Vātsyāyana's classical Sanskrit treatise on kāma (desire) — the third of the four puruṣārthas (life goals: dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa). Seven books on courtship, marriage, and the cultured life of pleasure.
1 chapter
Tradition
Sanskrit kāmaśāstra. Composed c. 200–400 CE by Vātsyāyana Mallanaga; the most important classical Indian work on the cultivation of desire as one of the four legitimate human ends. The 1883 Burton/Arbuthnot translation introduced it to the modern Western world.
Translation
Sir Richard F. Burton & F. F. Arbuthnot, *The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana* (London: Hindoo Kama Shastra Society, 1883). Public domain.
License
Public domain (pre-1929 English translation). Reproduced for educational and religious commentary.