Kamasutra

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The Kamasutra ( Sanskrit : कामसूत्र kāmasūtra = verses of desire ) was probably written between 200 and 300 AD by Vatsyayana Mallanaga , about whose life there is no further information. The full title is Vatsyayana Kamasutra . The work belongs to the Indian tradition of textbooks on eroticism ( Kamashastra ). As a guide for eroticism and love , the Kamasutra is related to Tantra , which is about the transformation of sexuality . It contains descriptions of positions during intercourse.

etymology

Representation of sexual intercourse from a 19th century edition of the Kamasutra

The word Kamasutra is composed of the words Kama and Sutra :

  • Kāma (Sanskrit काम) denotes the sensual desire and its wish fulfillment as a force of evolution
  • Sūtra (Sanskrit सूत्र) is the verse form of Indian teaching texts.

In Hinduism, Kama is one of the four goals of human life ( purushartha ). The other three goals are

  1. Artha : Prosperity
  2. Dharma : righteousness
  3. Moksha : redemption.

history

The Kamasutra - written by Vatsyayana Mallanaga in a chaste way of life - was created around 250 AD in northeast India on the south bank of the Ganges in the then city of Pataliputra , today's Patna in the state of Bihar . The location of Pataliputra was also confirmed by Yashodhara, who wrote a commentary on the Kama Sutra in the 13th century. Vatsyayana is not a sole author, but rather refers to older, not handed down texts by other authors on special topics:

  • Charayana on the General Remarks (Book 1)
  • Suvarnanabha on Sex (Book 2)
  • Ghotakamukha on the virgins (3rd book)
  • Gonardiya about the wives (4th book)
  • Gonikaputra on other men's wives (5th book)
  • Dattaka on the courtesans (6th book)
  • Kuchumara on the erotic esoteric (7th book).

These authors, whom Vatsyayana calls teachers or scholars, also represent the other side for him: They are those who hold the opposite opinion, they are - in the logical and chronological sense - the opponents (purvapakshin).

The commentary ( jayamangala ) of Yashodhara, which was given the name Indrapada by his guru, dates from the 13th century . In terms of text length, this commentary exceeds that of the Kama Sutra many times over. A commentary in Hindi published in 1964 was written by Davadatte Shastri (1912–1982), who, as a modern traditionalist, established a link between spiritual philosophy and social science .

The Kama Sutra first appeared in Europe in 1883 in an arrangement by the orientalists Sir Richard Francis Burton and Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot. The translation from Sanskrit into English , however, was done by the two Indian scholars Bhagavanlal Indrajit and Shivaram Parashuram Bhide, who remained unnamed. Burton did mostly the editing work; Arbuthnot wrote the introduction and the foreword. The merit of the two editors was the courage to circumvent the English censorship in a tricky way and to publish the work in Europe for the first time.

In Germany, Richard Schmidt published an independent and complete German translation in 1897, which also included Yashodhara's commentaries. The edition was reprinted several times and is considered the best European translation of the Kama Sutra. Klaus Mylius translated the Kamasutra again from Sanskrit into German, making his own remarks instead of Yashodhara's comments. This edition came on the market in 1987 in the GDR .

In 2002 a new translation from Sanskrit with commentary was published in England. The American Wendy Doniger ( religious historian , Sanskritologist ) and the Indian Sudhir Kakar ( psychoanalyst , native speaker of Hindi ) are responsible for this issue . The English edition was followed by the translation into German that Robin Cackett provided and that Berlin-based Wagenbach Verlag published in 2004.

content

First Book: General Part (Sadharana)

The general part in the first book consists of five chapters:

  1. Chapter overview of the book
  2. Chapter The achievement of the three goals in life
  3. Chapter The presentation of knowledge
  4. Chapter The life of the Elegants
  5. Chapter Discussion of the Friends

In the first chapter Vatsyayana describes the structure of the entire Kamasutra, in order to then particularly emphasize the three goals in life - religion, power and lust - in the second chapter.

Illustration from an Arabic Kama Sutra edition from the 19th century.

Second book: About the enjoyment of love (Samprayogika)

The second book on love has ten chapters:

  1. Chapter illustration of the enjoyment of love, The types of love
  2. Chapter The study of the hugs
  3. Chapter The multiplicity of kisses
  4. Chapter The types of nail wounds
  5. Chapter The rules for biting your teeth
  6. Chapter Positions in Traffic, De miris coiticus (Special Associations)
  7. Chapter The application of punches, The execution of the usual sit-making
  8. Chapter De coitu inverso (exchanged intercourse (role reversal)), De viri inter coitum consuetudinibus (habits of men in intercourse)
  9. Chapter De auparistako (About oral communication)
  10. Chapter beginning and end of love enjoyment, the different types of sexual love, love quarrel

After the English translation appeared, the second book made a significant contribution to the popularity of the Kamasutra. The 6th chapter on positions during sexual intercourse had a special effect . In view of the freedom of movement following a sexual revolution , this chapter gradually lost its importance.

