Polygamy and polyamory were common, especially in the upper classes. Now, keep in mind that in ancient India, sex and sexuality was a large part of Indian culture. The rest of the books deal with the topics of desire, lust, seduction and the philosophy of love.

Only about 20 percent of the book –one chapter, to be exact– deals with the topic of sexual positions. The Kamasutra was essentially a guide to achieving the “desire” goal of these tenets.

In Hinduism there are four tenets, or goals, of human life that all people must achieve Nothing could be farther from the truth.įirst of all, the book is based in Hinduism, which means that it’s technically a religious text. Most people know it as the naughty book you found in your hippie aunt’s house, and that it’s mainly comprised of a list of ludicrously athletic-looking sexual positions. The title translates roughly to “The Aphorism of Desire,” or “The Formula of Lust,” depending on who you ask. The “Kama Sutra” (sometimes displayed as one word, “Kamasutra”) is believed to be written in about ADE 320 to 550 India (during the Gupta Golden Age) by a religious student and philosopher named Vatsyayana. It exists! And it’s actually been around longer than you think. (Roberta Cortese/Flickr Creative Commons)Įven if you don’t want to admit it, I think a lot of people out there would really appreciate having a Guide to Sex –- no, not your high school sex-ed teacher awkwardly sticking a condom on a banana, or late-night, misspelled Google searches on incognito mode–a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to love, sex, passion and everything in-between.

Karma sutra sex positions illustrated