Kama Sutra Summary

The Kama Sutra is a widely known work of literature; most people recognize this book for its erotic teaching of sexual positions. Although “sexual unions” are a small portion of the Kama Sutra, there are many other lessons to be learned from this doctrine in accordance to Hindu laws. This Ancient manuscript was written by a religious student and philosopher by the name of Vatsyayana; his ideas were based on old Hindu legends and lost texts that are prevalent in Indian culture. Although no one is quite certain of when Vatsyayana lived, it is said to be between fourth century BC and sixth century AD (Burton & Spellman, 1986, p.13). In 1838 a Sir Richard F. Burton translated the Kama Sutra for the Kama Sastra Society of London and Benares; this is the most well known translation and is the most commonly used (Burton & Spellman, 1986, p.50). Burton made his translation simple, but it is still difficult to apprehend the Kama Sutra with out some knowledge of the book’s organization and style as well as the common concepts of Indian and Hindu culture; by examining those first you can then appreciate the content of the Kama Sutra.

The organization and writing style is important to know when it comes to studying the Kama Sutra.

The first thing to acknowledge is the actual meaning of the title. According to John Spellman, who wrote the introduction to the Kama Sutra: The Classic Hindu Treatise on Love and Social Conduct, the word Kama means pleasure and Sutra is a type of writing style (Burton & Spellman, 1986, p.9-10). Vatsyayana’s writing style is descriptive and exploratory, and is made up of 36 chapters divided into seven parts; each part consists of common aphorisms, principles, and short guidelines to express these styles. Vatsyayana uses common Hindu legends as poetic examples to emphasize his principles and guidelines, in fact, many Hindu literatures personify abstract qualities in their teachings (Burton & Spellman, 1986,

p.30-39).
Concepts of Hindu and Indian life: Another useful concept within the religion of Hinduism is that Kama is also known as one of the four Hindu goals of life; these goals are called the Purusarthas. The Purusarthas include: Dharma the goal of virtue, Artha the goal of wealth, Kama the goal of pleasure, and Moksa the goal of liberation (Burton & Spellman, 1986, p.15-17). Dharma, Artha, and Kama are said to be the objectives for the current life, and Moksa is the final goal achieved by escaping the cycle of rebirth. According to Sharma (1999), the first three should be pursued with the Moksa in mind, “Your attitude must be the same to all the three, lest both seen and unseen results should be destroyed…” (p. 234); here he is saying that if the way you act and feel does not correspond with all three, then you can not be liberated from the cycle of rebirth. These notions are just a small sample of Hindu beliefs will serve the purpose of enlightening what the Kama Sutra is about.
Content of the book: these moralities and rules are used to lead a person to a more spiritual life. The first section consists daily routines and studies a person should partake in.