Kama SutraThe Kama Sutra is the most famed book on lovemaking ever composed. Initially written by an Indian sage 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. Not much 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 looked upon the writing of it as part of his religious responsibilities. It is a learned and carefully researched work, semi-scientific and objective, and is itself based on the writings of earlier sages.
The Kama Sutra was written at a time when the educated Hindu was expected to acquire 3 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 simply as an instrument for fulfilling our desires. However, it became, over the years, a necessary part of the readings of thousands of Indians, and unlike other writers who wrote solely for men, Vatsyayana's timeless book was used to coach young brides before their weddings. We owe much to the Victorian explorer and scholar Richard Burton and his associate Foster Arbuthnot, who took great pains to decipher 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. In the face of opposition and risking prosecution, 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 a selected group of people who were interested in the customs and behaviour of the orient, although undoubtedly it was also used as a guide for Victorian husbands. Since it was unearthed, the Kama Sutra has revolutionized the western approach to Indian culture, showing as it does how natural and central 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 merely erotic pleasure. It includes all sensory pleasures. Thus silken clothes, good food, perfumes, music and painting all came within Kama's domain. When Vatsyayana named his treatise Kama Sutra, he aimed to lay down standards for the gratification of all these pleasures. So he illustrates 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 paintings and sculptures the rooms should be adorned, which incenses should perfume the air and which music should be present at the meetings of lovers. In a very real sense, sex was considered by the Hindus not only natural and necessary, but nearly sacramental - the human counterpart of the marvel of creation. Erotic carvings and statues all over India demonstrate to the fact that it was a subject to be approached with objectivity and reverence , rather than as something obscene and secret. The Kama sutra in its entirety is a extensive work and consists not only of specific advice on the sexual act itself - in the portion of the book known as the sixty four - but also lays down instructions on medicine, marriage, courtship, education, household management, and a variety of accomplishments cultured men and women needed to obtain in order to interest the opposite sex. Article based on text taken from Thorsons First Directions Kama Sutra. Get Free Web Content From ArticleBuilder.net
Kama Sutra Bedside Kit
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