Product Description

A fully illustrated Kama Sutra from the extraordinary and rare art collection of Lance Dane

• The first complete translation to illustrate all 64 sexual postures described in the Kama Sutra • Includes 250 rare images • Composed by one of the world's foremost scholars of the Kama Sutra and Indian art

The erotic sentiments described in the Hindu love classic the Kama Sutra constitute the most famous work on sex ever created. Written almost 2,000 years ago, the Kama Sutra deals with all aspects of sexual life, including the principles and techniques of sexual pleasure and how to best achieve ecstatic expression of life's beauty.

In this complete and illustrated guide Lance Dane accompanies the Kama Sutra text with 250 illustrations and great works of art that encompass coins, palm leaf manuscripts, sculptures, ancient toys, jewelry, architecture, ivory combs, birch bark, cloth, paintings, frescoes, and scrolls. Gathered from museums and private collections around the world-as well as the author's own collection of over 300,000 photographs-these rare images clearly illustrate all 64 sexual positions and the erotic instructions set forth in the Kama Sutra. The result is a dazzling and sensuous reading experience through which the teachings of the Kama Sutra spring to life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2147 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-07
• Released on: 2003-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780892811380
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Review
"A new, gorgeously illustrated edition of the famous Hindu Classic."
(Erotic Review, Dec/Jan 2004, Issue 58 )

"Gives us the dazzling artwork from museums and private collections worldwide... fascinating...sex has not changed in over 2,000 years."
(Lois Mark Stalvey, Red Rock News, January 28, 2004 )

About the Author
Lance Dane is a writer, photographer, renowned scholar, and the founder of the Sanskriti Museum of Every Day Art in Delhi. He has dedicated over five decades to researching and archiving all aspects of the Kama Sutra and other pre-Vedic and Vedic classical erotica. His private collections of over 9,000 books on Indian art and architecture and his 300,000 archival photographs are housed in the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts in New Delhi. He lives in India.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Embrace Alinganavichara Prakarana This part of the Kama Shastra deals with sexual union, and is called Chatushshashti, or sixty-four. Some authors say it is so titled because it contains sixty-four chapters. Followers of Babhravya say that this part contains eight subjects: the embrace; kissing; scratching with the nails or fingers; biting; lying down; making various sounds; purushayitam, or playing the part of a man; auparishtaka, or mouth congress. Each subject is of eight kinds, and since eight multiplied by eight is sixty-four, it is therefore named Chatushshashti.

But Vatsyayana affirms that as this part also contains subjects such as striking, crying, the acts of a man during congress, the various kinds of congress and other subjects, the name sixty-four is only accidental. For instance, a tree is saptaparna, seven-leaved, or an offering of rice is panchavarna, five-coloured, but the tree does not have seven leaves, nor does rice have five colours. Kind of Embraces Babhravya refers to eight different kinds of embraces: The embrace which indicates the mutual love of a man and woman who have come together is of four varieties, and the action is denoted by the word which describes it.

If a man under some pretext goes in front of or alongside a woman and touches her body with his own, this is called the touching embrace.

If a woman in a private place bends down as if to pick up something, and presses her breasts against a man sitting or standing, and the man takes hold of them, this is called a piercing embrace.

These two kinds of embraces take place only between persons who have not, as yet, started speaking freely to each other.

When two lovers are walking together slowly, either in the dark, or in a public or a lonely place, and rub their bodies against each other, this is referred to as a rubbing embrace.

If on this occasion one of them presses the other's body forcibly against a wall or pillar, this is known as a pressing embrace.

These two embraces are peculiar to those who know each other's intentions. Embraces on Meeting At the time of the meeting four kinds of embrace are used:

When a woman clings to a man in the same manner as a creeper twines around a tree, pulls his head down to hers to kiss him and makes a slight purring sound, embraces him, and looks lovingly at him, this embrace is called twining of a creeper.

When a woman places one of her feet on the foot of her lover, and the other on his thigh; passes one of her arms round his back, and the other on his shoulders; makes a slight sound of humming and cooing, and climbs up towards him to get a kiss, this embrace is likened to climbing a tree.

These two kinds of embrace take place when the lover is standing. When lovers are on a bed, and embrace each other so closely that their arms and thighs are encircled by each other, and rub against them, this is called an embrace like a mixture of sesamum seed and rice.

If a man and a woman are very much in love and embrace as if they are entering into each others bodies, either while the woman is sitting on the lap of the man, or in front of him, or on a bed, this is called an embrace like a mixture of milk and water.

