The Love Teachings of Kama Sutra: With Extracts from Koka Shastra, Anaga Ranga and Other Famous Indian Works on Love

by Indra Sinha

Book Overview

Utterly frank in its attitude to sex, the Kama Sutra is Vatsyayana's classic study of the arts of love. In this new translation, Indra Sinha captures the beautiful, vivid language of the original as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156924779X
• ISBN13: 9781569247792
• Release Date: December 1996
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.3" x 11.7"

Customer Reviews

A Timeless Tribute to Life's Most Divine Principle

As the translator so accurately pointed out Kama Sutra is one of the most misunderstood word by us "Westerners". Most people hearing that envision voluptuous woman with come hither dusky eyes who assume yoga-esque sexual positions. Now while I have absolutely no problem with such imagery and would welcome any such woman who fits that paradigm to enact such erotic movements for me. The Kama Sutra is much more than some of the more risque statues and paintings that non-Indians have been exposed to. This is actual a series of beautiful poems which celebrate and explain how a man and woman could live together in a harmonious relationship. Like any other society the Indian people regarded the family as the basis of society. And therefore when there is trouble in the home between husband and wife than the society at large can never know peace. The word sutras means aphorisms. These poetic sayings are divided into Seven major sections, and I'm sure it's just a coincidence that there are seven major charkas in Ayurvedic medicine and philosophy. And there just happened to have been seven sages who Vatsyayana learned these aphorisms from. Hmmmm... just a coincidence again I'm sure. As to the illustrations is this book. No matter how many times study them they inspire a sense of awe. And they perfectly compliment the aphorisms being explained in the text. This is a book that everyone should own, because it truly expresses that romantic sentiment is not all you need. While relationships do take work to be functional, the Kama Sutra shows us the joys and pleasures that can be experienced when it is done well by both parties involved. And if you happen to possess a harem there are also tips in here to keep all your women happy too.

the most poetic modern translation

The three significant, and most popular translations from the original Sanskrit, of Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra are by Sir Richard F. Burton and F. F. Arbuthnot (1883), Alain Dani?lou (1994) and Indra Sinha (1980). Sinha's translation is partly illustrated (photographs of Indian art and sculpture) and provides a more poetic translation. Sinha's translation omits whole sections of the original text and takes considerable liberty in changing the wording to make it more accessible to modern readers. He also includes contents from other texts, e.g., the Ananga Ranga. In both the Burton and Sinha translations it is very difficult to know if you are reading the Kama Sutra or the commentaries on the Kama Sutra as they are not clearly identified. For the average reader, this would be far more readable compared with either the Burton or Dani?lou translations. However the illustrations are not photographs of lovers, so the book is not as visually erotic as many other photo illustrated editions of the Burton translation.

Excellent information on sex and relationships, this edition is kind of academic

The Kama Sutra has a huge reputation based on only one of its five sections. The positions would be Part 2 and only one chapter of the ten in that section. Most books with Kama Sutra in the title are just going to be some porn structured around that chapter. The entire book is not so much useful in describing the physics of sex as for describing the psychology of sex. (It is good for physical stuff too. At one point it gives a method to get to the G-spot with the fingers, so I have to give Indian medicine props there.) The five sections are as follows: Part 1 - Describes how to be attractive. You should bathe before you will be meeting the opposite sex and do something to get your breath smelling better. Also clean your apartment. People call it ritual, but it is excellent advice on not being a slob. For women it gives a listing of the 64 arts which will let you be the favorite in the harem. They are fun. Who wouldn't love a woman who does yoga, can inlay a marble table and knows how to design and build irrigation systems? Much more fun to try to be than the Proverbs 31 woman, but on the other hand kind of a strange laundry list of talents. Part 2 - The positions, hugging, kissing, scratching and oral. Size of the man and the woman and which positions are better to even thing out in that regard. Part 3 - How to negotiate an arranged marriage (not so useful now). How to devirginize your bride. You won't be sexing her until about two weeks into the marriage. Its all about gaining her trust and her being comfortable so she won't have hang ups about men, and sadly it doesn't apply to most marriages or devirginizations today. Part 4 - Handling your harem. How the harem women should treat one another and how to keep them one big happy family. Part 5 - Other men's wives/concubines and how to sneak around with them. Part 6 - Courtesans. Kind of like etiquette for prostitutes, except courtesans aren't prostitutes. For example there is some etiquette on how to handle the courtesan living with you and your wives. Part 7 - Being a hottie. How to make some aprodisiacs and some nice little tricks. This section is probably better advice for the sex life than the positions in that the anatomy is here. I highly recommend the Kama Sutra but not to people who are looking for the book by reputation as sex sex sex. The book is very much about sex, but more about the whole world of etiquette surrounding male female relations. Virgin marriages (virgin women anyway) are taken for granted and one whole section is about devirginizing the woman AFTER THE MARRIAGE. The advice is very good because it tells how to go about building relationships not how to have one night stands. Get this book to study and think about and view it as relationship advice and not physical sex advice. So much of the book is about communication and is dead on that it is no wonder it is a classic and likewise shows how important communication is to good sex. In terms o

Great entry-point for the curious

This wonderfully illustrated-yet-informative translation of the classic text breaks down the classic Kama Sutra text in a way tat's mindful of the roots of the culture from which the tome was spawned, while being accessible for the merely curious. A great launching pad for the curious and a nice, quick reference for those who use the kama Sutra for more than reading. Coupled with "The Complete Kama Sutra", you should have no more questions.