Editorial Review:

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. 

The galaxy of pleasures in Alain Daniélou'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." Daniélou'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

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Outstanding translation of a classic text:

I don't doubt that many people buy this work because of the Kama Sutra's racy reputation. Despite the fact that Danielou is not shy about translating issues of same-sex intercourse, seduction of other men's wives, and such, the overall work here is of immense historical value.
First Dalielou provides a remarkably straight-forward translation to the text itself, preserving is structure to a large degree. This changes the feel of the work to more closely match the original.
More significantly,... more info

WARNING!:

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 Book:

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 Richard:

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... more info

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