Kama Sutra

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The Kama Sutra was written in ancient Sanskrit in India, dated to 400 BCE–200 CE and attributed to an Indian philosopher, Vatsyayana.

In Sanskrit, sutra literally means “thread” but also refers to a “text.” Kama variously means “desire, pleasure, love, or sex” and is the name of the god of erotic love. Together, Kama Sutra translates to “Teachings on Desire.”

The Kama Sutra was first translated into English in 1883, typically credited to the British polymath Richard Burton—an original copy of which fetched over £11,000 at auction in 2012.

While initially somewhat obscure, the Kama Sutra gained attention in the early 20th century in academic disciplines, including psychology, ethnology, and medicine. Later in the 1900s, perhaps as boosted by increasing interest in Indian thought and practice in the 1960s, the Kama Sutra began developing a more popular reputation for the exotic-seeming sexual positions the text describes in one portion. For instance, the 1977 novel The Kama Sutra Tango featured dance routines based on the Kama Sutra‘s positions.

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In 1995, Anglo-Indian author Indra Sinha published a new English translation of the Kama Sutra, the first English translation since Burton’s which further spread awareness and interest of the work in the West—though popular attention continued to remain on its sexual positions as opposed to its discussions of love and relationships.

In her 2016 book on the Kama Sutra, scholar Wendy Doniger attempted to shift the focus of the Kama Sutra back to the historic sophistication of the text and the insights it offers on Indian culture, politics, religion, and romance at the time. It didn’t work ….