Audio Book | 366mins

The Kama Sutra by Mallanaga Vatsyayana in english

The Kama Sutra, or Aphorisms on Love, has survived at least 1400 years as a dominant text on sexual relations between men and women. Vatsyayana claimed to have written the Kama Sutra while a religious student, “in contemplation of the Deity” - but references to older works, shrewd disputations by Vatsyayana of those authors' recommendations, and careful cataloging of practices in various of the Indian states indicate much more emphasis on kama, or sensual gratification. Part of the book discusses the 64 arts of love employed by masters of coitus. Learning each of these and when and how to practice them, Vatsyayana affirms, not only leads to the best gratification, but makes the artist a person of great desirability. Once the means of sexual congress are discussed, the many types of male-female relationships and their proper prosecution are covered. Some of these have small relevance to the modern world, such as how to sneak into the King's harem, but are interesting nonetheless. Others, such as how to get money from a lover, will probably remain useful as long as there are humans in the world. The translator's concluding remarks call the book primitive; so might also modern women who are told that if their name ends in “l” or “r” they should not be married, because they are worthless. But in tackling the subject of human sexuality, Vatsyayana nevertheless will always attract readers (or, in this case, listeners!).

Erotica • Literature

•

english

Listens84,882

20 Episodes

Part117minsApr 27,2020

01 - Introduction and Part 1, Chapter 1

Part211minsApr 26,2020

02 - Part 1, Chapter 2

Part327minsApr 25,2020

03 - Part 1, Chaps 3 & 4

Part410minsApr 24,2020

04 - Part 1, Chapter 5

Part522minsApr 23,2020

05 - Part 2, Chapters 1 & 2

Part613minsApr 22,2020

06 - Part 2, Chapters 3 & 4

Part715minsApr 21,2020

07 - Part 2, Chapters 5 & 6

Part813minsApr 20,2020

08 - Part 2, Chapters 7 & 8

Part917minsApr 19,2020

09 - Part 2, Chapters 9 & 10

Part1016minsApr 18,2020

10 - Part 3, Chapters 1 & 2

Part1125minsApr 17,2020

11 - Part 3, Chapters 3, 4, & 5

Part1224minsApr 16,2020

12 - Part 4, Chapters 1 & 2

Part1320minsApr 15,2020

13 - Part 5, Chapters 1 & 2

Part1421minsApr 14,2020

14 - Part 5, Chapters 3 & 4

Part1521minsApr 13,2020

15 - Part 5, Chapters 5 & 6

Part1622minsApr 12,2020

16 - Part 6, Intro, Chap 1 & 2

Part1718minsApr 11,2020

17 - Part 6, Chapters 3 & 4

Part1822minsApr 10,2020

18 - Part 6, Chapters 5 & 6

Part1913minsApr 09,2020

19 - Part 7, Chapter 1

Part2019minsApr 08,2020

20 - Part 7, Chapter 2 & Concluding Remarks

Details

The Kama Sutra, or Aphorisms on Love, has survived at least 1400 years as a dominant text on sexual relations between men and women. Vatsyayana claimed to have written the Kama Sutra while a religious student, “in contemplation of the Deity” - but references to older works, shrewd disputations by Vatsyayana of those authors' recommendations, and careful cataloging of practices in various of the Indian states indicate much more emphasis on kama, or sensual gratification. Part of the book discusses the 64 arts of love employed by masters of coitus. Learning each of these and when and how to practice them, Vatsyayana affirms, not only leads to the best gratification, but makes the artist a person of great desirability. Once the means of sexual congress are discussed, the many types of male-female relationships and their proper prosecution are covered. Some of these have small relevance to the modern world, such as how to sneak into the King's harem, but are interesting nonetheless. Others, such as how to get money from a lover, will probably remain useful as long as there are humans in the world. The translator's concluding remarks call the book primitive; so might also modern women who are told that if their name ends in “l” or “r” they should not be married, because they are worthless. But in tackling the subject of human sexuality, Vatsyayana nevertheless will always attract readers (or, in this case, listeners!).