The Kamasutra of Vatsyayana

by Lustre Press

Description by OLDIES.com:

A striking feature of the arts of India is their candid celebration of sexuality in all its manifestations. What later ages have fragmented into separate sacred and profane realms are in India's classical sculpture and painting, poetry and dance a continuum in which spiritual and sensual values are integrated. Sexuality is acknowledged as a form of psychic energy which can legitimately find expression in a myriad of ways, ranging from tender romatic love and conjugal concord to straightforward lust.

This book combines the Hindu sage Vatsyayana's celebrated treatise with illustrations from various schools of painting on the theme of sexual pleasure. The intention of these works was to provide instruction as well as enjoyment. The Kamasutra, ever since it was brought out of its seclusion in Sanskrit scholarship by Burton's masterly translation, has informed and delighted generations of readers. Its view of sexuality is both jaunty and pragmatic, its analysis of sexual politics often chillingly realistic. The work further throws light on the lifestyle of the ancient Hindu aristocracy from which interesting contemporary parallels can be drawn. The illustrations are entirely from private collections, and many of them have been reproduced here for the first time.