Sexual Union: This is the chapter most people think of when they talk about the Kama Sutra.Introduction: These five chapters contain the preface, discuss the three worldly attainments (Virtue, Wealth and Love) and proper conduct of a gentleman.The Kama Sutra is split up into seven sections, each with multiple chapters.

Of course, sexuality falls squarely into the latter group, and many modern readers seek out the Kama Sutra specifically for its sexual teachings. This content makes up only about 20% of the tome, which advises readers on finding and sustaining love as well as how to know when love is good or bad.įurthermore, the Kama Sutra book contains advice to help readers be more virtuous in all aspects of life, including family life and human relationships. The original text by Hindu philosopher Vātsyāyana details all sorts of desires, not just those of a sexual nature. Similarly, the Kama Sutra exists not solely as a guide for sex positions like many Westerners would believe. Both sexual guides have their basis in ancient India and Hinduism, but Tantra has its own sacred texts and specific rites that are not part of Kama Sutra. For starters, Kama Sutra isn’t just Tantric sex, which you can read about in here. But it’s become something of an urban legend that people talk about but often misunderstand. Since then, many people have learned about love and sex from the Kama Sutra. The English translation that resulted was a comparison of four manuscripts of the Kama Sutra. However, such a task proved difficult, and the men had to obtain copies from various libraries to finish their translation. Written by a Hindu philosopher, the Kama Sutra book has since been translated into English – and many other languages. In 1883, Sir Richard Francis Burton and a team of his peers worked to translate the text. Hindus viewed the Kama Sutra as an essential resource to learning about loving relationships and sex.

If you thought people were only writing about sex on sites (like this one!) since the advent of the Internet, you’d be wrong! The Kama Sutra, sometimes colloquially known as the Karma Sutra, is a collection of Hindu texts that are between 18 years old.

Karma sutra sitting positions