The first compete edition of the Kamasutra. It contains a crisp introduction; the original Sanskrit; a new, accurate and readable English translation; fifty full-page illustrations using period clothing, jewelry, and settings; and a thorough index. Composed almost two thousand years ago, it is surprisingly modern in its depiction of human nature and sexual practices. From the Introduction The Kamasutra is the most famous guide to sensual pleasure ever written—indeed, one of the most notorious books in the history of the world. Its acute insights into human nature are still relevant today. While previous publishers typically either stole the word "Kamasutra" and slapped it on a book of modern photographs, or neglected to include the original Sanskrit, or reprinted an old, faulty translation (or introduced a new, faulty translation), or included reproductions of miniatures made more than a millennium after the text was composed, YogaVidya.com and I have labored mightily to create a proper edition. It includes the original Sanskrit typeset in Devanagari, a new, accurate and readable English translation, and illustrations using period clothing, jewelry, and settings that actually correspond to what is described in the text. Table of Contents Introduction xi Part One: General Matters 1 One: Summary of the Guide 3 Two: The Three Aims of Life 10 Three: Exposition of the Skills 18 Four: Lifestyle of the Elegant Man 25 Five: The Lover and His Companions 38 Part Two: Sexual Intercourse 47 One: Sexual Unions 49 Sexual Intercourse with Regard to Size, Endurance and Temperament 49 The Variations of Love 58 Two: Embraces 61 Three: Ways of Kissing 77 Four: Forms of Scratching 85 Five: Biting and Behaviors 92 Ways of Biting 92 Behavior Typical of Women from Different Provinces 95 Six: Positions and Unusual Acts 100 Different Sexual Positions 100 Unusual Sexual Acts 118 Seven: Slapping and Moaning 130 Eight: Imitation and Techniques 138 Imitating the Sexual Role of a Man 138 Sexual Techniques of a Man 141 Nine: Oral Sex 151 Ten: Sex: Beginning, Ending, Types, Quarrels 165 The Beginning and Conclusion of Sexual Intercourse 165 Different Kinds of Sex 172 The Lovers' Quarrel 175 Part Three: Young Women 181 One: Choosing a Bride 183 Rules of Courtship 183 Deciding a Match 188 Two: Winning Her Confidence 191 Three: Approaches and Gestures 200 Approaching a Young Woman 200 Indications through Gestures and Facial Expressions 209 Four: Advances 213 Advances a Man Can Make on His Own 213 Approaching a Man One Desires 219 Winning a Young Woman by Advances 222 Five: Stratagems for Weddings 225 Part Four: The Wife 233 One: The Only Wife 235 Conduct of an Only Wife 235 Conduct of a Wife Whose Husband is Abroad 244 Two: The Other Wives 248 Conduct of the Senior Wife to the Co-Wives 248 Conduct of the Junior Wife 251 Conduct of the Remarried Woman 253 Conduct of an Unloved Wife 256 Matters Pertaining to the Harem 258 Conduct of a Man with Several Wives 261 Part Five: Other Men's Wives 265 One: Seducing Successfully 267 Exposing the Nature of Men and Women 267 Causes of Resistance 270 Men Who Have Success with Women 275 Women Who are Easily Won 276 Two: Intimacy and Advances 279 Ways to Intimacy 279 Making Advances 284 Three: Examination of Inclinations 287 Four: Tasks of the Female Messenger 294 Five: The Erotic Desire of Rulers 309 Six: Harems and Wives 320 Life in the Harem 320 Guarding One's Wives 329 Part Six: Courtesans 333 One: Friends and Lovers 335 The Appraisal of a Friend, Suitable and Unsuitable Lovers, and Reasons for Approaching a Lover 335 How to Acquire One 341 Two: Compliance with the Lover 345 Three: Money, Indifference and Disposal 358 Ways to Make Money 358 Signs and Recognition of Indifference 362 Methods for Driving the Lover Away 364 Four: Restoring a Broken Relationship 368 Five: Types of Profit 378 Six: Profit, Loss, Risk and Types of Available Women 388 Considering Profit and Loss, and their Consequences and Risks 388