Kama Sutra: A Guide to the Art of Pleasure

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Doniger questions the accuracy of Daniélou's translation, stating that he has freely reinterpreted the Kamasutra while disregarding the gender that is implicit in the Sanskrit words. Treating pleasure as an art, Kama Sutra is a handbook covering every aspect of love and relationships. The first English translation of the Kama Sutra was privately printed in 1883 by the Orientalist Sir Richard Francis Burton.

Doniger notes Kama Sutra was composed "sometime in the third century of the common era, most likely in its second half, at the dawn of the Gupta Empire".Doniger's presentation style titillates, yet some details misinform and parts of her interpretations are dubious, states Sil. sphrishtaka, viddhaka, udghrishtaka, piditaka, lataveshtitaka, vrikshadhirudha, tilatandula and kshiranira.

His translations from the Sanskrit include Hitopadesa , Simhasana Dvatrimsika , Subhashitavali , Kama Sutra , The Courtesan's Keeper , The Seduction of Shiva , Suleiman Charitra , Raghuvamsam and Three Hundred Verses , all published in Penguin Classics. Alain Daniélou, The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text, ISBN 978-0-89281-525-8. 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. The text presents twenty-six forms of kisses, ranging from those appropriate for showing respect and affection, to those during foreplay and sex. The Kamasutra includes verses describing homosexual relations such as oral sex between two men, as well as between two women.The word 'kama' means the desire for sensual pleasure in Sanskrit, and was considered an essential part of the well-rounded education of a young, urbane gentleman. In general, the text describes sexual activity between men and women across class and caste, both in urban and rural settings.

The fact that the person who you are sleeping with is also sleeping with another person or other people does not necessarily mean that he or she does not love you.This conscious and incorrect word substitution, states Doniger, thus served as an Orientalist means to "anthropologize sex, distance it, make it safe for English readers by assuring them, or pretending to assure them, that the text was not about real sexual organs, their sexual organs, but merely about the appendages of weird, dark people far away. The Kamasutra has influenced many secondary texts that followed after the 4th-century CE, as well as the Indian arts as exemplified by the pervasive presence Kama-related reliefs and sculpture in old Hindu temples. The teachings and discussions found in the Kamasutra extensively incorporate ancient Hindu mythology and legends.

Why not try fast sex sequences for instant pleasure – use all kinds of locations, from the kitchen table and bathroom shower to the living room sofa and even the office floor!ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe.