In the collective imagination the Kamasutra immediately suggests a manual of more or less acrobatic sexual positions, but the treatise includes many other things…
This work written in Sanskrit, almost two thousand years ago, by Vhatsyâyna Mallananâga is rather a guide to good behaviour and the arts of love.
Most of the treatise deals with social relations, the relationships between men and women and physical and psychological well-being.
The name Kamasustra comes from:
- Kama (devanagari कामदेव, IAST Kāma), in the Indian religion is the deva of pleasure, love, desire.
- Sutra (from Sanskrit सूत्र, sūtra (in pāli sutta), literally means “thread” (from the Indo-European root *syū-, the same as the Latin suere, “to sew”), and in its original sense it indicates a “short phrase”, an “aphorism”.
So literally “Maxims on love“.
Kamasutra, much more than a sexual guide!
The kamasutra is the oldest Hindu treatise on love and erotic arts.
It is one of the most important texts of Sanskrit poetry.
There are in fact, among others, the Kuttani mata (Advice of a courtesan) attributed to Damodara Gupta, minister to a king of Kashmir towards the end of the 8th century, and the Samaya matrika (The perfect courtesan) by the poet Kshemendra (11th century).
Composed of seven volumes, it provides advice on the disciplines of the mind and social customs, as well as on the techniques of kissing and the art of being a good lover.
Unlike the Tantra, the Kama sutra is not a sacred or mysterious text and its reading does not therefore require the guidance of a guru.
The purpose of the treatise is to teach men and women how to behave in front of sexual desire in order to ensure themselves a happy love life.
Love, in Indian culture, represents a fundamental component of the trivarga, the “triad of values”: respect for religion, care for business and, indeed, love.
It talks about ethical principles, explains how to court a woman and how to live in marriage with her.
Funny thing, the treatise was written in deep meditation and complete chastity.
The man who is guided only by his animal instinct does not respect the kamasutra.
Priority to women’s pleasure
I warn men in a hurry or obsessed with their only pleasure: the kamasutra does not appreciate shoddy work!
“Women love the man whose sexual energy lasts a long time, but they suffer the man whose sexual energy dies quickly,” recalls this writing.
At a time when women were not considered equal to men in any way, the kamasutra appears modern because there is no difference of species in a couple, both seek similar sexual pleasure.
Therefore, the woman should be treated in such a way that she reaches her sexual orgasm first.
The text evokes the multiplicity of orgasms in women, the clitoris, the area of the G-spot that has to be rubbed over a long period of time and concludes that “women have eight times more desire than men”.
It has only 64 positions
Despite publications that follow each other monthly: “The kamasutra to burn calories”, “the 20 special positions of the clitoris”, “the best hugs for pregnant women”, etc. … in reality the old book contains only 64 and that this is only a micro chapter of volume 2.
And without illustrations!
Why 64?
Simply because, according to the author, they are an echo of the 64 arts to be studied on a par with music, singing, sewing, to open the doors of seduction and sensuality.
Positions, bites, hugs, blows, kisses and scratches are taught.
All this is explained in a very technical and detailed way, with lots of thigh lifting and sustained pressure.
The sex dimension is important
In the Kamasutra, size matters!
Depending on the size of his genital organ (estimated between six and twelve fingers), a man is called a hare, bull or horse.
The woman is defined as a deer, a mare or an elephant depending on the depth and circumference of her vagina.
For maximum understanding and pleasure, the treatise encourages you to join a sex compatible with your own.
It therefore advises the hare not to run with an “elephant” woman and invites the horse man to be very gentle with the “deer” woman.
“In intermediate cases, it is better that the man is older than the woman“, the text states. All that remains is to opt for the most suitable positions because they have all been studied according to this dimensional criterion!
Love filters and sex toys
“If you drink milk infused with beans, pepper and brown sugar, and which has been mixed with sugar, you become as virile as a bull”.
Within the Kamasutra there is no lack of natural recipes to awaken male libido.
In case they have no effect, it suggests the use of “devices”, especially to “satisfy a woman with intense sexual energy”: in buffalo horn, copper, iron or even pewter or lead for their refreshing and soft side!
Allows adultery
In many ancient Hindu texts adultery is present, recounted, annotated, discussed, condemned.
The kamasutra is a text that takes up existing writings, so it is impossible not to refer to it even if Vatsyayana, condemns this form of freedom
“With women married to other men, pleasure will not achieve any of this, and it is forbidden, except in some specific cases which he lists in a long list…”.
He describes in this way, based on older reflections, advice to seduce another man’s wife: “be attentive to her son, give him gifts or pass through an intermediary to court her”…
It even mentions the fate of women abandoned by their husbands, monopolised by their business, or the one “who was dishonored by her husband when she did nothing wrong”: “How could she not want other men? Should we condemn them to frustration? Certainly not.”
Some positions in the Kamasutra
Here are 10 of the funniest positions:
- Antelope position: it’s a variation on the position also known as doggy style, she on all fours and he penetrates her from behind but, in this case, she arches her back to stimulate the G-spot even better.
- Telescope position: she stands with her legs open, slightly bent, he is on the side of her bottom and licks her from behind. Perfect for playing with your fingers.
- Leaf position: both on one side, one in front of the other, she picks up her legs and places them on his chest.
- Andromache’s position: man on his back, woman on top of him kneeling or squatting with erect torso. She controls the rhythm and depth of penetration.
- Swing position: she sits on him from behind, she can lean on his feet to guide the movement.
- Reverse alignment: he lying on his back, she always lies on his back but on the side of her feet. Tantra top position to go slow, but enjoy a lot.
- Plough position: she lies on her back with her back on the edge of the bed and squeezes his hips with her legs. He kneels on the ground to penetrate better.
- Position of the elephant: she lies on her belly on the bed with her legs slightly open, he lies on his back penetrating her from behind. For stimulation of the G-spot.
- Position of the peach: he lies on his back with his head on the pillow, she sits on his chest with her legs open to allow him to lick deeply.
- Fruit tree position: her on his back resting one leg on his chest and holding the other free for very deep penetration.
Wikipedia references.