Kama SutraThe Kama Sutra is the most famed book on lovemaking ever composed. Originally written by an Indian guru sometime between the 4th 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.
Not much is known about the author 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 looked upon the writing of it as part of his religious responsibilities. It is a carefully researched and learned work, semi-scientific and objective, and is itself centred on the writings of past sages. The Kama Sutra was written in a time when the cultured Hindu was expected to acquire 3 principles. Dharma, or religious merit, Artha, or worldly wealth and Kama, the science of pleasure and love. Vatsyayana highlights that this work is not to be used purely as an instrument for satisfying our desires. However, it became, over the years, an essential part of the readings of thousands of Indians, and unlike other writers who wrote solely for men, Vatsyayana's timeless book was used to train young brides ahead of their weddings. We owe much to the Victorian scholar and explorer Richard Burton and his colleague Foster Arbuthnot, who took great pains to decode the primary Sanskrit. Risking prosecution and in the face of opposition, they published it 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 Ananha Ranga, The Perfumed Garden and The Arabian Nights, among an elite group of people who were interested in the behaviour and customs 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 aphorisms, compressed expressions. But Kama is far more than simply erotic pleasure. It takes in all sensory pleasures. Thus silken clothes, perfumes, music, good food and painting all came within Kama's realm. When Vatsyayana named his treatise Kama Sutra, he intended to lay down ideals for the enjoyment of all these pleasures. So he describes how the house of the ideal citizen is to be furnished, built and provisioned. Which sweet smelling flowers 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 considered by the Hindus not only natural and necessary, but practically sacramental - the human counterpart of the marvel of creation. Erotic statues and carvings all over India confirm 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 extensive work and consists not only of detailed advice on the sexual act itself - in the portion of the manuscript known as the 64 - but also lays down instructions on marriage, medicine, household management, education, courtship, and different accomplishments cultured men and women needed to obtain in order to interest the opposite sex. 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. Article based on text taken from Thorsons First Directions Kama Sutra. Get Free Web Content From ArticleBuilder.net
Indian Kama Sutra
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