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The Kama Sutra of Vatsayana

The Kama Sutra of Vatsayana

The Classic Hindu Treatise on Love and Social Conduct

About the Book

The 1964 publication of Sir Richard Burton's translation marked the first wide appearance in English of the Kama Sutra and was celebrated as a literary event of highest importance. As vital to an understanding of ancient Indian civilization as the works of Plato and Aristotle are to the West, the Kama Sutra has endured for 1,700 years as an indisputable classic of world literature.

Written with frankness and unassuming candor, the Kama Sutra remains one of the most readable and enjoyable of all the classics of antiquity. A work of philosophy, psychology, sociology, Hindu dogma, scientific inquiry, and sexology, the Kama Sutra's importance is so great that it has at the same time both affected Indian civilization and remained an indispensable key to understanding it.

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About the Author

Vatsayana
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Santha Rama Rau
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John W. Spellman
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Richard Francis Burton
Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821–90) was a gifted linguist, a daring explorer, a prolific author, and one of the most flamboyant celebrities of his day. Forced to leave Oxford for unruly behavior, he joined the British Army in India, where he gained a remarkable knowledge of Arabic, Hindustani, and Persian, eventually acquiring 29 languages and many dialects. He led the famed expedition to discover the source of the Nile and, disguised as a Muslim, made a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, then forbidden to non-Muslims, and penetrated the sacred city of Harare in uncharted East Africa. Burton translated unexpurgated versions of many famous texts, including The Kama Sutra of Vatsayayana (1883), and The Arabian Nights (1885–88), which is perhaps his most celebrated achievement. More by Richard Francis Burton
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