The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text - Softcover

9780892815258: The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text
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The world's oldest and most widely read guide to the pleasures and techniques of sex, the Kama Sutra was compiled in the fourth century A.D. by a Brahmin and religious scholar name Vatsyayana, who worked from texts dating back to the fourth century B.C. Until the present, the only English translation of his Hindu love classic was that of the famous English explorer Sir Richard Burton, published in 1883.

Unlike Burton's version, Alain Daniélou's new translation preserves the numbered verse divisions of the original and includes two essential commentaries: the Fayamangala commentary, written in Sanskrit by Yashodhara during the Middle Ages, and a modern Hindi commentary by Devadatta Shastri. Whereas Burton's Victorian reluctance to translate certain terms obscured our understanding of the philosophy and techniques of the Kama Sutra, Daniélou has preserved the full explicitness of the original, dealing with everything from the art of scratching to relations with the wives of others.

Realistic and pragmatic in its approach, the Kama Sutra deals without ambiguity or hypocrisy with all aspects of sexual life--including marriage, adultery, prostitution, group sex, sadomasochism, male and female homosexuality, and transvestism. The text paints a fascinating portrait of an India whose openness to sexuality gave rise to a highly developed expression of the erotic.

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Review:
The galaxy of pleasures in Alain Daniélou's translation of the Kama Sutra takes you back to an India where sexuality was an integral part of life and an avenue to spiritual bliss. As Devadatta Shastri says in his commentary: "At the moment when the peak of bliss is attained, the internal and external world vanish. The man and woman cease to be separate entities and lose themselves in the beatitudes of being." Daniélou's elegant rendering includes not only the entire sutra, much of which is excluded in other versions, but two essential commentaries as well. More than just a pillow book, the Kama Sutra is a guide to the labyrinth of sexual etiquette, from how to bathe before meeting a lover to how lovers should entertain each other after making love. Admittedly, the text is dated and culture bound in places; it can be chauvinistic, bizarre, and even violent. The commentators are careful to point out, however, that the work is an overview of all sexual practices, some of which are not recommended. Take from this encyclopedia of amour what you will and let it keep you moving down the path of spiritual practice. --Brian Bruya
From the Author:
Alain Danilou (1907-1994) was without question a Renaissance man. Following his early years as an artist, dancer, and musician in Paris (Cocteau, Diaghilev, and Stravinsky were among his friends), Danilou settled in India, where he spent fifteen years in the study of Sanskrit, philosophy, and music. After numerous university appointments in India, he returned in 1963 to Europe, establishing the Institute of Comparative Music Studies in Berlin for the reevaluation of Asian music. Danilou wrote more than thirty books about the philosophy, religion, history, and arts of India, including Gods of Love and Ecstasy; Myths and Gods of India; Virtue, Success, Pleasure, and Liberation; While the Gods Play; The Phallus; and Music and the Power of Sound.

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  • PublisherInner Traditions
  • Publication date1993
  • ISBN 10 0892815256
  • ISBN 13 9780892815258
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages576
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780892814923: The Complete Kama Sutra : The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780892814923
Publisher: Park Street Press, 1994
Hardcover

  • 9780965717823: Complete Kama Sutra the First Unabridged

    Park S..., 1994
    Softcover

  • 9780788196782: The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text by Vatsyayana Including the Jayamangala Commentary for the Sanskrit by Yashodhara a

    Diane ..., 2001
    Softcover

  • 9780892816804: The Complete Kama Sutra [Paperback] [Jan 01, 1994] Danielou, Alain

    Park S..., 1994
    Unknown Binding

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