Book Cover of The Kama Sutra

The Kama Sutra

by Mallanaga Vatsyayana

The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfilment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the Kama Sutra is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions, but written as a guide to the art of living well, the nature of love, finding a life partner, maintaining one's love life, and other aspects pertaining to pleasure-oriented faculties of human life. It is a sutra-genre text with terse aphoristic verses that have survived into the modern era with different bhāṣyas (exposition and commentaries). The text is a mix of prose and anustubh-meter poetry verses. The text acknowledges the Hindu concept of Purusharthas, and lists desire, sexuality, and emotional fulfilment as one of the proper goals of life. Its chapters discuss methods for courtship, training in the arts to be socially engaging, finding a partner, flirting, maintaining power in a married life, when and how to commit adultery, sexual positions, and other topics. The majority of the book is about the philosophy and theory of love, what triggers desire, what sustains it, and how and when it is good or bad.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

Sanskrit

Published In

1883

Authors

Vātsyāyana is an ancient Indian philosopher, known for authoring the Kama Sutra. He lived in India during the second or third century CE, probably in Pataliputra (modern day Patna). He is not to be c...

Books by Mallanaga Vatsyayana

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

On Christian Doctrine Cover image

On Christian Doctrine by Saint Augustine of Hippo

De doctrina Christiana, a theological text written by Augustine of Hippo. It consists of four books that describe how to interpret and teach the Scrip...

Home Education Series Vol. I: Home Education Cover image

Home Education Series Vol. I: Home Education by Charlotte Mason

Step into a world where education transcends the ordinary and becomes a profound journey of discovery. In "Home Education Series Vol. I: Home Educatio...

A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga Cover image

A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga by William Walker Atkinson, Theron Q. Dumont

The Book talks on the internal world of the self. The real nature of the subconscious mind, the way to control it, how ego comes into play and most fr...

A Treatise on Good Works Cover image

A Treatise on Good Works by Martin Luther

In this exposition of the Ten Commandments, Martin Luther attempts to build a bridge between justification by faith and the life of the Christian mani...

Byways to Blessedness Cover image

Byways to Blessedness by James Allen

James Allen instructs us on how to improve our life and spiritual well-being through the power of positive thinking. He teaches us to live in the pres...

The Mystic Will  Cover image

The Mystic Will by Charles G. Leland

This book presents a method of developing and strengthening the faculties of the mind, through the awakened will, by a simple, scientific process poss...

The Morals (Moralia), Book 2 Cover image

The Morals (Moralia), Book 2 by Plutarch

The Moralia (loosely translatable as "Matters relating to customs") of the 1st-century Greek scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea is an eclectic collection o...

The Shining Gateway Cover image

The Shining Gateway by James Allen

Students of the works of James Allen all over the world will welcome with joy another book from his able pen. In this work we find the Prophet of Medi...

Quit Your Worrying! Cover image

Quit Your Worrying! by George Wharton James

This book, originally published in 1910, offers a practical guide to overcoming worry and achieving a state of mental tranquility. Drawing on his pers...

The Critique of Pure Reason Cover image

The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant

The Critique of Pure Reason, first published in 1781 with a second edition in 1787, has been called the most influential and important philosophical t...

Reviews for The Kama Sutra

No reviews posted or approved, yet...