Third book: on intercourse with girls (kanyasamprayuktata)

Depiction of an erotic scene in a 19th century edition of the Kamasutra

There are five chapters in the third book on intercourse with girls:

  1. Chapter The rules for the outdoors, The test of connections
  2. Chapter Gaining the girl's trust
  3. Chapter Approaching a girl, explanation of signs and appearance
  4. Chapter Efforts of a single man, the seeking of the man to be won, the attainment of the girl as a result of the approach
  5. Chapter The wedding party

Fourth Book: On Married Women (Bharyadhikarika)

There are two chapters in the fourth part on married women:

  1. Chapter The behavior of the only wife, The change during the man's journey
  2. Chapter The behavior of the eldest wife, The behavior of the youngest wife, The behavior of the widow who has remarried, The behavior of the abandoned wife, Life in the harem, The husband's association with several women

Fifth Book: About Strange Women (Paradika)

The fifth part deals in six chapters with dealing with strange women, i.e. the wives of other men:

  1. Chapter depicting the character of man and woman, The men fortunate among women, The women who can be won over easily
  2. Chapter Making the acquaintance, The rapprochement
  3. Chapter The Trial of Being
  4. Chapter The deeds of the messenger
  5. Chapter The love life of gentlemen
  6. Chapter The hustle and bustle of women in the harem, The protection of women

Sixth Book: On the Hetaera (Vaisika)

The six chapters of the sixth book describe the client's dealings with hetaerae :

  1. Chapters Inquiry into Friends, Visitors and Attracting Visitors
  2. Chapter The devotion to the beloved
  3. Chapter The means of acquiring wealth, The recognition of indifference, The method of chasing away
  4. Chapter The recovery of a ruined lover
  5. Chapter The different types of profit
  6. Chapter Examination of the consequences and the risk of profit and loss

The Kamasutra endorses widow burning by describing the ways in which a courtesan can behave like a good wife. Within a long list, the latter is also required to “do not wish to survive”.

Seventh Book: The Upanisad (Secret Doctrine)

The seventh book treats the Secret Doctrine in two chapters:

  1. Chapter Charming women, winning, stimulants
  2. Chapter Awakening the Passion that Has Passed Away, The Means of Enlarging the Penis, Special Practices

intention

The Indian cultural area is characterized by strong social classifications. Social behavior is measured by what one can and must do in one's own caste . Deviations from the norm behavior are sanctioned. There is a patriarchal and heterosexual order in all classes and castes .

The detailed presentation of the details of the search for a suitable sexual partner does not only arise from efforts to provide information. Rather, this representation and regulation is a characteristic typical of ancient Indian scriptures, which was used here to indicate an equally high rank of the Kamasutra. Expressions like: "The 64 auspicious signs of a good lover", which are described below individually, divided into subgroups, are intended to remind of systematics such as the "thousand-petalled lotus", the highest chakra , which was also dealt with systematically. In contrast to the religious texts, which denounce the “lower desires” as dangerous enemies of spiritual development, these are honored in the Kama Sutra.

reception

Newer interpreters such as Nuri Vittachi and Volker Zotz emphasize that the Kamasutra can represent an essential source for the culture of management and the personal ethics of executives far beyond the function of an erotic instruction.

Work editions

  • Wendy Doniger, Sudhir Kakar (Ed.): Kamasutra. Annotated new translation from Sanskrit. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002
    • German edition: Kamasutra. Translation from English by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-8031-3614-8
  • Klaus Mylius (Ed.): The Kamasutra. German translation from Sanskrit and introduced by Klaus Mylius. Reclam, Leipzig 1987
  • Sandhya Mulchandani, Sudhir Kakar: Kamasutra. The Indian doctrine of love. Heyne, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-89910-415-3
  • Richard Schmidt (Ed.): The Kamasutram. The Indian Ars Amatoria. Along with the complete Commentare (Jayamangala) of Yasodhara. Translated from Sanskrit by Richard Schmidt. Wilhelm Friedrich, Leipzig 1900

literature

  • Wendy Doniger: On the Kamasutra . In: Daedalus. Spring 2002, pp. 126-129. ( PDF file; 461 kB)
  • Nuri Vittachi: The Kama Sutra for Managers: Leading, Performing and Acting Ethically . Barth, Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 3-502-61191-2
  • Volker Zotz: Kamasutra in Management. Inspiration and wisdom from India. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 3-593-38515-5

See also

Web links

Commons : Kamasutra  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Martin Mittwede: Spiritual Dictionary Sanskrit - German. Sathya Sai Association, Dietzenbach 1999, Lemma kāmasūtra.
  2. Martin Mittwede: Spiritual Dictionary Sanskrit - German. Sathya Sai Association, Dietzenbach 1999, Lemma purushārtha.
  3. a b Kamasutra. Translation by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, p. 13f.
  4. Kamasutra. Translation by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, p. 67.
  5. Martin Mittwede: Spiritual Dictionary Sanskrit - German. Sathya Sai Association, Dietzenbach 1999, Lemma purvapakshin.
  6. a b Kamasutra. Translation by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, pp. 44-48.
  7. a b Kamasutra. Translation by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, p. 49f.
  8. Kamasutra. Translation by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, p. 50f.
  9. Das Kāmasūtram des Vātsyāyana, Berlin 1922, p. 3
  10. Kamasutra. Translation by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, p. 67 f.
  11. Das Kāmasūtram des Vātsyāyana, Berlin 1922, pp. 95–99
  12. Kamasutra. Translation by Robin Cackett. Wagenbach, Berlin 2004, pp. 54–56.
  13. The Kāmasūtram of Vātsyāyana. Berlin 1922, pp. 238-241
  14. The Kāmasūtram of Vātsyāyana. Berlin 1922, pp. 289-293
  15. The Kāmasūtram of Vātsyāyana. Berlin 1922, pp. 319-323
  16. The Kāmasūtram of Vātsyāyana. Berlin 1922, pp. 386-389.
  17. Kamasutram, Book 6, Chapter 2 .
  18. The Kāmasūtram of Vātsyāyana. Berlin 1922, pp. 465-469
  19. Nuri Vittachi: The Kama Sutra for Managers: Leading, Performing and Acting Ethically . Barth, Frankfurt am Main 2008.
  20. Volker Zotz: Kamasutra in Management. Inspiration and wisdom from India . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2008.