Publication Date:January 1, 1994 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Promotion:Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout.Terms and Conditions Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Amazon.com Review The galaxy of pleasures in Alain Danielou's translation of the Kama Sutra takes you back to an India where sexuality was an integral part of life and an avenue to spiritual bliss. As Devadatta Shastri says in his commentary: "At the moment when the peak of bliss is attained, the internal and external world vanish. The man and woman cease to be separate entities and lose themselves in the beatitudes of being." Danielou's elegant rendering includes not only the entire sutra, much of which is excluded in other versions, but two essential commentaries as well. More than just a pillow book, the Kama Sutra is a guide to the labyrinth of sexual etiquette, from how to bathe before meeting a lover to how lovers should entertain each other after making love. Admittedly, the text is dated and culture bound in places; it can be chauvinistic, bizarre, and even violent. The commentators are careful to point out, however, that the work is an overview of all sexual practices, some of which are not recommended. Take from this encyclopedia of amour what you will and let it keep you moving down the path of spiritual practice. --Brian Bruya
Product Description This definitive volume is the first modern translation of Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra to include two essential commentaries: the Jayamangala of Yashodhara and the modern Hindi commentary by Devadatta Shastri. Alain Danilou spent four years comparing versions of the Kama Sutra in Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, and English, drawing on his intimate experience of India, to preserve the full explicitness of the original. I wanted to demystify India, he writes, to show that a period of great civilization, of high culture, is forcibly a period of great liberty.
WARNING!April 23, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this book after it being recommended by a friend of mine. While reading it, my husband comments "there sure aren't a lot of pictures. So if you're buying this book for "pictures" you will be disappointed. However if you have an actual interest in the history and meaning behind the Sutra, this books fer you!
Great BookMarch 31, 2008 This is a great book my husband is actually reading it with me and he hates to read. It has also improved our marrige and love life
My Favorite...Sorry Sir RichardJanuary 7, 2008 I have read both Sir Richard Burton's translation and this one, and I'm sorry to say that I like this one best (sorry because I have enormous admiration for Burton). It seems as though Danielou's version is much more accessible to modern readers, while Burton's translation is handicapped by the Victorian mindset under which he toiled.
I'd hasten to point out, however, that some of the ideas in this book are no longer viable. For example, biting and scratching are probably not the best means of expressing your appreciation for your partner.
The Complete Kama SutraSeptember 9, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
An excellent informative book. Must be approached as a religion and not a list of sexual positions. otherwise you will be disappointed.
D
Non FictionSeptember 3, 2007 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Kama-Sutra is an entertaining instructional manual, if you like. A lot of the stuff in there of course is ancient, and now will seem quite absurd, as though it was out of a story about witches and wizards cooking up potions and other stuff like that. Apart from that, though, it is quite amusing to see what they came up with.
