16
17
Part Two
Sexual Intercourse
18
Chapter One
Sexual Unions
Sexual Intercourse with Regard to Size, Endurance and Temperament
Lovers are differentiated as hare, bull, or stallion according to the size of their sexual organ. As
for lady friends, they are defined as doe, mare, or elephant cow. Thus, there are three equal
sexual unions when there is intercourse between similar partners.
With permutations, there are six unequal genital combinations. When genitals of unequal size are
combined and the man’s is larger, there are two high unions with the combinations ordered
stepwise. Noncontiguous sizes make a very high union. In the opposite case, there are two low
unions, and noncontiguous sizes make a very low one. Among these, the equal unions are the
best. The two unions marked by the comparative suffix -tara are the worst. The rest are
middling.
A man has dull sexual energy if he is not sexually excited during intercourse, if he shows little
virility, and if he cannot stand wounds. The average and the fierce sexual energies are the
opposite of this. The same goes for the lady friend. Here, too, there are nine sexual unions,
precisely as with genital size.
In the same manner, lovers are quick, average, and long-lasting regarding endurance, but there is
a dispute regarding the woman.
A woman does not reach orgasm just like a man. Her sexual itch is continually being removed by
the man. But when she is suffused with a sensation of psychological pleasure, she produces a
different feeling, and in this lies her perception of satisfaction. Because the man’s perception of
erotic joy is unknown as well, it is impossible to ask, “How does your satisfaction come about?”
“How is this understood?” one may object. Because a man relaxes of his own accord when he
has reached ecstasy, he does not show any consideration for the woman. But a woman is not like
that, according to Auddalaki.
Here one might object, “Women are fond of a lover with sexual staying power. They are
unhappy if a man’s sexual energy runs out and they have not reached climax. All this is a
criterion for whether she has had an orgasm or not.”
But this is not so. For even scratching an itch feels pleasant for a long time. It is precisely the
thing to do. Therefore, this is no criterion because it is uncertain.
19
During intercourse a man removes a woman’s sexual itch, and that, suffused with psychological
pleasure, is called satisfaction.
A young woman reaches climax continually from the beginning, a man, however, only at the
end. This is perfectly clear. For without an orgasm there will be no embryo, according to the
followers of Babhravya.
But even here there are contradicting and supporting arguments.
Here one might object, “It is assumed that the woman experiences sensual pleasure continually,
yet it is evident that, at the beginning, she is indifferent and has no endurance. Then, sexual
passion and indifference to the body gradually increase, and at the end, she wants to stop.”
But this is not so. Even if a potter’s wheel or a spinning top starts to spin in the same manner,
when they are spinning they are slow at the beginning, but then gradually pick up speed. This is
perfectly clear. And the wish to stop is due to the loss of fluids. Therefore, this is not a relevant
objection.
Men’s pleasure comes at the end of the sexual act, whereas the pleasure of women is continuous,
and the wish to stop is due to the loss of fluids.
Therefore, the manifestation of a woman’s genital fluids is also visible, just like that of a man.
For how could there be a different result when both belong to precisely the same species and
attain the same objective? It is because of the difference in approach and the difference in
psychology.
But why is there a difference in approach? It is due to nature, namely, the man is the active part
and the young woman is a passive receptacle. For the active part performs an action in one way,
a receptacle in another. And because of this difference in approach caused by nature, there is also
a difference in psychology. The man is satisfied thinking, “I am the attacker.” The woman
thinks, “I am being attacked.” Thus according to Vatsyayana.
Here one might object, “Why shouldn’t the result be different when the approach is different?”
But this is not so. The difference in approach has a cause, namely that the characteristics of the
active and passive parts are different in this matter. A difference in result without a cause would
be illogical, because they belong to the same species.
Here one might object, “When combined, causal factors accomplish one and the same goal. But
these two people reach their own goals separately. Thus, this objection is inappropriate.”
But this is not so. One sees that several other goals are attained simultaneously. If, for instance,
the objection is that when two rams butt, or when two wood apples are split, or when two
wrestlers fight, there is no difference in causal factors, then we reply that there is no difference in
substance here either. But it was earlier said that there is a difference in approach caused by
nature. Therefore, they both experience a similar satisfaction.
