Kamsutra 3... History. M.m

The Art of Love: Kamasutra Quotes from the Ancient Indian Philosophy of Kamasutra  History of Kamasutra Praised be the three aims of life, virtue (dharma), prosperity (artha), and love (kama), which are the subject of this work. (The Complete Kamasutra, 1994) Ancient Indian sages composed the Kama Shastra on the basis of the Vedas. The first formulation of the Kama Shastra, or the rules of love, is attributed to Nandi, Shiva's companion. It is preserved today in the form of the 'Kamasutra' written down by the sage Vatsyayana sometime between the first and sixth century A.D. The Kama Sutra is recognised as the true surviving text of the original Kama Shastra. Vatsyayana states that he only quotes and condenses the previous work and refers to himself in third person (Vatsyayana thinks ..) when expressing his opinion. The Kama Shastra was one of three ancient Indian texts concerning the aims of life. It should be understood within the context of the Artha Shastra and the Dharma Shastra (which were written in Sanskrit, seventh century B.C.). As Alain Danielou confirms; Life necessitates three kinds of activity: to assure its survival, its means of existence, and its nourishment; to realise its reproduction according to forms of activity generally connected with sexuality; and, lastly, to establish rules of behaviour that allow different individuals to perform their roles within the framework of the species. In human society, this is represented as three necessities, three aims of life: material goods (artha) assure survival; erotic practice (kama) assures the transmission of life; and rules of behaviour, a moral nature (dharma), assure the cohesion and duration of the species. (The Complete Kamasutra, translated by Alain Danielou, 1994) So with religion, morality (dharma) and material success (artha), kama is the third goal of human life. Kama is further defined as; Kama is the enjoyment of appropriate objects by the five senses of hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling, assisted by the mind together with the soul. The ingredient in this is a peculiar contact between the organ of sense and its object, and the consciousness of pleasure which arises from that contact is called Kama. (Kamasutra, 1883) Kama is to be learnt from the Kama Sutra (aphorisms on love) and from the practice of citizens. (Kamasutra, 1883) The ancient Indians appear to be very good evolutionists, as it is clear from evolution that sex and survival are the two most fundamental forces driving our continued existence. Further, the Kama Sutra is an evolutionary work in that it promotes the cultivation of skills to become a well rounded / well evolved individual with healthy, intimate relationships with others. As Alain Danielou agrees; The Kama Sutra is not a pornographic work. First and foremost, it is a picture of the art of living for the civilised and refined citizen, completing in the sphere of love, eroticism and the pleasures of life. (The Complete Kamasutra, Alain Danielou 1994)  Sixty Four Arts of Kamasutra As the sixty-four arts are respected, are charming, and add to the talent of women, they are called by the Acharyas dear to women. A man skilled in the sixty-four arts is looked upon with love by his own wife, by the wives of others, and by courtesans. (Kamasutra) The aim of the Sixty Four Arts of the Kama Sutra is not merely to be a good wife, but to be a skillful, playful, understanding, refined, sexual, beautiful and intelligent woman. The Kama Sutra also expresses cultivation of the male, his understanding of female nature and the importance of cultivating sensual moods and intimacy. The ancient Indians show great attention to detail of smell, light, music, food, drink and touch before intercourse can begin. The following Kamasutra Arts to be studied: Singing Playing on musical instruments  Dancing Union of dancing, singing, and playing instrumental music Writing and drawing Tattooing Arraying and adorning an idol with rice and flowers Spreading and arranging beds or couches of flowers, or flowers upon the ground Colouring the teeth, garments, hair, nails and bodies, i.e. staining, dyeing, colouring and painting the same Fixing stained glass into a floor The art of making beds, and spreading out carpets and cushions for reclining Playing on musical glasses filled with water Storing and accumulating water in aqueducts, cisterns and reservoirs Picture making, trimming and decorating Stringing of rosaries, necklaces, garlands and wreaths Binding of turbans and chaplets, and making crests and top-knots of flowers Scenic representations, stage playing Art of making ear ornaments Art of preparing perfumes and odours Proper disposition of jewels and decorations, and adornment in dress Magic or sorcery  Quickness of hand or manual skill Culinary art, i.e. cooking and cookery Making lemonades, sherbets, acidulated drinks, and spirituous extracts with proper flavour and colour Tailor's work and sewing Making parrots, flowers, tufts, tassels, bunches, bosses, knobs, etc., out of yarn or thread Solution of riddles, enigmas, covert speeches, verbal puzzles and enigmatical questions A game, which consisted in repeating verses, and as one person finished, another person had to commence at once, repeating another verse, beginning with the same letter with which the last speaker's verse ended, whoever failed to repeat was considered to have lost, and to be subject to pay a forfeit or stake of some kind The art of mimicry or imitation Reading, including chanting and intoning Study of sentences difficult to pronounce. It is played as a game chiefly by women, and children and consists of a difficult sentence being given, and when repeated quickly, the words are often transposed or badly pronounced Practice with sword, single stick, quarter staff and bow and arrow  Drawing inferences, reasoning or inferring Carpentry, or the work of a carpenter Architecture, or the art of building Knowledge about gold and silver coins, and jewels and gems Chemistry and mineralogy Colouring jewels, gems and beads Knowledge of mines and quarries Gardening; knowledge of treating the diseases of trees and plants, of nourishing them, determining their ages Art of cock fighting, quail fighting and ram fighting Art of teaching parrots and starlings to speak Art of applying perfumed ointments to the body, and of dressing the hair with unguents and perfumes and braiding it The art of understanding writing in cypher, and the writing of words in a peculiar way The art of speaking by changing the forms of words. It is of various kinds. Some speak by changing the beginning and end of words, others by adding unnecessary letters between every syllable of a word, and so on Knowledge of language and of the vernacular dialects Art of making flower carriages Art of framing mystical diagrams, of addressing spells and charms, and binding armlets Mental exercises, such as completing stanzas or verses on receiving a part of them; or supplying one, two or three lines when the remaining lines are given indiscriminately from different verses, so as to make the whole an entire verse with regard to its meaning; or arranging the words of a verse written irregularly by separating the vowels from the consonants, or leaving them out altogether; or putting into verse or prose sentences represented by signs or symbols. There are many other such exercises. Composing poems Knowledge of dictionaries and vocabularies Knowledge of ways of changing and disguising the appearance of persons  Knowledge of the art of changing the appearance of things, such as making cotton to appear as silk, coarse and common things to appear as fine and good Various ways of gambling Art of obtaining possession of the property of others by means of muntras or incantations Skill in youthful sports Knowledge of the rules of society, and of how to pay respect and compliments to others Knowledge of the art of war, of arms, of armies, etc. Knowledge of gymnastics Art of knowing the character of a man from his features Knowledge of scanning or constructing verses Arithmetical recreations Making artificial flowers Making figures and images in clay A public woman, endowed with a good disposition, beauty and other winning qualities, and also versed in the above arts, obtains the name of a Ganika, or public woman of high quality, and receives a seat of honour in an assemblage of men. She is, moreover, always respected by the king, and praised