The Kama Sutra (1000 Copy Limited Edition)

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I do not want to rate this at this time. I would like the option to comment if I feel strongly about it one way or the other.

So, I bought this book thinking it had positions included but it doesnt. It is about mostly the spiritual aspect and whats expected of sex and the people involved. So if you're looking for the kinky book with positions, this is not it.

One of the first things I noticed about this edition was the inclusion of the original Sanskrit text. The second thing I noticed was that the illustrations matched the clothing and jewellery of the era that the Kamasutra was written. These two details made reading the main text a lot more enjoyable and enriching for me (even though I can't read the original Sanskrit, it makes me feel more "connected" to the original writing from ancient Indian culture, especially since I've always had an interest in ancient civilisations).

The brief introduction of the book (around a succinct 5 pages) states to the reader very clearly what the book is and isn't:

* * *

"Do not blindly use this booka as a how-to manual."

"...it abscribes a deep, positive value to sex: it isn't simply for reproduction--sexual happiness matters, and it's important for one's physical and mental health."

"Perhaps our challenge is to learn what we can without damaging who we are...One could even use this knowledge to find and nurture true love."

* * *

With this clear introduction in place, the reader is then invited to peruse the rest of the book, which covers subjects such as sexual intercourse (ten chapters with seventeen sections--lots of juicy/useful details about ways of biting, unusual sex acts, beginning and conclusion of intercourse, etc.), conduct of a wife, courtesans (a very lovely and exotic section, for me!), and advanced methods (this one covers how to achieve luck in love, etc--albeit set in "the ancient world," still very educational and illuminating).

This book is also published by YogaVidya, which is "dedicated to publishing quality books about Yoga." I like that the company is completely independent of any commercial, governmental, educational or religious institutions, as I trust that this means the product/book is more like to be presented as what it is "in essence" (i.e. uninfluenced by personal and/or some other kind of moral or political agenda).

I am glad to say this was my experience with this textual edition and presentation of The Kamasutra. I'd recommend it to anyone who was interested in what the original text really is all about. The easy reading and nice accompanying illustrations help ensure this ancient (and practical) guide continues to be available to the masses in its original non-gimmicky state, so that we too can continue to explore the psychology and practice of pleasure through sexual behaviour.

One of the first things I noticed about this edition was the inclusion of the original Sanskrit text. The second thing I noticed was that the illustrations matched the clothing and jewellery of the era that the Kamasutra was written. These two details made reading the main text a lot more enjoyable and enriching for me (even though I can't read the original Sanskrit, it makes me feel more "connected" to the original writing from ancient Indian culture, especially since I've always had an interest in ancient civilisations).

The brief introduction of the book (around a succinct 5 pages) states to the reader very clearly what the book is and isn't:

* * *

"Do not blindly use this booka as a how-to manual."

"...it abscribes a deep, positive value to sex: it isn't simply for reproduction--sexual happiness matters, and it's important for one's physical and mental health."

"Perhaps our challenge is to learn what we can without damaging who we are...One could even use this knowledge to find and nurture true love."

* * *

With this clear introduction in place, the reader is then invited to peruse the rest of the book, which covers subjects such as sexual intercourse (ten chapters with seventeen sections--lots of juicy/useful details about ways of biting, unusual sex acts, beginning and conclusion of intercourse, etc.), conduct of a wife, courtesans (a very lovely and exotic section, for me!), and advanced methods (this one covers how to achieve luck in love, etc--albeit set in "the ancient world," still very educational and illuminating).

This book is also published by YogaVidya, which is "dedicated to publishing quality books about Yoga." I like that the company is completely independent of any commercial, governmental, educational or religious institutions, as I trust that this means the product/book is more like to be presented as what it is "in essence" (i.e. uninfluenced by personal and/or some other kind of moral or political agenda).

I am glad to say this was my experience with this textual edition and presentation of The Kamasutra. I'd recommend it to anyone who was interested in what the original text really is all about. The easy reading and nice accompanying illustrations help ensure this ancient (and practical) guide continues to be available to the masses in its original non-gimmicky state, so that we too can continue to explore the psychology and practice of pleasure through sexual behaviour.

This book has a wide reputation among English-speaking readers, especially among those who haven't read it. That explains why its reputation is so completely mistaken.

Vatsyayana's reputation for describing couples' gymnastics comes from just a few pages out of 200 or so. The rest of this book is about all the other social aspects of men and women in each others' company. It emphasizes the "64 arts", a liberal education including literacy and literary games, as well as carpentry, cooking, and other domestic skills. It talks about courtship and courtesanship, monogamy and polygamy, brides and widows, and suasion and seduction. It discusses the dark side of human passion, including capturing the object of one's love by main force. There are even love-charms and potions for ensuring faithfulness.

