Kama Sutra: A Guide to the Art of Pleasure

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Written (likely) by the philosopher Vatsyayana possibly around the 2nd century AD, scholars believe his intention was to highlight one of the four virtues of life. Kama, as previously mentioned, indicates enjoying the senses; the other three goals are dharma (virtuous living), artha (material wealth), and moksha (liberation—usually indicating freedom from the cycle of reincarnation). Before moving to the pleasures of life, Vatsyayana first discusses the higher goals. c] Chris Bartley (2001), Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy, Editor: Oliver Learman, ISBN 0-415-17281-0, Routledge, Article on Purushartha, pp 443 The Early Upanishads. Oxford University Press. 1998. p.149, context: pp. 143–149. ISBN 0-19-512435-9. Part four discusses the author’s view of the traditional duties of a wife: cooking, cleaning, and catering to her husband. This section seems out of place with modern relationships and views about gender roles, but keep in mind that it was written thousands of years ago, in a different time and place.

Finding many lovers, deploying messengers, the need for them and how to find good go-betweens, getting acquainted, how to make a pass, gifts and love tokens, arranging meetings, how to discretely find out if a woman is available and interested, warnings and knowing when to stop According to S.C. Upadhyaya, known for his 1961 scholarly study and a more accurate translation of the Kamasutra, there are issues with the manuscripts that have survived and the text likely underwent revisions over time. [53] This is confirmed by other 1st-millennium CE Hindu texts on kama that mention and cite the Kamasutra, but some of these quotations credited to the Kamasutra by these historic authors "are not to be found in the text of the Kamasutra" that have survived. [53] [54] Contents Moksha – signifies emancipation, liberation or release. [37] In some schools of Hinduism, moksha connotes freedom from saṃsāra, the cycle of death and rebirth, in other schools moksha connotes freedom, self-knowledge, self-realization and liberation in this life. [38] [39] While there aren't new, good quality books published about the Kama Sutra every year, we did widen the scope of our selections to include a few more modern perspectives on the ancient text.Each of these pursuits became a subject of study and led to prolific Sanskrit and some Prakrit languages literature in ancient India. Along with Dharmasastras, Arthasastras and Mokshasastras, the Kamasastras genre have been preserved in palm leaf manuscripts. The Kamasutra belongs to the Kamasastra genre of texts. Other examples of Hindu Sanskrit texts on sexuality and emotions include the Ratirahasya (called Kokashastra in some Indian scripts), the Anangaranga, the Nagarasarvasva, the Kandarpachudmani, and the Panchasayaka. [40] [41] [42] The defining object of the Indian Kamasastra literature, according to Laura Desmond – an anthropologist and a professor of Religious Studies, is the "harmonious sensory experience" from a good relationship between "the self and the world", by discovering and enhancing sensory capabilities to "affect and be affected by the world". [42] Vatsyayana predominantly discusses Kama along with its relationship with Dharma and Artha. He makes a passing mention of the fourth aim of life in some verses. [43] Vedic heritage Davesh Soneji (2007). Yudit Kornberg Greenberg (ed.). Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. ABC-CLIO. p.307. ISBN 978-1-85109-980-1. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019 . Retrieved 28 November 2018. Ben Grant (2005). "Translating/'The' "Kama Sutra" ". Third World Quarterly. Taylor & Francis. 26 (3): 509–510. doi: 10.1080/01436590500033867. JSTOR 3993841. S2CID 145438916.

The Kamasutra has been a popular reference to erotic ancient literature. In the Western media, such as in the American women's magazine Redbook, the Kamasutra is described as "Although it was written centuries ago, there's still no better sex handbook, which details hundreds of positions, each offering a subtle variation in pleasure to men and women." [114] Book 3 of the Kamasutra is largely dedicated to the art of courtship with the aim of marriage. The book's opening verse declares marriage to be a conducive means to "a pure and natural love between the partners", states Upadhyaya. [77] It leads to emotional fulfillment in many forms such as more friends for both, relatives, progeny, amorous and sexual relationship between the couple, and the conjugal pursuit of dharma (spiritual and ethical life) and artha (economic life). [77] The first three chapters discuss how a man should go about finding the right bride, while the fourth offers equivalent discussion for a woman and how she can get the man she wants. [77] The text states that a person should be realistic, and must possess the "same qualities which one expects from the partner". It suggests involving one's friends and relatives in the search, and meeting the current friends and relatives of one's future partner prior to the marriage. [77] While the original text makes no mention of astrology and horoscopes, later commentaries on the Kamasutra such as one by 13th-century Yashodhara includes consulting and comparing the compatibility of the horoscopes, omens, planetary alignments, and such signs prior to proposing a marriage. Vatsyayana recommends, states Alain Danielou, that "one should play, marry, associate with one's equals, people of one's own circle" who share the same values and religious outlook. It is more difficult to manage a good, happy relationship when there are basic differences between the two, according to verse 3.1.20 of the Kamasutra. [78] Intimacy and foreplay

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Kumkum Roy (2000). Janaki Nair and Mary John (ed.). A Question of Silence: The Sexual Economies of Modern India. Zed Books. p.52. ISBN 978-1-85649-892-0. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021 . Retrieved 5 December 2018. In the colonial era marked by sexual censorship, the Kamasutra became famous as a pirated and underground text for its explicit description of sex positions. The stereotypical image of the text is one where erotic pursuit with sexual intercourse include improbable contortionist forms. [71] In reality, according to Doniger, the real Kamasutra is much more and is a book about "the art of living", about understanding one's body and a partner's body, finding a partner and emotional connection, marriage, the power equation over time in intimate relationships, the nature of adultery and drugs (aphrodisiacs [72]) along with many simple to complex variations in sex positions to explore. It is also a psychological treatise that presents the effect of desire and pleasure on human behavior. [71] Doniger, Wendy (2003). Kamasutra - Oxford World's Classics. Oxford University Press. p.i. ISBN 9780192839824. The Kamasutra is the oldest extant Hindu textbook of erotic love. It was composed in Sanskrit, the literary language of ancient India, probably in North India and probably sometime in the third century The original composition date or century for the Kamasutra is unknown. Historians have variously placed it between 400 BCE and 300 CE. [16] [note 1] According to John Keay, the Kama Sutra is a compendium that was collected into its present form in the 2nd century CE. [17] In contrast, the Indologist Wendy Doniger, who has co-translated the Kama Sutra and published many papers on related Hindu texts, states that the surviving version of the Kama Sutra must have been revised or composed after 225 CE because it mentions the Abhiras and the Andhras dynasties that did not co-rule major regions of ancient India before that year. [18] The text makes no mention of the Gupta Empire which ruled over major urban areas of ancient India, reshaping ancient Indian arts, Hindu culture and economy from the 4th century through the 6th century. For these reasons, she dates the Kama Sutra to the second half of the 3rd century CE. [18] Varahamihira; M Ramakrishna Bhat (1996). Brhat Samhita of Varahamihira. Motilal Banarsidass. pp.720–721. ISBN 978-81-208-1060-0. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022 . Retrieved 27 November 2018.