The Karma Sutra: A Process of Liberation

Product Information

Book I, Chapter ii, Lines 2-4 Vatsyayana Kamasutram Electronic Sanskrit edition: Titus Texts, University of Frankfurt bālye vidyāgrahaṇādīn artʰān, kāmaṃ ca yauvane, stʰāvire dʰarmaṃ mokṣaṃ ca Dharma is better than Artha, and Artha is better than Kama. But Artha should always be first practised by the king for the livelihood of men is to be obtained from it only. Again, Kama being the occupation of public women, they should prefer it to the other two, and these are exceptions to the general rule." (Kama Sutra 1.2.14) [16]

Due to its association with sexual intimacy, many stereotypes about the text have developed in the western popular culture. However, Indra Sinha states, “The Kama Sutra is neither a sex-manual nor, as also commonly believed, a sacred or religious work. It is certainly not a tantric text. In opening with a discussion of the three aims of ancient Hindu life—dharma, artha and kama—Vatsyayana's purpose is to set kama, or enjoyment of the senses, in context. Thus dharma or virtuous living is the highest aim, artha, the amassing of wealth is next, and kama is the least of the three.” [4] Etymology For definition of the term पुरुष-अर्थ ( puruṣa-artha) as "any of the four principal objects of human life, i.e. धर्म, अर्थ, काम, and मोक्ष" see: Apte, p. 626, middle column, compound #1. Sudhir Kakar and Wendy Doniger. 2003. Kamasutra (Oxford World's Classics). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283982-9 Indian tradition includes following the "four main goals of life", [11] [12] known as the purusharthas: [13] 1) Dharma: Virtuous living 2) Artha: Material prosperity 3) Kama: Aesthetic and erotic pleasure. [14] [15] 4) Moksha: Liberation Apte, Vaman Shivram. 1965. The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-0567-4For the Dharma Śāstras as discussing the "four main goals of life" (dharma, artha, kāma, and moksha) see: Hopkins, p. 78. Daniélou, Alain. 1993. The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text. Inner Traditions. ISBN 0-89281-525-6 For definition of sutra as a brief, aphoristic statement see: Ludo Rocher, "The Dharmaśāstras," in Flood, 2003, p. 104. The Kama Sutra is sometimes wrongly thought of as a manual for tantric sex. While sexual practices do exist within the very wide tradition of Hindu tantra, the Kama Sutra is not a tantric text, and does not touch upon any of the sexual rites associated with some forms of tantric practice.

In childhood, Vātsyāyana says, a person should learn how to make a living, youth is the time for pleasure, as years pass one should concentrate on living virtuously and hope to escape the cycle of rebirth. [17] Flood, Gavin. 1996. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0 Introductory Chapters on contents of the book, three aims and priorities of life, the acquisition of knowledge, conduct of the well-bred townsman, reflections on intermediaries who assist the lover in his enterprises (five chapters). 2. On sexual union Chapters on stimulation of desire, embraces types, caressing and kisses, marking with nails, biting and marking with teeth, on copulation (positions), slapping by hand and corresponding moaning, virile behavior in women, superior coition and oral sex, preludes and conclusions to the game of love. It describes 64 types of sexual acts (ten chapters). 3. About the acquisition of a wife Chapters on forms of marriage, relaxing the girl, obtaining the girl, managing alone, union by marriage (five chapters). 4. About a wife Chapters on conduct of the only wife and conduct of the chief wife and other wives (two chapters). 5. About the wives of other people Chapters on behavior of woman and man, encounters to get acquainted, examination of sentiments, the task of go-between, the king's pleasures, behavior in the gynoecium (six chapters). 6. About courtesans Chapters on advice of the assistants on the choice of lovers, looking for a steady lover, ways of making money, renewing friendship with a former lover, occasional profits, profits and losses (six chapters). 7. On the means of attracting others to one's self Chapters on improving physical attractions, arousing a weakened sexual power (two chapters). Pleasure and spirituality Dharma, Artha and Kama are aims of everyday life, while Moksha is release from the cycle of death and rebirth. The Kama Sutra (Burton translation) says:For Nandi reporting the utterance see: Alain Daniélou, The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text (Inner Traditions: 1993, ISBN 0-89281-525-6), 3. The most widely known English translation of the Kama Sutra was made by the famous traveler and author Sir Richard Francis Burton and compiled by his colleague Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot in 1883. Historian Burjor Avari has criticized Burton's translation as "inadequate," having had the result that the book gained a reputation in the West of being a pornographic work. [18]

Of the first three, virtue is the highest goal, a secure life the second and pleasure the least important. When motives conflict, the higher ideal is to be followed. Thus, in making money virtue must not be compromised, but earning a living should take precedence over pleasure, but there are exceptions.Kama ( काम kāma) is a Sanskrit word that has the general meanings of "wish," "desire," and "intention" in addition to the specific meanings of "pleasure" and "(sexual) love". [5] Used as a proper name it refers to Kama, the Hindu god of Love. The following definition of Kama is given in chapter two of the Kama Sutra, as translated by Richard Burton: Sutra ( सूत्र sūtra) signifies a thread, or discourse threaded on a series of aphorisms or concise rules. [7] By definition a sutra is a brief, aphoristic statement. [8] Sutra was a standard term for a technical text, thus also the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Ludo Rocher categorizes the Kama Sutra as a typical example of a work written in sutra style. [9] Content A recent translation is that of Indra Sinha, published in 1980. In the early 1990s its chapter on lovemaking positions began circulating on the internet as an independent text and today is often assumed to be the whole of the Kama Sutra. [19] The Mallanaga Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra has 36 chapters, organized into seven parts. [10] Both according to Burton and Wendy Doniger translations, the contents of the book are structured into seven parts like the following:

Alain Daniélou contributed a translation called The Complete Kama Sutra in 1994. This translation featured the original text attributed to Vatsayana, along with a medieval and modern commentary.