--- product_id: 1580944 title: "The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text" price: "218.40 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1580944-the-complete-kama-sutra-the-first-unabridged-modern-translation-classic store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # Cultural & historical depth Oldest unabridged text Dual expert commentaries The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text **Price:** 218.40 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📚 Unlock the ancient art of love with clarity and courage — don’t miss the original, unfiltered Kama Sutra! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text - **How much does it cost?** 218.40 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1580944-the-complete-kama-sutra-the-first-unabridged-modern-translation-classic) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Beyond Pleasure:** Learn practical life skills on virtue, wealth, and love harmonized for holistic personal growth. - • **Cultural Masterpiece:** Experience a vivid portrayal of ancient Indian society’s open, sophisticated approach to sexuality. - • **Timeless Erotic Wisdom:** Dive into the world's oldest, fully preserved Kama Sutra translation—no Victorian censorship here. - • **Dual Scholarly Insights:** Benefit from two expert commentaries bridging ancient Sanskrit and modern Hindi perspectives. - • **Comprehensive & Explicit:** Explore candid discussions on diverse sexual practices, relationships, and social roles. ## Overview The Complete Kama Sutra offers the first fully unabridged modern English translation of the classic 4th-century Indian text by Vatsyayana, enhanced with two authoritative commentaries. Unlike previous censored versions, this edition preserves the original verse structure and explicit content, providing a rich cultural, historical, and philosophical exploration of sexuality, relationships, and social norms in ancient India. A must-read for those seeking authentic insight into one of the world’s most influential erotic and life-guidance texts. ## Description The world's oldest and most widely read guide to the pleasures and techniques of sex, the Kama Sutra was compiled in the fourth century A.D. by a Brahmin and religious scholar name Vatsyayana, who worked from texts dating back to the fourth century B.C. Until the present, the only English translation of his Hindu love classic was that of the famous English explorer Sir Richard Burton, published in 1883. Unlike Burton's version, Alain Daniélou's new translation preserves the numbered verse divisions of the original and includes two essential commentaries: the Fayamangala commentary, written in Sanskrit by Yashodhara during the Middle Ages, and a modern Hindi commentary by Devadatta Shastri. Whereas Burton's Victorian reluctance to translate certain terms obscured our understanding of the philosophy and techniques of the Kama Sutra , Daniélou has preserved the full explicitness of the original, dealing with everything from the art of scratching to relations with the wives of others. Realistic and pragmatic in its approach, the Kama Sutra deals without ambiguity or hypocrisy with all aspects of sexual life--including marriage, adultery, prostitution, group sex, sadomasochism, male and female homosexuality, and transvestism. The text paints a fascinating portrait of an India whose openness to sexuality gave rise to a highly developed expression of the erotic. Review: Are you listening, o Puritans? - "During the first three periods of his life, a man must realize himself on three interdependent levels, which are virtue [dharma], wealth [artha] and love [kama], harmonizing them in such a way that none of them is prejudicial to the others." - from the Jayamangala commentary, by Yashodhara to the Kama Sutra of Vatsayana. This translation by premier philosopher and Sanskrit scholar Alain Danielou is a long-overdue replacement to the very Victorian and censored version of Sir Richard Burton. It includes the Sutra itself, the aforementioned commentary of Yashodhara and a 19th century commentary in Hindi by Davadatta Shastra. As a translation, it’s limpid, lucid and at times, quite poetic. This is no mean feat, as Sanskrit is notoriously difficult to render into modern languages, something that Westerners have been quietly grumbling about since the days of F. Max Muller. I lead this little review off with the quote from Yashodara because it illuminates a core belief within the myriad flavors of Hinduism. Those who know nothing much of Hinduism are likely to dismiss it as a religion with literally millions of gods and little else. So much for ignorance. If you read the quote carefully, are you not struck by its absolute common sense? Said over in English, it tells us to work at being good people [dharma], keeping the money coming in [arthra] and to know wtf you’re doing in bed. Westerners might readily comprehend the first two about being good and making money, if albeit from a perverted Puritan viewpoint, but the last? Alas, said Puritan ethic cannot bear sexual pleasure; and it is only tolerated in monogamous heterosexual marriage - it is never embraced. No culture in the West has anything like the erotic temple-sculptures of Khajurhao, which features couples, threesomes and piles of happy lovers entwined, a la deSade’s engravings for his 120 Days of Sodom; most Western Parents would do their best to keep their kids from deSade, but the temple at Khurajhao is almost a place that a Hindi entrepreneur, seeking to emulate Walt Disney, opens for whole families to come enjoy the precincts. And that, dearly beloved, is a crucial difference between East and West. Review: Culture, history, and practice - This is an outstanding new translation of the Indian classic, dating from the fourth century BC. It is widely misunderstood in the west, largely by people who never read it, but also by people who only read Burton's unfortunate Victorian translation. Well over 500 pages, this may seem intimidating - I promise you, it's worth your effort. This includes Vatsyayana's complete text, not just the extracts that Burton chose. Danielou interleaves it with not one, but two different commentaries, one traditional and one modern. These add insight, not just to the Vatsyayana text itself, but also to how later ages of India view this classic. The Kama Sutra describes the culture in which it arose. At least for the upper classes, it's a remarkable image. Although male-dominated, women had surprising autonomy. Many services - jewelers, perfumers, and the like - create the objects and gifts of a rich society. Even prostitutes have a more or less respectable place in that world - more like geishas, entertainers with wide repertoires, not just vessels for sexual release. This book is surprisingly clinical in its outlook. Vatsyayana describes a range of sexual practices. Some, he notes, are not widely considered proper - but all things have their time and place, if that's what the practitioners want. Describing a practice does not imply approval of it; in that vein, he mentions seductions and even capture of a woman by force. Prostitutes, too, have a code of behavior. Although they