Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Strange and the Familiar in the Kamasutra

2. The Kautilyan Kamasutra

3. The Mythology of the Kamasutra

4. Women in the Kamasutra

5. The Third Nature: Gender Inversions

6. The Mare's Trap: The Nature and Culture of Sex

7. The Rise and Fall of Kama and the Kamasutra

Notes

About the Author

Wendy Doniger is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago and the author of over 30 books, including On Hinduism and The Hindus: An Alternative History.

Reviews

"Doniger's prose cuts to the chase, and her book delights and informs the lay reader. Erudite, entertaining, and to the point, this work demonstrates her talent for clear thinking and clear writing." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
"In this marvelous, well-written and engaging book, Wendy Doniger shows us how Vatyayana's famous treatise about pleasure draws on another famous treatise about politics, Kautilya's Arthashastra: the two perennial concerns of human beings, sex and politics, come together within the boundary of social duty and obligation. There has never been a book quite like this. It describes the Kamasutra's historical context, places it in relation to the
early history of Sanskrit literature concerned with the purposes of life, and discusses its contemporary relevance. Written with style and verve this book is a must-read for everyone interested in the history of Indian
civilization or the broader history of human desire." --Gavin Flood, Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion, Oxford University
"With seasoned wisdom and a heart irrepressibly young, Wendy Doniger offers us an elegant exposition of the Kamasutra. She shows it to be wide-ranging, astute about love's politics, and deeply committed not just to good sex but to all aspects of the good life. Redeeming the Kamasutra beckons modern readers to a fresh encounter with an ancient, strikingly contemporary text." --John Stratton Hawley, author of A Storm of Songs: India and
the Idea of the Bhakti Movement
"Not for nothing is Wendy Doniger widely esteemed today as a paragon among Indologists, by virtue of her wit, her learning and the accessibility of her writings. In this original work she offers striking new insights into what the Kamasutra can teach us about ancient Indian society, and how it relates to Sanskrit texts on other branches of Indian knowledge. She is a Horace of our age, finding nothing human to which she feels no kinship." --Richard
Gombrich, author of What the Buddha Thought