# Kama Sutra

Based on the 1883 translation. See also the original in Sanskrit.
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8th Century I. From the Temple of the Kailas At Ellora, Hyderabad
THE
KAMA SUTRA
OF
VATSYAYANA
Translated from the Sanscrit
by
The Hindoo Kama Shastra Society
COMPLETE IN SEVEN PARTS
with
Preface, Introduction, and Concluding Remarks
Illustrated
Benares—New York
Printed for the Society of the Friends of India
1883-1925
For Private Circulation Only
CONTENTS
* The List of Illustrations with Notes................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ix
* Preface................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................xvi
* Introduction................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................xx
* The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................1-175
* Part I.Index, and General Consideration Of the Subject................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................1
* Part II.Of Sexual Union................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................29
* Part III.About the Acquisition of a Wife................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................69
* Part IV.About a Wife................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................89
* Part V.About the Wives of Other People................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................101
* Part VI.About Courtezans................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................131
* Part VII.On the Means of Attracting Others to Oneself................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................163
* Concluding Remarks................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................175
THE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS WITH NOTES
I. When "Each is Both"—Frontispiece
   The monolithic Temple of the Kailas has been characterized as the most wonderful and interesting monument of architectural art in India. Certainly it is the most splendid of those representing Buddhist, Brahmanical, and Jain work near Ellora, a village of India in the State of Hyderabad and north-east of the city of Bombay. . . . This cave-temple is not a mere interior chamber cut in the rock. It is a model of a complete temple such as might have been erected on the plain. That is, a sloping hill has been hewn away externally as well as internally, leaving the temple a solid mass of trap-rock about a sunken, cloistered court measuring 276 by 154 feet. . . . Though Moslem zealots have striven to destroy the carved figures, and time and earthquakes have weathered and broken away parts here and there, this great temple is still one of the most perfect examples of Dravidian architecture. . . . It was built by Krishna I., Rashtrakuta, King of Malkhed in the incredibly short period of twenty-three years, between 760 and 783 A. D.
II. From the Temple of Surya—Page 1
III. From the "Black Pagoda"—Page 29
​ IV. From the Temple of Surya— Page 69
V. Apsaras humbling an Ascetic— Page 89
VI. A Naga from the Temple of Surya— Page 101
VII. Monolithic Pillar from a Stupa— Page 131
VIII. From the Temple of Surya— Page 163
PREFACE
In the literature of all countries there will be found a certain number of works treating especially of love. Everywhere the subject is dealt with differently, and from various points of view. In the present publication it is proposed to give a complete translation of what is considered the standard work on love in Sanscrit literature, and which is called the "Vatsyayana Kama Sutra," or Aphorisms on Love, by Vatsyayana.
While the Introduction will deal with the evidence concerning the date of the writing, and the commentaries written upon it, the chapters following the Introduction will give a translation of the work itself. It is, however, advisable to furnish here a brief analysis of works of the same nature, prepared by authors who lived and wrote years after Vatsya had passed away, but who still considered him as the great authority, and always quoted him as the chief guide to Hindoo erotic literature.
Besides the treatise of Vatsyayana the following works on the same subject are procurable in India:—
* The Ratirahasya, or secrets of love.
* The Panchasakya, or the five arrows.
* The Smara Pradipa, or the light of love.
* The Ratimanjari, or the garland of love.
* The Rasmanjari, or the sprout of love.
* The Anunga Runga, or the stage of love also called Kamaledhiplava, or a boat in the ocean of love.
The author of the "Secrets of Love" (No. 1) was a poet named Kukkoka. He composed his work to please one Venudutta, who was perhaps a king. When writing his own name at the end of each chapter he calls himself "Siddha patiya pandita," i.e., an ingenious man among learned men. The work was translated into Hindi years ago, and in this the author's name was written as Koka. And as the same name crept into all the translations into other languages in India, the book became generally known, and the subject was popularly called Koka Shastra, or doctrines of Koka, which is identical with the Kama Shastra, or doctrines of love, and the words Koka Shastra and Kama Shastra are used indiscriminately.
