Kama SutraThe Kama Sutra is the most famed 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 common 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 approaching the end of his life, and looked upon the writing of it as part of his religious obligations. It is a carefully researched and learned work, objective and semi-scientific, and is itself based on the writings of earlier sages.
The Kama Sutra was authored at a time when the cultured Hindu was expected to obtain 3 philosophies. Artha, or worldly wealth, Dharma, or religious merit and Kama, the science of pleasure and love. Vatsyayana stresses that this work is not to be used only as an tool for fulfilling 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 classic book was used to tutor young brides ahead of their weddings. We owe a great deal to the Victorian scholar and explorer Richard Burton and his acquaintance Foster Arbuthnot, who took great pains to interpret the primary 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 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 transformed the western approach to Indian culture, showing as it does how natural and central sex was to Indian thought. Tip! Lay the woman on her back and raise her thighs, then, getting between her legs, introduce your lingam. The Sanskrit term Kama means sensual gratification, pleasure, love, while Sutra means compressed expressions, aphorisms . But Kama is far more than simply erotic pleasure. It covers all sensory pleasures. Thus perfumes, good food, silken clothes, music and painting all came within Kama's domain. When Vatsyayana named his treatise Kama Sutra, he aimed to lay down principles 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 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 attend the meetings of lovers. 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 matter 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 detailed advice on the sexual act itself - in the section of the book known as the sixty four - but also lays down instructions on marriage, household management, courtship, education, medicine, and a range of accomplishments cultured women and men needed to acquire in order to catch the attention of the opposite sex. Article based on text taken from Thorsons First Directions Kama Sutra. Get Free Web Content From ArticleBuilder.net
Kama Sutra
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