These two kinds 0f embraces take place at the time of sexual union. Embracing Specific Body Parts Suvarnanabha gives us four more ways of embracing particular parts of the body: When one of the two lovers presses one or both thighs of the other between his or her own forcibly, this is the embrace of thighs.

If a man presses the jaghana, middle part of the woman's body, against his own, and mounts her to practice scratching with the nail or finger, or biting, or striking, or kissing, while the hair of the woman remains loose and flowing, this is referred to as the embrace of the jaghana.

If a man places his breast between the nipples of a woman and squeezes them, this is called the embrace of the breasts.

If either of the lovers touches the mouth, eyes and forehead of the other with his or her own, this is known as the embrace of the forehead.

Some say that even massaging is a kind I embrace because it involves touching of bodies. But Vatsyayana thinks that as massaging is performed at a specific time and for a particular purpose and has a different character, it cannot be termed an embrace. Some shlokas further enlighten us on this: The whole subject of embracing is of such a nature that men who ask questions about it, or who hear about it, or who talk about it, acquire thereby a desire for enjoyment. Even those embraces that are not mentioned in the Kama Shastra should be practiced at the time of sexual enjoyment, if they are in any way conducive to the increase of love or passion. The rules of the Shastra apply as long as the passion of man is middling, but once the wheel of love is set in motion, there is then no Shastra an no order.

Customer Reviews

Excellent information on sex and relationships
The Kama Sutra has a huge reputation based on only one of its five sections. The positions would be Part 2 and only one chapter of the ten in that section. Most books with Kama Sutra in the title are just going to be some porn structured around that chapter. The entire book is not so much useful in describing the physics of sex as for describing the psychology of sex. (It is good for physical stuff too. At one point it gives a method to get to the G-spot with the fingers, so I have to give Indian medicine props there.)

The five sections are as follows:
Part 1 - Describes how to be attractive. You should bathe before you will be meeting the opposite sex and do something to get your breath smelling better. Also clean your apartment. People call it ritual, but it is excellent advice on not being a slob. For women it gives a listing of the 64 arts which will let you be the favorite in the harem. They are fun. Who wouldn't love a woman who does yoga, can inlay a marble table and knows how to design and build irrigation systems? Much more fun to try to be than the Proverbs 31 woman, but on the other hand kind of a strange laundry list of talents.
Part 2 - The positions, hugging, kissing, scratching and oral. Size of the man and the woman and which positions are better to even thing out in that regard.
Part 3 - How to negotiate an arranged marriage (not so useful now). How to devirginize your bride. You won't be sexing her until about two weeks into the marriage. Its all about gaining her trust and her being comfortable so she won't have hang ups about men, and sadly it doesn't apply to most marriages or devirginizations today.
Part 4 - Handling your harem. How the harem women should treat one another and how to keep them one big happy family.
Part 5 - Other men's wives/concubines and how to sneak around with them.
Part 6 - Courtesans. Kind of like etiquette for prostitutes, except courtesans aren't prostitutes. For example there is some etiquette on how to handle the courtesan living with you and your wives.
Part 7 - Being a hottie. How to make some aprodisiacs and some nice little tricks. This section is probably better advice for the sex life than the positions in that the anatomy is here.

I highly recommend the Kama Sutra but not to people who are looking for the book by reputation as sex sex sex. The book is very much about sex, but more about the whole world of etiquette surrounding male female relations. Virgin marriages (virgin women anyway) are taken for granted and one whole section is about devirginizing the woman AFTER THE MARRIAGE. The advice is very good because it tells how to go about building relationships not how to have one night stands.

Get this book to study and think about and view it as relationship advice and not physical sex advice. So much of the book is about communication and is dead on that it is no wonder it is a classic and likewise shows how important communication is to good sex. In terms of this specific translation, just go for a modern translation of the whole book. A picture book of the positions is not the Kama Sutra and the Richard Burton translation is very stilted. This translation works and pictures are reproductions of Indian art not photos of models, so they are less likely to contribute to dissatisfaction or distance with the partner. As with all sexy books avoid used copies.

The Complete Illustrated Kama Sutra - Lance Dane
Of the versions available in bookstores, this one I thought to be most comprehensive in content. The graphics are reproductions of original art and not real life couples - which is a relief, and pleasing to the eye.

The presentation falls short in that the book - for it's size - has print too bold, and the graphics are intimidating. But for a person who is looking for a good Kama Sutra to own - for it's artistic and historic significance - this one will work out just great.

Good historical info
This book is good for historical and artistic content. However, if you are looking for something more modern that will show you actual poses, don't get this book.