The work contains nearly eight hundred verses, and is divided into ten chapters, which are called Pachivedas. Some ​of the things treated of in this work are not to be found in the Vatsyayana, such as the four classes of women, viz., the Padmini, Chitrini, Shankini, and Hastini, as also the enumeration of the days and hours on which the women of the different classes become subject to love. The author adds that he wrote these things from the opinions of Gonikaputra and Nandikeshwara, both of whom are mentioned by Vatsyayana, but their works are not now extant. It is difficult to give any approximate idea as to the year in which the work was composed. It is only to be presumed that it was written after that of Vatsyayana, and previous to the other works on this subject that are still extant. Vatsyayana gives the names of ten authors on the subject, all of whose works he had consulted, but none of which are extant, and does not mention this one. This would tend to show that Kukkoka wrote after Vatsya, otherwise Vatsya would assuredly have mentioned him as an author in this branch of literature along with the others.
The author of the "Five Arrows" (No. 2 in the list) was one Jyotirisha. He is called the chief ornament of poets, the treasure of the sixty-four arts, and the best teacher of the rules of music. He says that he composed the work after reflecting on the aphorisms of love as revealed by the gods, and studying the opinions of Gonikaputra, Muladeva, Babbravya, Ramtideva, Nundikeshwara and Kshemandra. It is impossible to say whether he had perused all the works of these authors, or had only heard about them; anyhow, none of them appear to be in existence now. This work contains nearly six hundred verses, and is divided into five chapters, called Sayakas or Arrows.
The author of the "Light of Love" (No. 3) was the poet Gunakara, the son of Vechapati. The work contains four hundred verses, and gives only a short account of the doctrines of love, dealing more with other matters.
"The Garland of Love" (No. 4) is the work of the famous poet Jayadeva, who said about himself that he is a writer on all subjects. This treatise is, however, very short, containing only one hundred and twenty-five verses.
The author of the "Sprout of Love" (No. 5) was a poet called Bhanudatta. It appears from the last verse of the manuscript that he was a resident of the province of Tirhoot, and son of a Brahman named Ganeshwar, who was also a poet. The work, written in Sanscrit, gives the descriptions ​of different classes of men and women, their classes being made out from their age, description, conduct, etc. It contains three chapters, and its date is not known, and cannot be ascertained.
"The Stage of Love" (No, 6) was composed by the poet Kullianmull, for the amusement of Ladkhan, the son of Ahmed Lodi, the same Ladkhan being in some places spoken of as Ladana Mull, and in others as Ladanaballa. He is supposed to have been a relation or connection of the house of Lodi, which reigned in Hindostan from A.D. 1450-1526. The work would, therefore, have been written in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. It contains ten chapters, and has been translated into English but only six copies were printed for private circulation. This is supposed to be the latest of the Sanscrit works on the subject, and the ideas in it were evidently taken from previous writings of the same nature.
The contents of these works are in themselves a literary curiosity. There are to be found both in Sanscrit poetry and in the Sanscrit drama a certain amount of poetical sentiment end romance, which have, in every country and in every language, thrown an immortal halo round the subject. But here it is treated in a plain, simple, matter of fact sort of way. Men and women are divided into classes and divisions in the same way that Buffon and other writers on natural history have classified and divided the animal world. As Venus was represented by the Greeks to stand forth as the type of the beauty of woman, so the Hindoos describe the Padmini or Lotus-woman as the type of most perfect feminine excellence, as fellows:
She in whom the following signs and symptoms appear is called a Padmini. Her face is pleasing as the full moon; her body, well clothed with flesh, is soft as the Shiras or mustard flower, her skin is fine, tender, and fair as the yellow lotus, never dark coloured. Her eyes are bright and beautiful as the orbs of the fawn, well cut, and with reddish corners. Her bosom is hard, full and high; she has a good neck; her nose is straight and lovely, and three folds or wrinkles cross her middle—about the umbilical region. Her yoni resembles the opening lotus bud, and her love seed (Kama salila) is perfumed like the lily that has newly burst. She walks with swan-like gait, and her voice is low and musical as the note of the Kokila bird, she delights in white raiments, in fine jewels, and in rich dresses. She eats little, sleeps lightly, and ​being as respectful and religious as she is clever and courteous, she is ever anxious to worship the gods, and to enjoy the conversation of Brahmans. Such, then, is the Padmini or Lotus-woman.