I'm not forgetting the discussion physical affection. Yes, there are the many ways for a man and woman to come together. A few are familiar, others acrobatically improbable. Vatsyayana pays attention to many kinds of caresses as well. Some, including love-bites, seem suited only to the most passionate of lovers seeking the strongest sensations. Such acts may not appeal to some readers, but the author keeps coming back to the precept that what's right is what's right for the people involved and for their time and place.

Vatsyayana mentions oral sexuality, by and for men, by and for women. He addresses all combinations, but same-sex couples get very little attention. He discusses, in passing, limited use of toys. He also mentions relations with 'eunuchs', apparently a euphemism for homosexual men. I suspect that this confusing usage was introduced by the Victorian translator, sir Richard Burton. I also suspect that the medicinal recipes have lost something in translation. There may be no English words for some plants, but the latin names probably indicate a lot more certainty about species identification than may be justified.

The author has a relatively egalitarian view of women, especially when compared to the Arabic "Perfumed Garden" written over 1000 years later. Still, it's written my a male author for a mostly-male audience. The modern reader must remember that book comes from about the 4th century AD and was translated during the prudish 19th century. It's an historical document; reading it in a modern framework will only cause confusion and detract from the work.

After 1700 years, the Kama Sutra has a lot to say to a modern reader. It reminds us that the best lover is man or woman who has many other skills as well. Parts of the advice are obsolete. Even those parts remind us that relations between men and women are endlessly complex, and that the complexity is part of the joy.

//wiredweird

Many people have heard of this book (which is now available in America in a plethora of editions, many full of lush, prurient, provocative photography, and many of them crassly facile), but despite the untold number of nervous jokes, wisecracks, knowing grins, embarassing blushes, and coy giggles, very few Americans or Westerners have ever really read it.

By the way of background, the "Kama Sutra" is a set of teachings and principles concerning human love, relationships, sex, and social conduct (even citizenship) meant to be taken quite seriously, and was written by Mallanaga Vatsyayana ( who I have read was celibate) sometime during the period of the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth centuries C.E. (approximately during what is known as India's "Gupta" period). The title of the work, "Kama Sutra". roughly translated, might mean something like "Teaching on Pleasure", or given that the narrative contains interspersed poetry of relatively high artistic quality, perhaps "Verses of Pleasure" or "Poetry of Desire". Beyond that, I might add that Vatsyayana also wrote a commentary on Gotama's Nyaya Sutras which I have read are primarily comprised of epistemological and metaphysical aphorisms. Now, otherwise, bear in mind, dear prospective reader, this material (including the "Kama Sutra") is all part of what is known as the Hindu Vedic tradition.

Aside from uninformed and infantile locker room banter, genuinely curious people who, for whatever reasons, may not have had time or opportunity to peruse this work, may seriously wonder what the "Kama Sutra" (I mean the "real thing") is actually like.

Well, first, know that the work is divided into seven parts comprised of thirty-six short chapters.

The work begins with a dialogue between a master and his student, focusing the reader's attention on three things thought by the author to be essential for earthly happiness: virtue, riches, and pleasure (and not exclusively riches and pleasure of the physical kind, and always to be tempered by moderation and prudence).

In one rather memorable portion, the reader is then introduced to material which involves how to win the confidence of a virgin. Here, it is emphasized that a "first kiss" should be like an "invitation" and relatively short.

In the second chapter of Part One, the reader (by the way, always assumed to be a male) is introduced to the famous "sixty-four arts". These are not sexual techniques; they are various ornamental avocations, entertainments, and quasi-sophisticated refinements which the author encourages members of both sexes to cultivate -- things like music, drawing, calligraphy, tasteful decorating and arranging, cooking skills, reading, conversational abilities, poetry, mathematical recreations, etc. Perhaps the most striking item included in the "sixty-four arts" is, believe it or not, "tatooing".

Now, in Part Two, the reader is treated to ten chapters that present and discuss various aspects of seduction and human sexual intercourse in a very straightforward and candid manner. These chapters delve into recommended seduction techniques, all manner of sexual acts and positions (including suggestions on how to cope with mismatches in physical size/structure), "variations" like biting, scratching, and related rough loveplay, oral sex (called "auparishtaka"), and even role playing. A major theme which emerges from these discussions is, in Vatsyayana's own words, "...if variety is desireable in love, then love must be aroused by a vairiety of means."

