The Kama Sutra by Mallanaga Vatsyayana
Librivox recording of The Kama Sutra by Vatsyayana. Read by Mark F Smith.
The Kama Sutra, or Aphorisms on Love, has survived at least 1400 years as a dominant text on sexual relations between men and women. Vatsyayana claimed to have written the Kama Sutra while a religious student, “in contemplation of the Deity” - but references to older works, shrewd disputations by Vatsyayana of those authors' recommendations, and careful cataloging of practices in various of the Indian states indicate much more emphasis on kama, or sensual gratification.
Part of the book discusses the 64 arts of love employed by masters of
coitus. Learning each of these and when and how to practice them,
Vatsyayana affirms, not only leads to the best gratification, but makes
the artist a person of great desirability.
Once the means of sexual congress are discussed, the many types of
male-female relationships and their proper prosecution are covered. Some
of these have small relevance to the modern world, such as how to sneak
into the King's harem, but are interesting nonetheless. Others, such as
how to get money from a lover, will probably remain useful as long as
there are humans in the world.
The translator's concluding remarks call the book primitive; so might
also modern women who are told that if their name ends in “l” or “r”
they should not be married, because they are worthless. But in tackling
the subject of human sexuality, Vatsyayana nevertheless will always
attract readers (or, in this case, listeners!).
(Summary by Mark F Smith)
Genre(s): Erotica, Ancient
Language: English
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