Detailed descriptions then follow of the Chitrini or Art-woman; the Shankhini or Conch-woman, and the Hastini or Elephant-woman, their days of enjoyment, their various seats of passion, the manner in which they should be manipulated and treated in sexual intercourse, along with the characteristics of the men and women of the various countries in Hindostan. The details are so numerous, and the subjects so seriously dealt with, and at such length, that neither time nor space will permit of their being given here.
One work in the English language is somewhat similar to these works of the Hindoos. It is called "Kalogynomia; or the Laws of Female Beauty," being the elementary principles of that science, by T. Bell, M.D., with twenty-four plates, and printed in London in 1821. It treats of Beauty, of Love, of Sexual Intercourse, of the Laws regulating that Intercourse, of Monogamy and Polygamy, of Prostitution, of Infidelity, ending with a catalogue raisonne of the defects of female beauty.
Another work in English also enters into great details of private and domestic life. It is called "The Elements of Social Science or Physical, Sexual and Natural Religion, with a Solution of the Social Problem," by a Doctor of Medicine. London, Edward Truelove, 256, High Holborn. To persons interested in the above subjects this work wilt be found to contain such details as have been seldom before published, and which ought to be thoroughly understood by all philanthropists and benefactors of society.
After a perusal of the Hindoo work, and of the English books above mentioned, the reader will understand the subject, at all events from a materialistic, realistic, and practical point of view. If all science is founded more or less on a stratum of facts, there can be no harm in making known to mankind generally certain matters intimately connected with their private, domestic, and social life.
INTRODUCTION
It may be interesting to some persons to team how it came about that Vatsyayana was first brought to light and translated into the English language. It happened thus. While translating with the pundits the "Anunga runga, or the stage of love," reference was frequently found to be made to one Vatsya. The sage Vatsya was of this opinion, or of that opinion. The sage Vatsya said this, and so on. Naturally questions were asked who the sage was, and the pundits replied that Vatsya was the author of the standard work on love in Sanscrit literature, that no Sanscrit library was complete without his work, and that it was most difficult now to obtain in its entire state. The copy of the manuscript obtained in Bombay was defective, and so the pundits wrote to Benares, Calcutta, and Jeypoor for copies of the manuscript from Sanscrit libraries in those places. Copies having been obtained, they were then compared with each other, and with the aid of a Commentary called "Jayamangla" a revised copy of the entire manuscript was prepared, and from this copy the English translation was made. The following is the certificate of the chief pundit:—
"The accompanying manuscript is corrected by me after comparing four different copies of the work. I had the assistance of a Commentary called 'Jayamangla for correcting the portion in the first five parts, but found great difficulty in correcting the remaining portion, because, with the exception of one copy thereof which was tolerably correct, all the other copies I had were far too incorrect. However, I took that portion as correct in which the majority of the copies agreed with each other."