In Part Three of the work, the author provides guidance on how a man may best go about acquiring a wife, and in Part Four, he furnishes information on how wives in various stations and circumstances should most appropriately conduct themselves.

Part Five concentrates on how to seduce the wives of others.

Part Six focuses on courtesans and prostitutes.

Part Seven provides further discussion of more "experimental" seduction methods, such as via aphrodisiacs, magical spells, and the like, along with guidance on how to strengthen the "lingam" (penis).

Overall, while the "Kama Sutra", at least to the modern eye, seems to frequently advise the usage of clever manipulation and ethical sleight of hand in what it refers to as the "science of love", the author claims not to be intentionally promoting immorality or inappropriate carnal desires. Ostensibly, the author insists that he is very much concerned with the advocacy and cultivation of the reader's "dharma" (obedience to the Hindu scriptures), "artha" (practical success in life and the arts), and "kama" (pleasure -- the enjoyment of material things through the senses). Supposedly, the work seeks to advance balance and euthymy among these three key considerations: dharma, artha, and kama. However, while certainly not intending to judge, audit, or otherwise condemn Vatsyayana's offerings, I am nonetheless reminded of a well-known line from Shakespeare which, as I recall, goes somewhat like: "Methinks he doth protest too much."

But I am oversimplifying and thereby probably unintentionally obfuscating.

CHERRY HILL PUBLISHING, IS A VERY NICE COMPANY WITH A VERY HELPFUL STAFF.I WAS SUPRISED HOW FAR OUT OF THEIR WAY THEY WENT ,JUST TO HELP ME.I GOT TURNED ONTO A NEW WEBSITE.I REALLY LIKE THE WEBSITE! I HAVE BEEN SHOPPING AT the store FOR YEARS SPENDING THOUSANDS. OF COURSE GETTING GREAT DEAL`S!!!!!! BUT OUT OF EVERYONE ,CHERRY HILL PUBLISHING HAS BEEN THE MOST ATTENTIVE! I AM NOT JUST BUTT KISSING THEY REALLY MADE IT UP TO ME. WELL, THANKS AGAIN CHERRY HILL PUBLISHING ! EVERYONE SHOP DIRECTLY ON THEIR WEBSITE FOR AMAZING BUYS!

No pictures, and the translation is very confusing. Outdated ideas such as a girl showing her love by never looking the man in the face, looks abashed when he notices her... a woman is unworthy of marriage if she has an ill sounding name, has a depressed nose or turned up nostrils, has fully arrived at puberty. If she becomes jealous of another woman she should tear her hair out, strike her lover, throw herself on the ground... and if he should console her she should tear his hair, kick at him... Yeah... I bought this for my inexperienced boyfriend who is 8 years younger than me (he prefers mature women) and so far he much prefers my... lessons. We do have a good laugh making fun of it though. Lots of secret jokes between us have come from this crazy book.

I first read this ancient Hindu text as a teenager. Imagine my surprise when I realized that it wasn't just 'all about sex'. It's about LIFE and what holds it together. It was a pleasant experience to read this again, almost thirty years later as an adult, and realize that there was an awful lot that I missed the first time around when I read this at fourteen. This is really a book for any age. Read it. You just might be surprised.

Periodic Table of Sex (Reference Guide) Art Poster Print - 24x36 Poster Print, 36x24

Wow..A very interesting read for people who want to spice up their sex life. What I liked the most was the fact that it provides illustrations.

A friend recommended that I look into Kama Sutra, so I checked out this Kindle version. It was a very intriguing and thought-provoking read. It helped me out a lot, so I would definitely recommend it. It's a good value for the price.

I have always wanted this book, and I finally have it. I was always curious to what positions I haven't seen yet, or what I've never tried yet. This book is definetly a great buy.

Tags: Kama Sutra
fun sex

The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana by Vatsyayana. Published by MobileReference (mobi).

It was the film "Kama Sutra" that led me to this classic. The idea of someone documenting various forms of making love was intriguing and I started exploring further on the original work. The book was incredible. It was so informative I had no idea how much I would learn from just one book. I think that anyone who reads this book will definitly become a better lover, on one level or another.

The picture of the book is beautiful. However, it is false advertising! I own this book and the writing is not the same as within this book cover!!!!
the store - should review the actual book - probably isn't one - writing is probably stolen as well!
BUYER BEWARE!!!

I know, we westerners just can't appreciate things Oriental. While attempting to read KamSut, I had to set my alarm to wake me every 4 minutes. I would have burned the damned thing except KamSut is on my Kindle. Oh, well! And the store wouldn't let me rate at zero stars.