Kama SutraThe Kama Sutra is the most renowned book on lovemaking ever written. Initially written 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.
Very little 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 obligations. It is a learned and carefully researched work, objective and semi-scientific, and is itself based on the writings of earlier sages. The Kama Sutra was written in a time when the cultured Hindu was expected to attain three principles. Artha, or worldly wealth, Dharma, or religious merit and Kama, the science of love and pleasure. Vatsyayana accentuates that this work isn't to be used only as an instrument for satisfying our desires. However, it became, over the years, an indispensable part of the readings of thousands of Indians, and unlike other writers who wrote just for men, Vatsyayana's timeless book was used to coach young brides prior to their weddings. Tip! Let the woman rest on her knees and elbows in the position for prayer. In this position the yoni stands out behind. We owe a good deal to the Victorian scholar and explorer Richard Burton and his associate Foster Arbuthnot, who took great pains to decode the original Sanskrit. 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 distributed, with other translations of eastern texts such as The Perfumed Garden, the Ananga Ranga 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 guidebook 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 love, pleasure, sensual gratification, while Sutra meant aphorisms, compressed expressions. But Kama is far more than merely erotic pleasure. It takes in all sensory pleasures. Thus music, silken clothes, perfumes, good food and painting all came within Kama's realm. When Vatsyayana named his treatise Kama Sutra, he aimed to lay down ideals for the gratification 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 paintings and sculptures the rooms should be decorated, what incenses should perfume the air and what 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 practically sacramental - the human counterpart of the miracle of creation. Erotic statues and carvings all over India testify to the fact that it was a matter to be approached with objectivity and reverence , rather than as something obscene and secret. The Kama sutra in its entirety is a long work and consists not only of precise advice on the sexual act itself - in the portion of the book known as the sixty four - but also lays down instructions on medicine, education, marriage, household management, courtship, and different accomplishments cultured women and men needed to obtain in order to interest the opposite sex. Article based on text taken from Thorsons First Directions Kama Sutra. Get Free Articles From ArticleBuilder.net
Kama Sutra Illustration
|