The "Aphorisms on Love," by Vatsyayana contain about one thousand two hundred and fifty slokas or verses, and are divided into parts, parts into chapters, and chapters into paragraphs. The whole consists of seven parts, thirty-six chapters, and sixty-four paragraphs. Hardly anything is known about the author. His real name is supposed to be Viallinaga or Mrillana, Vatsyayana being his family name. At the close of the work this is what he writes about himself:
"After reading and considering the works of Babhravya and other ancient authors, and thinking over the meaning of the rules given by them, this treatise was composed, according ​to the precepts of the Holy Writ, for the benefit of the world, by Vatsyayana, while leading the life of a religious student at Benares, and wholly engaged in the contemplation of the Deity. This work is not to be used merely as an instrument for satisfying our desires. A person acquainted with the true principles of this science, who preserves his Dharma (virtue or religious merit), his Artha (worldly wealth), and his Kama (pleasure or sensual gratification), and who has regard to the customs of the people, is sure to obtain the mastery over his senses. In short, an intelligent and knowing person, attending to Dharma and Artha and also to Kama, without becoming the slave of his passions, will obtain success in everything that he may do."
It is impossible to fix the exact date either of the life of Vatsyayana or of his work. It is supposed that he must have lived between the first and sixth century of the Christian era, on the following grounds:—He mentions that Satkarni Satvahan, a king of Kuntal, killed Malayevati his wife with an instrument called kartari by striking her in the passion of love, and Vatsya quotes this case to warn people of the danger arising from some old customs of striking woman when under the influence of this passion. Now this king of Kuntal is believed to have lived and reigned during the first century A.D. and consequently Vatsya must have lived after him. On the other hand, Virahamihira, in the eighteenh chapter of his "Brihatsanhita." treats of the science of love, and appears to have borrowed largely from Vatsyayana on the subject. Now Virahamihira is said to have lived during the sixth century A.D., and as Vatsya must have written his works previously, therefore not earlier than the first century A.D., and not later than the sixth century A.D., must be considered as the approximate date of his existence.
On the text of the "Aphorisms on Love," by Vatsyayana, only two commentaries have been found. One called "Jayamangla" or "Sutrabashya," and other other "Sutra vritti." The date of the "Jayamangla" is fixed between the tenth and thirteenth century A.D., because while treating of the sixty-four arts an example is taken from the "Kavyaprakasha." which was written about the tenth century A.D. Again, the copy of the commentary procured was evidently a transcript of a manuscript which once had a place in the library of a Chaulukyan king named Vishaladeva, a fact elicited from the following sentence at the end of it:—
​"Here ends the part relating to the art of love in the commentary on the "Vatsyayana Kama Sutra," a copy from the library of the king of kings, Vishaladeva, who was a powerful hero, as it were a second Arjuna, and head jewel of the Chaulukya family."
Now it is well known that this king ruled in Guzerat from 1244 to 1262 A.D., and founded a city called Visalnagur. The date, therefore, of the commentary is taken to be not earlier than the tenth and not later than the thirteenth century. The author of it is supposed to be one Yashodhara, the name given him by his preceptor being Indrapada. He seems to have written it during the time of affliction caused by his separation from a clever and shrewd woman, at least that is what he himself says at the end of each chapter. It is presumed that he called his work after the name of his absent mistress, or the word may have some connection with the meaning of her name.
This commentary was most useful in explaining the true meaning of Vatsyayana, for the commentator appears to have had a considerable knowledge of the times of the older author, and gives in some places very minute information. This cannot be said of the other commentary, called "Sutra vritti," which was written about A.D. 1789, by Narsing Shastri, a pupil of a Sarveshwar Shastri; the latter was a descendant of Bhaskur, and so also was our author, for at the conclusion of every part he calls himself Bhaskur Narsing Shastri. He was induced to write the work by order of the learned Raja Vrijalala, while he was residing in Benares, but as to the merits of this commentary it does not deserve much commendation. In many cases the writer does not appear to have understood the true meaning of the original author, and has changed the text in many places to fit in with his own explanations.
