Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana

Fülszöveg

Here at last is an authentic translation of Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra, which is perhaps the oldest and is certainly the best known of the ancient Sanskrit classics which deal with the Art of Love. This is a book to be savoured and treasured, an invaluable reference work for every student of Sanskrit literature and ancient Indian culture and civilisation.
Vatsyayana, a celebrated sage, wrote with scientific accuracy, amazing perception, and a shrewd common sense on all aspects of sex and married life. He maintained that Love is a science as well as an art and must be studied if it is to give pleasure. He understood the importance to every marriage of a harmonious and satisfactory sex life. The well-known scholar of Sanskrit, A. Berriedale Keith, said: "The sociological and medical importance of the treatise (the Kama Sutra) is admittedly considerable."
This is the first translation of the Kama Sutra which does real justice to Vatsyayana's great work. The first accurate and... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Here at last is an authentic translation of Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra, which is perhaps the oldest and is certainly the best known of the ancient Sanskrit classics which deal with the Art of Love. This is a book to be savoured and treasured, an invaluable reference work for every student of Sanskrit literature and ancient Indian culture and civilisation.
Vatsyayana, a celebrated sage, wrote with scientific accuracy, amazing perception, and a shrewd common sense on all aspects of sex and married life. He maintained that Love is a science as well as an art and must be studied if it is to give pleasure. He understood the importance to every marriage of a harmonious and satisfactory sex life. The well-known scholar of Sanskrit, A. Berriedale Keith, said: "The sociological and medical importance of the treatise (the Kama Sutra) is admittedly considerable."
This is the first translation of the Kama Sutra which does real justice to Vatsyayana's great work. The first accurate and scholarly translation from the original Sanskrit, this edition is beautifully produced and profusely illustrated with reproductions of famous Indian sculpture and miniature paintings which depict fascinating and delightful aspects of courtship and love. The material has been scrupulously translated by a well-known student of ancient India. The translator, who has sound knowledge of Indian art and iconography, studied more than a dozen extant Sanskrit works on Kamashastra as well as all available commentaries on these works, before undertaking to translate Vatsyayana's work. Relevant portions from the Sanskrit commentary, Jaya-mangala by Yashodhara, have also been used for elucidation of difficult passages and these have been placed in brackets to distinguish them from Vatsyayana's own text.
The actual translation, sutra by sutra, is preceded by an important Introduction which traces the development of the subject through the Vedic and post-Vedic periods. A thorough comparative study of the various texts has been made in tabular form and is given in the Appendixes. There is also a complete Glossary of Sanskrit terms.
This is a work of undeniable importance to members of the medical profession, psychoanalysts, scholars and all those who are interested in psychology and social research. Indologists will find this new translation of the Kama Sutra of tremendous value and will get new insight into the influence of this great classic on the literature and art of India.
The sketches on the from and back of this jacket are from sculptures at Khajuraho, 11th century. Vissza