20
Because the couple does not belong to different species, they achieve a similar satisfaction.
Therefore, a woman should be treated in such a way that she reaches ecstasy first.
Now that the similarity between the partners has been established, the sexual unions related to
endurance and temperament also number nine, just like size.
Sensual feeling, sexual ecstasy, pleasure, orgasm, passion, sexual energy, and satisfaction are
synonyms of sexual enjoyment. Sexual intercourse, sexual union, copulation, bed sport, and
seduction are synonyms for the sexual act.
Since there are nine different combinations of each of the types of intercourse according to size,
temperament, and endurance, it is impossible to count the number of sexual acts when they are
combined because there are too many of them. Among these, one should apply the practices
according to one’s judgment, says Vatsyayana.
At the first sexual union the man has fierce energy and is very quick, later it is the other way.
With a woman, it is the opposite, however, until the fluids are exhausted. The male fluid is
exhausted before the female fluid is exhausted, according to a proverb.
The teachers have established that women quickly achieve gratification because they are tender
by nature and susceptible to strong stimulation. This explanation of intercourse is adequate for
the experts. A more detailed account will follow for the benefit of the inexperienced.
The Variations of Love
The experts say that there are four kinds of love, which are caused by habit, personal
psychology, identification, and sense objects.
Love that is expressed in words, etc., and marked by the repetition of certain actions, is known as
habitual love, and may include activities such as hunting.
Love for activities formerly repeated, which does not have an object, springs from the
imagination. This is psychological in nature. It can be recognized in oral sex with members of
the third nature or women, and in various acts such as kissing.
When someone says, “This is the same person,” when love is caused by someone else, the
experts say this love is based on identification.
Love which is visible and well known to the world is based on sense objects. Because it gives the
most important fruit, it is the goal of the others, too.
When one has examined these kinds of love according to this manual with its definitions, one
may deal with whatever emotion arises in the relevant manner.
21
Thus ends the first chapter, Sexual Intercourse with Regard to Size, Endurance and
Temperament, and The Variations of Love, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to
sensual pleasure by the glorious Vatsyayana.
22
Chapter Two
Embraces
Some people call this part describing sexual intercourse “the sixty-four” because it consists of
sixty-four subjects. According to scholars, this whole manual is called “the sixty-four.”
Or because there are sixty-four arts, and because these are constituents of sexual intercourse, the
aggregate of arts is called “the sixty-four.” Furthermore, since the Rigveda is referred to as the
ten-part text, there is a semantic connection to the constituents of intercourse here too, and some
claim that Rigvedic experts have propagated this name as an expression of honor because both
texts are connected with Panchala.
Embracing, kissing, tearing with nails and teeth, sexual union, moaning, imitating the sexual role
of the man, and oral sex: Because these eight each have eight variations, eight groups of eight
make sixty-four, say the followers of Babhravya.
Seeing that the eight categories of variations are either too small or too big, and because other
categories of sex such as slapping, screaming, the man’s sexual techniques, and unusual sexual
acts are also included here, this is simply a figure of speech, like “the seven-leaf tree” or “the
five-colored rice offering,” says Vatsyayana.
In this connection, a couple that has not yet been together has four kinds of embraces to indicate
their love: touching, stabbing, rubbing, and pressing. In general, the meaning of the term
precisely describes the action.
Touching is when a man approaches a woman he desires on some pretext while she is facing him
and touches a limb with a limb.
She should stab the man she desires with her breast while grasping for something while he stands
or sits in a solitary place. The lover should squeeze her and hold her. This is stabbing.
Both of these embraces take place when the two have not been able to talk much.
The rubbing embrace is when two people, walking slowly in the dark, in a crowd, or in a solitary
place, rub their limbs against each other for more than a moment.
The same embrace is called pressing when one presses firmly with a wall or a pillar as a
counterforce.
Both of these embraces are for two people who have understood each other’s underlying
intentions.