may develop feelings for a customer, their work is their business and their livelihood. This justifies, even demands behavior that would not be proper for a partner of another kind. The largest part of the book is more mundane. It sets out a plan for being a happy, healthy member of society: the skills needed, grooming, social behaviors, and lots more. Despite repressive eras that followed (down to our own), the appeal of this document persists. Today's readers, nearly 2500 years later, can still learn from it, about that ancient time but also about our own. //wiredweird ## Features - The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #104,636 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #59 in New Age Reference (Books) #119 in General Sexual Health #134 in Psychology & Counseling Books on Sexuality | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 744 Reviews | ## Images ![The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81QXzAAzoSL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Are you listening, o Puritans? *by R***R on November 11, 2014* "During the first three periods of his life, a man must realize himself on three interdependent levels, which are virtue [dharma], wealth [artha] and love [kama], harmonizing them in such a way that none of them is prejudicial to the others." - from the Jayamangala commentary, by Yashodhara to the Kama Sutra of Vatsayana. This translation by premier philosopher and Sanskrit scholar Alain Danielou is a long-overdue replacement to the very Victorian and censored version of Sir Richard Burton. It includes the Sutra itself, the aforementioned commentary of Yashodhara and a 19th century commentary in Hindi by Davadatta Shastra. As a translation, it’s limpid, lucid and at times, quite poetic. This is no mean feat, as Sanskrit is notoriously difficult to render into modern languages, something that Westerners have been quietly grumbling about since the days of F. Max Muller. I lead this little review off with the quote from Yashodara because it illuminates a core belief within the myriad flavors of Hinduism. Those who know nothing much of Hinduism are likely to dismiss it as a religion with literally millions of gods and little else. So much for ignorance. If you read the quote carefully, are you not struck by its absolute common sense? Said over in English, it tells us to work at being good people [dharma], keeping the money coming in [arthra] and to know wtf you’re doing in bed. Westerners might readily comprehend the first two about being good and making money, if albeit from a perverted Puritan viewpoint, but the last? Alas, said Puritan ethic cannot bear sexual pleasure; and it is only tolerated in monogamous heterosexual marriage - it is never embraced. No culture in the West has anything like the erotic temple-sculptures of Khajurhao, which features couples, threesomes and piles of happy lovers entwined, a la deSade’s engravings for his 120 Days of Sodom; most Western Parents would do their best to keep their kids from deSade, but the temple at Khurajhao is almost a place that a Hindi entrepreneur, seeking to emulate Walt Disney, opens for whole families to come enjoy the precincts. And that, dearly beloved, is a crucial difference between East and West. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Culture, history, and practice *by W***D on July 28, 2005* This is an outstanding new translation of the Indian classic, dating from the fourth century BC. It is widely misunderstood in the west, largely by people who never read it, but also by people who only read Burton's unfortunate Victorian translation. Well over 500 pages, this may seem intimidating - I promise you, it's worth your effort. This includes Vatsyayana's complete text, not just the extracts that Burton chose. Danielou interleaves it with not one, but two different commentaries, one traditional and one modern. These add insight, not just to the Vatsyayana text itself, but also to how later ages of India view this classic. The Kama Sutra describes the culture in which it arose. At least for the upper classes, it's a remarkable image. Although male-dominated, women had surprising autonomy. Many services - jewelers, perfumers, and the like - create the objects and gifts of a rich society. Even prostitutes have a more or less respectable place in that world - more like geishas, entertainers with wide repertoires, not just vessels for sexual release. This book is surprisingly clinical in its outlook. Vatsyayana describes a range of sexual practices. Some, he notes, are not widely considered proper - but all things have their time and place, if that's what the practitioners want. Describing a practice does not imply approval of it; in that vein, he mentions seductions and even capture of a woman by force. Prostitutes, too, have a code of behavior. Although they may develop feelings for a customer, their work is their business and their livelihood. This justifies, even demands behavior that would not be proper for a partner of another kind. The largest part of the book is more mundane. It sets out a plan for being a happy, healthy member of society: the skills needed, grooming, social behaviors, and lots more. Despite repressive eras that followed (down to our own), the appeal of this document persists. Today's readers, nearly 2500 years later, can still learn from it, about that ancient time but also about our own. //wiredweird ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Enlightening Study - A Must Read *by S***E on May 30, 2016* This is a great book! People often assume Kama Sutra is a dirty book that's full of sex positions. It does have a good bit of that. But it treats sex almost like a ritual rather than just a quick fix that means nothing no anyone. It has all these "instructions" that teach you everything from flirting, to foreplay, to the final act itself. Yes, it does talk of various techniques and toys and all. Very boldly. Bits of it made me raise my eyebrow("how to seduce another's wife"/"relationships with concubines") but they amused me more than they offended me. It's the perfect book on sex. You have to understand that according to Hindu scriptures, sex is one of the four main parts of life and thus, must be treated accordingly. We need to admit its importance instead of treating it as taboo. I think people should read Kama Sutra in order to gain a better understanding of the importance of sex. It's necessary to learn to respect physical intimacy and this book gives it the attention it deserves. I don't know about the translation; this is the only translation I've read and it was perfectly adequate. I bought one for a close friend for her birthday and I plan on having my siblings read it when they're older as well. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text - The Complete Illustrated Kama Sutra - Heart of Tantric Sex --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1580944-the-complete-kama-sutra-the-first-unabridged-modern-translation-classic](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/1580944-the-complete-kama-sutra-the-first-unabridged-modern-translation-classic) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-07-19*