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13th Century II. From the Temple of Surya
At Konarak, Orissa
THE KAMA SUTRA
of
VATSYAYANA
Part I
Index, and General Consideration of the Subject
PART I. :
| Index, and General Consideration of the Subject. |||
| Chapter | I. | Salutation to Dharma, Artha, and Kama. |
| Chapter„ | II. | Observations on the three worldly attainments of Virtue, Wealth, and Love. |
| Chapter„ | III. | On the study of the Sixty-four Arts. |
| Chapter„ | IV. | On the Arrangements of a House, and Household Furniture; and about the Daily Life of a Citizen, his Companions, Amusements, etc. |
| Chapter„ | V. | About classes of Women fit and unfit for Congress with the Citizen, and of Friends, and Messengers. |
| PART II. |||
| Of Sexual Union |||
| Chapter | I. | Kinds of Union according to Dimensions, Force of Desire, and Time; and on the different kinds of Love. |
| Chapter„ | II. | Of the Embrace. |
| Chapter„ | III. | On Kissing. |
| Chapter„ | IV. | On Pressing or Marking with the Nails. |
| Chapter„ | V. | On Biting, and the ways of Love to be employed with regard to Women of different countries. |
| Chapter„ | VI. | On the various ways of Lying down, and the different kinds of Congress. |
| Chapter„ | VII. | On the various ways of Striking, and of the Sounds appropriate to them. |
| Chapter„ | VIII. | About Females acting the part of Males. |
| Chapter„ | IX. | On holding the Lingam in the Mouth. |
| Chapter„ | X. | How to begin and how to end the Congress. Different kinds of Congress, and Love Quarrels. ​ |
| PART III. |||
| About the Acquisition of a Wife. |||
| Chapter | I. | Observations on Betrothal and Marriage. |
| Chapter„ | II. | About Creating Confidence in the Girl. |
| Chapter„ | III. | Courtship, and the manifestation of the feelings by outward signs and deeds. |
| Chapter„ | IV. | On things to be done only by the Man, and the acquisition of the Girl thereby. Also what is to be done by a Girl to gain over a Man and subject him to her. |
| Chapter„ | V. | On the different Forms of Marriage. |
| PART IV. |||
| About a Wife |||
| Chapter | I. | On the manner of living of a virtuous Woman, and of her behaviour during the absence of her Husband. |
| Chapter„ | II. | On the conduct of the eldest Wife towards the other Wives of her Husband and of the younger Wife towards the elder ones. Also on the conduct of a Virgin Widow re-married; of a Wife disliked by her Husband; of the Women in the King's Harem; and of a Husband who has more than one Wife. |
| PART V. |||
| About the Wives of Other People |||
| Chapter | I. | On the Characteristics of Men and Women, and the reason why Women reject the Addresses of Men. About Men who have Success with Women, and about Women who are easily gained over. |
| Chapter„ | II. | About making Acquaintance with the Woman, and of the efforts to gain her over. |
| Chapter„ | III. | Examinations of the State of a Woman's mind. ​ |
| Chapter | IV. | The Business of a Go-between. |
| Chapter„ | V. | On the Love of Persons in authority with the Wives of other People. |
| Chapter„ | VI. | About the Women of the Royal Harem, and of the keeping of one's own Wife. |
| PART VI. |||
| About Courtezans. |||
| Chapter | I. | Of the Causes of a Courtezan resorting to Men; of the means of Attaching to herself the Man desired, and the kind of Man that it is desirable to be acquainted with. |
| Chapter„ | II. | Of a Courtezan living with a Man as his Wife. |
| Chapter„ | III. | Of the Means of getting Money; of the Signs of a Lover who is beginning to be Weary, and of the way to get rid of him. |
| Chapter„ | IV. | About a Re-union with a former Lover. |
| Chapter„ | V. | Of different kinds of Gain. |
| Chapter„ | VI. | Of Gains and Losses, attendant Gains and Losses, and Doubts; and lastly, the different kinds of Courtezans. |
| PART VII. |||
| On the Means of Attracting Others to One's Self. |||
| Chapter | I. | On Personal Adornment, subjugating the hearts of others, and of tonic medicines. |
| Chapter„ | II. | Of the means of exciting Desire, and of the ways of enlarging the Lingam. Miscellaneous Experiments and Receipts. |
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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