“For lovers united in sexual ecstasy, it is passion that makes things happen […] In the battle of sex, lovers, blinded by passion and overwhelmed by impetuous energy, pay no attention to dangers […]”.
This quote is taken from chapter 12 of the Kamasutra, the ancient book of Indian origin which gives advice on eros , love and sexuality. In fact, it illustrates the best positions to hold during sex to be able to reach the “kama”, which in Sanskrit means pleasure or ecstasy. Let’s try to understand something more about this book, its inventor and its meaning.
Kamasutra meaning
Kamasutra is an ancient Indian text that studies human sexual behavior . It is considered a very important work in Sanskrit literature which has as its subject love, desire, ecstasy, arousal and sensuality, as well as sexuality in the strict sense. The Kamasutra was written around the second century by Vatsyayana and the real title of the book is Vatsyayana Kama Sutra, or “Aphorisms about Vatsyayana’s love”.
The Kamasutra is composed of 7 books which aim to explain how to achieve human harmony. According to the author, there are four purposes that every man must have in life: well-being, pleasure, ethical sense and liberation from the material world. Of course, the most famous part is the one dealing with pleasure, which, according to the author, can be achieved in 64 different ways, called arts. In particular, there are eight different ways to make love that are divided into eight positions for a total of 64. Each position is illustrated through images and is normally defined with the name of an animal.
The part of the book dedicated to sexual positions begins by addressing the topic of kissing , and then delves into topics such as foreplay , orgasm , oral sex and even threesomes. In fact, in Indian culture, sex is a form of divine union that has nothing to do with the idea of a sinful act that has instead spread to the Western world.
The complete work therefore deals with moral issues, deals with courtship and relations between man and woman. In particular, the first book talks about the relationship between man and woman; the second focuses on kissing, foreplay, sex; the third is based on courtship; the fourth on the behavior that a wife must have; the fifth summarizes the art of seduction ; the sixth deals with the subject of courtesans, while the seventh chapter explains how to revive a passion that has now died out.
Kamasutra history
The author of the Kamasutra is Vatsyayana, an Indian philosopher who seems to have lived during the second century BC According to scholars, Vatsyayana was most likely limited only to collecting and reworking the contents of other works, many of which belong to popular culture, transmitted orally. His name is not to be confused with Pakṣilasvāmin Vātsyāyana, the writer of the Nyāya Sutra Bhāshya, a book on the Gotama sutras.
Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about this Indian writer. According to the sources, the author said that he wrote the book while he was a student of religion in Benares and, once finished the work, it seems that he stated: “The kamasutra is not and does not want to be a treatise to satisfy our desires. It is simply a book on the art of love in general, on the simplest behaviors to always follow in the name of respect for oneself first of all and then for others, even in this act “.
The text of the Kamasutra was composed in India and is considered a real guide to sexual enjoyment , to achieve which often very detailed advice is given. The work is a mirror of Indian culture, and more generally of Eastern culture, which does not see the sexual act as sinful but rather as a great way to satisfy the senses and desires. Courtship and intercourse are, in fact, important for Indian culture and are considered a need to be satisfied just like food.
According to legend, the work even had divine origin. The Indian god Shiva, in fact, fell in love with the female projection of his figure and after enjoying the pleasures of sexual intercourse with it , he decided to pass on the discoveries he had made by dictating them to his servant Nadir. Attraction is considered a natural impulse that must never be repressed but, on the contrary, must be indulged. Consequently, the origin of the work would refer precisely to the direct experiences of the divinity, which is why there is no reason to be ashamed in putting these advice into practice.
The relationship between man and woman is extensively analyzed in the treaty; it is the man’s job to approach the woman during the love act , making her feel at ease, trying not to be in a hurry, but making sure to be nice and sweet towards her.
