She sits with raised thighs,
her feet placed either side of your waist;
"linga" (penis) enters "yoni" (vagina);
you rain hard blows upon her body:
this is "Kshudgaga" (Striking).
The positions are named after animals, as this was a prime way of studying man’s relationship to the natural world. The manual describes different techniques to stimulate the clitoris, such as the ten types of "blows" that can be used to tap the clitoris with the Lingam for stimulation. It details the way in which a man might grasp his Lingam and churn it from side to side in the Yoni of his lover. It outlines the areas in the Yoni to stimulate and has special names for the sides, top, deeper areas, and the entrance.
The Kama Sutra exquisitely describes the quivering of the Yoni that precedes orgasm and the shuddering that heralds orgasm. It says that no two women make love alike and that one must be very sensitive to rhythms, sentiments, and moods of the individual woman.
Seated erect, the lovely girl
folds one leg to her body
and stretches the other along the bed,
while you mirror her actions:
this is "Yugmapada" (The Feet Yoke).
Attention is given to courting, gift-giving, secret rendezvous, and moral and ethical attitudes during marriage. High priority is given to what are called the Sixty Four Arts. Men, and especially women, were encouraged to learn as many of them as possible. These include music, singing, sciences, lovemaking, homemaking, poetry, dance, shooting of the bow and arrow, conversation, sewing, art, games, magic, chemistry, perfumery, and rituals.
The use of aphrodisiacs and their preparation was common. The Kama Sutra details items like datura, honey, ground black pepper, a corpse’s winding-sheet, peacock-bone, sulfur, pumpkin seed, bamboo shoots, cactus, monkey turd, and ram’s testicle for use in enslaving, potency, and endurance. Some of these ingredients, like pumpkin seed and datura, are known for their potency-enhancing qualities.
Sitting face to face in bed,
her breasts pressed tight against your chest,
let each of you lock heels
behind the other's waist,
and lean back clasping one another's wrists.
Other Eastern Cultures
A series of "books" or aphorisms appeared in several Eastern cultures after 400 AD. These books included guides for newlyweds on kissing, touching, positions in lovemaking, attitudes, moral obligations, and much more.
The Anana Ranga, written in the sixteenth century in India, details morals, seduction techniques, sexual positions, hygiene, rituals and sexual spells, aphrodisiacs, and other erotic concepts. It paid particular attention to the woman learning to control her pelvic floor muscles to heighten the experience between her lover and herself.
The Perfumed Garden was written in Arabia in the sixteenth century. It details over thirty sizes and shapes of penises and vaginas. Though written primarily for men, it counsels them to ask the woman how to give her pleasure. It speaks highly of the gift of pleasure that God has given to humans and contains stories that teach a variety of lessons to the seeker.
The Ishimpo, from Japan, is similar to its counterparts in India and other parts of Asia in depicting the sex act as the essential force that controls the universe. In fact, it suggests that making love is the force in nature that keeps the Earth circling the Heavens. With ties to Taoism, the concepts have developed over a period of at least 2,500 years though this love manual was put to writing sometime in the 18th century.
Exciting many Chinese couples, The Secrets of the Jade Bed Chamber provides recipes for potency remedies, exotic positions, and counseling on the ways of love. As with many societies that award eroticism a high place in their heritages, the words selected are symbolic. A Jade Stalk meant a man’s penis, while a Jade Garden symbolized the woman’s vagina. Metaphors filled the erotic lives of ancient sexual explorers. Like the Ishimpo, this is a more ‘modern’ version of very ancient precepts.
China, Japan, and most Eastern cultures used "Pillow Books" in addition to teaching manuals. Couples employed pillow books as erotic stimulants and reminders of our vast sexual potential. The books were adorned with beautiful erotic pictures, poetry, writings, and suggestions that couples could use to stir their passions.
In the past few decades, there has been a resurgence of erotic manuals, picture books, illustrated instruction books, and a variety of resources to educate and reconnect people with their sexuality. As these materials become available, more people begin to speak openly about sensuality.
If, sitting facing her,
you grasp her ankles and fasten them like a chain
behind your neck, and she
grips her toes as you make love,
it is the delightful "Padma" (The Lotus).
This excerpt is from Suzie Heumann’s The Everything Kama Sutra Book
The Sixty-Four Arts
The Sixty-Four Arts are an integral part of the Kama Sutra. What makes things more fun is that there are two sets of the Sixty-Four Arts. On one hand are the arts that the well-rounded citizen learned to augment their education and life. The others were the arts that pertained to lovemaking. The Kama Sutra focuses on the lovemaking arts but mentions the other arts because they were a means by which one could make one's self more attractive.
Inner Beauty - Charm, Wit, and Intelligence
Vatsyayana, the Kama Sutra's author, reveals that the cultivation of inner beauty was just as important as outer beauty. Attractiveness comes from a refined and imaginative mind as much as it does from darkened eyes, ruby lips, and a fine figure. Cultivating as many of the arts other than the art of lovemaking was of great importance to society.
You will remember that it was thought that the aims of life were four - wealth, moral standing, pleasure, and enlightenment. It is understandable that to be good at sexual pleasure one would need to study the arts of love. It is also easy to understand that to be excellent at your job or in your community you would need to know certain things to be able to be a citizen of honor.
Most of us do indeed follow life pursuits or interest that are as varied as the number of people in the world. You may play an instrument, or write poetry, or paint, or sing, or participate in any number of personal interests that fuel your creative side. It is those pursuits that the ancient Sutras believed made us all more expansive individuals.
Men, and especially women, were encouraged to learn as many of them as possible. Refinement and accomplishment were important and many of the arts were not gender specific. These arts included music, singing, sciences, lovemaking, homemaking, poetry, dance, shooting of the bow and arrow, conversation, sewing, art, games, magic, chemistry, perfumery, and rituals.
