Perfumed Garden 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 revolutionized the western approach to Indian culture, showing as it does how central and natural sex was to Indian thought. The Sanskrit term Kama meant sensual gratification, pleasure, love, while Sutra meant aphorisms, compressed expressions. But Kama is far more than simply erotic pleasure. It covers all sensory pleasures. Thus perfumes, music, good food, silken clothes and painting all came within Kama's domain. When Vatsyayana named his treatise Kama Sutra, he meant to lay down standards for the enjoyment of all these pleasures. So he describes how the house of the ideal citizen is to be built, furnished and provisioned. Which sweet smelling flowers should be grown in the gardens. With which sculptures and paintings the rooms should be decorated, what incenses should perfume the air and what music should be present at the meetings of lovers. Tip! Let the woman lie on her side and stretch out her bottom leg. Crouch down between her thighs, lift her top leg and introduce your lingam. In a very real sense, sex was considered by the Hindus not only necessary and natural, but nearly 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 topic to be approached with reverence and objectivity, rather than as something obscene and secret. The Kama sutra in its entirety is a lengthy work and consists not only of specific advice on the sexual act itself - in the section of the manuscript known as the 64 - but also lays down instructions on medicine, education, marriage, household management, courtship, and various accomplishments cultured women and men needed to acquire in order to interest the opposite sex. Article based on text taken from Thorsons First Directions Kama Sutra. Get Free Web Site Content From ArticleBuilder.net
Illustrated Kama Sutra
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