The first compete edition of the Kamasutra. It contains a crisp introduction; the original Sanskrit; a new, accurate and readable English translation; fifty full-page illustrations using period clothing, jewelry, and settings; and a thorough index. Composed almost two thousand years ago, it is surprisingly modern in its depiction of human nature and sexual practices.
This definitive volume is the first modern translation of Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra to include two essential commentaries: the Jayamangala of Yashodhara and the modern Hindi commentary by Devadatta Shastri. Alain Danilou spent four years comparing versions of the Kama Sutra in Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, and English, drawing on his intimate experience of India, to preserve the full explicitness of the original. I wanted to demystify India, he writes, to show that a period of great civilization, of high culture, is forcibly a period of great liberty.
One of the best English translations of this ancient Indian treatise on politics, social mores, love, and intimacy are the Kama Sutra, which Mallanaga Vatsyayana wrote in the second century CE. Its clean presentation raised the bar for Sanskrit translation. The Kama Sutra is a unique combination of sexology, society, psychology. It has been hailed as a great work of Indian literature for more than 1,700 years and has served as a window for the West into the mysticism and culture of the East. The Kama Sutra, a prehistoric Indian literature, is regarded as the most important Sanskrit study of human sexuality. The Kama Sutra remains one of the most accessible and entertaining of all the ancient classics, having been written with frankness and unassuming simplicity. The Kama Sutra is so significant as a work of philosophy, psychology, sociology, theology, science, and sexology that it simultaneously had an impact on Indian civilization and remained a crucial component in understanding it.
This is the only truly authentic translation of Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra from the ancient Sanskrit. This new edition is beautifully produced and illustrated with photos of the famous Indian sculptures from Sacred Temple at Khajuraho, as well as colorful paintings which depict the delightful aspects of courtship and love. Illustrations.
The classic how-to on sensuality is now bigger, better, and more satisfying than ever before. The most recognized name in erotic fulfillment now features 40 brand new illustrations by noted artsist Hrana Junto, whose work helped make The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Tantric Sexsuch a hot item. ¬ A consistent top seller ¬ New illustrations by noted artist Hrana Juno, who also illustrated The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Amazing Sex
The Kama Sutra The Standard Work on Human Sexual Behavior By Vatsyayana Translated from the Sanscrit In Seven Parts, with Preface, Introduction and Concluding Remarks. New Edition The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vaatsyayana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses. "Kama" which is one of the four goals of Hindu life, means desire including sexual desire the latter being the subject of the textbook, and "sutra" literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Contrary to popular perception, especially in the western world, Kama sutra is not exclusively a sex manual; it presents itself as a guide to a virtuous and gracious living that discusses the nature of love, family life and other aspects pertaining to pleasure oriented faculties of human life. The Kama Sutra is the oldest and most notable of a group of texts known generically as Kama Shastra (Sanskrit: Kama Sastra). Historians attribute Kamasutra to be composed between 400 BCE and 200 CE. John Keay says that the Kama Sutra is a compendium that was collected into its present form in the 2nd century CE.
The Kama Sutra has been published with illustrations before, but never like this! Using the recent, critically acclaimed translation by A.N.D. Haksar, superstar illustrator Marcos Chin has created fifty images which are at once beautiful, provocative, sexy and bursting with energy. Lavishly designed, this luxury edition comes hardbound in a slipcase and makes for a stunning gift.
"In this scholarly and superbly readable book, one of the world's foremost authorities on ancient Indian texts seeks to restore the Kamasutra to its proper place in the Sanskrit canon, as a landmark of India's secular literature. In investigating, and helping us understand, a much celebrated but under-appreciated text, Wendy Doniger has produced a rich and compelling text of her own that will interest, delight, and surprise scholars and lay readers alike"--
The erotic sentiments described in the Hindu love classic the Kama Sutra constitute the most famous work on sex ever created. Written almost 2,000 years ago, the Kama Sutra deals with all aspects of sexual life, including the principles and techniques of sexual pleasure and how to best achieve ecstatic expression of life's beauty.