Kamasutra - The Kamasutra - New, Complete English Translation - Translated and edited by Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar

Sep 22, 2026

New, complete English translation of the Sanskrit Kamasutra, accompanied by excerpts from Yashodhara Indrapada’s Sanskrit Jayamangala commentary and Devadatta Shastri’s Hindi Jaya commentary, with explanatory notes by the translators. Edited and translated by Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, the edition situates the work’s background while presenting structured materials across an introduction, the primary text, commentaries, translations into European languages, and genre-related context. The contents outline the work’s progression from general observations to practices and vocabulary.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages303

Reading Time7 h 47 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Text

The Text and its Author(s)

The Genre of the Kamasutra

The Kamasutra as a Play in Seven Acts

The Genders of the Kamasutra

Psychology and Culture in the Kamasutra

The Commentaries

Yashodhara's Jayamangala

Devadatta Shastri's Jaya

Translations into European Languages

The Present Translation

Sexually Explicit Vocabulary

Contemporary Pleasures of the Text

A Note on Presentation

BOOK ONE - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Summary of the Text

The Means of Achieving the Three Aims of Human Life

Exposition of the Arts

The Lifestyle of the Man-about-town

Reasons for Taking Another Man's Wife

BOOK TWO - SEX

Sexual Typology According to Size, Endurance, and Temperament

Types of Love

Ways of Embracing

Procedures of Kissing

Types of Scratching with the Nails

Ways of Biting

Customs from Different Regions

Varieties of Sexual Positions

Unusual Sexual Acts

OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS KAMASUTRA THE Kamasutra is the oldest extant Hindu textbook oferotic love. It was composed in Sanskrit, the literary language of ancient India, probably in North India and probably sometime in the third century of the common era, most likely in its second half, at the dawn of the Gupta Empire. Virtually nothing is known about the author, Vatsyayana Mallanaga, other than his name and what we learn from this text. WENDY DoNJGER (O'FLAHERTY) is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History ofReligions at the University of Chicago, and the author of translations of Sanskrit texts, including the Rig Veda (1981) and the Laws ofManu (1991), as well as books about India-Splitting the Difrence: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India ( r 988)-about myth-OtherPeoples ' Myths: The Cave ofEchoes (1984)-and about sex-Siva: The Erotic Ascetic (1 973) and The Bedtrick: Tales ofSex and Masquerade (2ooo) . SuoHIR KAKAR is a psychoanalyst and currently a Senior Fellow atthe Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University. He is the author of many books on India that cover a wide spectrum from Hindu childhood to India's healing traditions, from male female relations to Hindu-Muslim violence, from classical love tales to modern mysticism. His most recent books are The Ascetic of Desire (1999), a fictionalized account of the life of Vatsyayana, the author of the Kamasutra, and the the novel Ecstasy (2oor) . OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics have brought readers closer to the world's great literature. Now with over 700 titles-from the 4,ooo-year-old myths ofMesopotamia to the twentieth century's greatest novels-the series makes available lesser-known as well as celebrated writing. The pocket-sized hardbacks ofthe early years contained introductions by Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, and other literary figures which enriched the experience ofreading. Today the series is recognized for itsfine scholarship and reliability in texts that span world literature, drama and poetry, religion, philosophy and politics. Each edition includes perceptive commentary and essential background information to meet the changing needs ofreaders. OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS VATSYAYANA MALLANAGA Kamasutra A new, complete English translation ofthe Sanskrit text with excerptsfrom the Sanskrit Jayamangala commentary of Yashodhara Indrapada, the Hindi Jaya commentary of Devadatta Shastri, and explanatory notes by the translators Translated and edited by WENDY DONIGER and SUDHIR KAKAR OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Suect, Oxford ox2 6op Oxford Univcrsiry Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excdlenc;c in research, scholarship, and eduction by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karnchi Kolk:ua Kuala Lumpur M􀀩drid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sao Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronro Oxford is a registered tnlde mark of Oxford Univcr.;ity Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ©Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar 2002 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Prc.'is (maker) First published as an Oxford World's Classics paperback 2003 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or tTilnsmincd, in any form or by any me1ns, without the prior pcnnission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly pennitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organizations. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this boo

FAQs

What sources does this English edition of the Kamasutra draw on?

It provides a new, complete English translation of the Sanskrit text, including excerpts from Yashodhara Indrapada’s Jayamangala and from Devadatta Shastri’s Hindi Jaya commentary, plus explanatory notes by the translators.

Who translated and edited this edition?

The translation and editorial work are credited to Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar.

How is the book organized according to the table of contents?

The contents include an introduction, sections on the text and its author(s), commentaries, and European translations, followed by BOOK ONE (General Observations) and BOOK TWO (Sex) with numbered chapters covering topics such as sexual practices and typologies.

Sep 22, 2026

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