KAMA SUTRAOF VATSYAYANA - Complete Translation from the Original Sanskrit by S.C. Upadhyaya - Foreword by Moti Chandra

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Gloria

Up-to-date and literal complete translation of Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra from the original Sanskrit, presented with a foreword and extensive illustrative content. The work frames love as a scientific treatise, covering aphorisms and detailed topics such as the psychology of sex, courtesans and their social roles, and the routines of accomplished lovers. It also addresses broader social manners and customs, including city life, elite pastimes, and institutions associated with convivial gatherings. The foreword situates the Kamasutra within ancient Indian attitudes toward sex, art, religion, and later cultural expressions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages337

Reading Time8 h 39 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Dr. S.C. Upadhyaya’s scholarship and translation purpose

Love as a scientific treatise, not a catalogue of acts

Social manners, city life, and courtesans in the wider canvas

Ancient Indian attitudes toward sex, money, art, and spirituality

Debates on influence: literature, art, religion, and Tantra

DR.ZAKIR HUSAIN LIBRARYJAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIAJAMIA NAGARNE W DELHI Ploase examine the book beforecakingit out.You will be responsible fordameges to the book discovered whilereturning it. DU E DATE Rare Acc.No.23530 Late Fine Ordinary books 25 p.per day,Text Book Ro.1 per day,Over night book Ro.1 per day. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | # KAMA SUTRAOF VATSYAYANA KAMA SUTRAOF VATSYAYANA Complete Translation from the Original Sanskrit by (S.C.UPADHYAYA' 1} M.A.,LL.B.,D.L.,Ph.D. Foreword byMOTI CHANDRA,M.A.,Ph.D.(LOND.) With 16 Line Drawings and96 Half-tone Illustrations TARAPOREVALA 210.DR.D.NAOROJI RoAD,BOMBAY 1961 D.B.TARAPOREVALA SONS&CO.PRIVATE LTD. First Edition 1961Reprinted 1963,1965,1970,1974 The sale of this book is strictly restrictedto members of the medical and legal pro-fessions,scholars,and research studenis ofIndology,Psychology and Social Sciences. This bonk can be rxporied from Inda ouly by the publi-shers,1.B.Iaraporevala Sons &(o.Private I td.and thiscont:tutes a conditm of its initial sale and its subsequentsaies.Infritgcment of this (ondition of sale will ladto civil ant'or crininal legnl actien and prusecution PRIN80 n INDIA Printed and published by Russt1.Taraporevala for D.B.faraporevala Scons &Co.Privxte Lid.,2t0 Dr.Dadabhai Naorcji Road,Bombay 400 oo1,aL their ElectrogTa-phic Industries Diviaion,Apte Industrial Estate,Worli.Bombay 40018. # FOREWORD Dr.S.C.Upadhyaya is an erudite scholar of Sanskrit and Indian art whoseknowledge of ars amoris of the ancient Indians requires no commendation.Itis,therefore,in the fitness of his ripe scholarship that he has produced an up-to-date and literal translation of Vatsyayana's Kamasutra,which without any doubt,is the most important treatise on the art of love.Vatsyayana had not only in-corporated various schools of thought on the science of love but also arrangedhis material in such a way that it was handy to poets,artists and above all tothose lovers for whom the Kamasutra was the very life-breath of existence.Theentire range of the topics on love has been laid bare with a cold scientific thcrough-ness unparalleled in Sanskrit literature.Vatsyayana's aphorisms are models ofbrevity.From his observant eyes nothing seems to have escaped.The art oflovc-making in various phases,the instruments of love-making,the psychologyof sex,the courtesans and their victims,the routine of accomplished lovers,etc.,have been treated with precision and scientific view-point. In such a treatment of love,courtesans and uninhibited sex,one cou:ld expectthe writer soaring to fanciful heights,but this expectation is belied in the faceof a scientific work arranged topic-wise which reveals the analytic mind of a greatthinker.Vatsyayana no doubt acknowledges the debt of past masters on the scienceof sex,but his critical mind refuses to accept the views with which he could not agree. Incidentally,the Kamasutra is not a dry catalogue of love acts.Its widercanvas touches many aspects of social manners and customs--the luxurious life ofthe city,the sports and pastimes of the elite and the common folk,the sacredness ofthe home,the cultivated wiles of the courtesans,the goshthis or club houses andother institutions which served as convivial gatherings accompanied by drinking,gambling,dancing and music. The picture of the ancient Indian society painted by Vatsyayana may appearshocking to modern reformers,but to ancient Indians prudery had no meaning.While delighting in the spiritual speculations,and for ever in the quest of finalemancipation.Indian thinkers alsc realised the value of money as a necessaryadjunct for piety and comfortable lrving.Sex had no vulgar connotation forthem.Indian poets sang the charms of love and sex and went into ecstasiesover the beauties of the human body.Even dry as dust books on religion touchedupon love and beauty in the anecdotes they related for the edification of the piousand the god-fearing.This feeling for sex and

FAQs

Who is presented as the translator of the original Sanskrit Kamasutra?

S.C. Upadhyaya is listed as providing the complete translation from the original Sanskrit.

What does the foreword say the Kamasutra is primarily like?

It is described as a scientific, topic-wise treatment of love rather than a dry catalogue of love acts.

Which kinds of topics does the foreword highlight within the Kamasutra?

It highlights themes such as the art of love in phases, instruments of love-making, the psychology of sex, courtesans, and the routines of accomplished lovers.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Gloria