23
There are four kinds of embraces during sexual intercourse: twining like a vine, climbing the
tree, mixing sesame and rice, and mixing milk and water.
While she twines herself around him, like a vine around a sal tree, she should bend his face down
in order to kiss him. Raising it up while moaning gently, or leaning on him, she should look at
him lovingly for a while. This is twining like a vine.
Climbing the tree is when she would like to climb up and kiss him while stepping on one of his
feet with one foot and on his thigh with the other, or twining herself around him with one hand
on his back while bending his shoulder down with the other, moaning slightly and cooing gently.
Both these actions are performed standing.
When they are in bed and holding each other tightly, while entangling their thighs and arms as if
wrestling, that is called mixing sesame and rice.
Blinded by passion, paying no attention to pain, they seem to enter each other while she is on his
lap or sitting facing him in bed. This is called mixing milk and water.
Both of these embraces happen in a moment of passion.
These are the kinds of close embrace according to the followers of Babhravya. But
Suvarnanabha adds a quartet of close embraces, each of a single part of the body.
Among these, one may squeeze one thigh or both thighs as hard as possible, using one’s own
thighs as a clamp. This is the close embrace of the thigh.
Squeezing his sexual parts with her sexual parts, with her hair flying loose, the woman should sit
across him in order to scratch, bite, beat, and kiss him. This is the close embrace with the sexual
parts.
Pressing her breasts against his chest, she should transfer their weight to let them rest there. This
is the breast embrace.
Pressing the mouth against the mouth, the eyes against the eyes, she or he should strike the
forehead against the forehead. This is the embrace of the forehead ornament.
Some think that massage is also a kind of close embrace, because of the mutual contact. Not so,
says Vatsyayana, because it has a time of its own, a different purpose, and is not shared in the
same way.
When men ask about, hear about, or even talk about all the ways of embracing, they begin to
desire the joys of sex.
But even those embraces that have no basis in the handbooks, yet increase passion, can be used
during sexual intercourse, but with care.
24
The topics of the manuals only apply when men’s desire is weak. But when the wheel of sexual
ecstasy has begun to roll, there is indeed no handbook—and no order.
Thus ends the second chapter, Embraces, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to
sensual pleasure by the glorious Vatsyayana.
25
Chapter Three
Ways of Kissing
Kissing, scratching, and biting have no fixed order, because they come with passion. They are
mostly used before intercourse; slapping and moaning are used during intercourse. All of them
can be used anytime because passion acts without premeditation, according to Vatsyayana.
These should not be too obtrusive at the beginning of intercourse. They are optional if the
woman is inexperienced, because this is the nature of passion. After that, they should be used
quickly with many variations in order to enflame passion.
Kissing is done on the forehead, the hair, the cheek, the chest, the breasts, the lips, and inside the
mouth. The Latas also kiss the crotch, the armpits, and the Mound of Venus. Due to the force of
passion and local practices there are various places to kiss, but they do not apply to all people,
according to Vatsyayana.
For instance, a young woman has three kinds of kisses: the measured, the throbbing, and the
brushing.
When she is forcibly made to offer her mouth, but does not move it, that is the measured kiss.
When she, slightly bashful, wants to grasp his lip which is inserted into her mouth, and she
twitches her lower lip, but is unable to twitch the upper, that is called the throbbing kiss.
When she seizes his lip gently with her eyes shut and, covering his eyes with her hand, brushes it
with the tip of her tongue, it is called the brushing kiss.
Others group kisses into four categories: the equal, the crosswise, the roaming, and the pressing.
When one forms a circle with the thumb and fingers and presses down with rounded lips without
using the teeth, that is another pressing kiss, a fifth way of kissing.
Here one may also play a game. Victory goes to the one who first captures the lower lip of the
other. If the woman loses, she may wave her hand, half crying, push him away, bite, turn herself
away, and being forcibly drawn back, protest and say, “Let’s have another wager!” If she loses
again, she may exert herself twice as much. When he is confident or careless, she may seize his
lower lip, hold it between her teeth to prevent escape, then laugh, shout, scold, dance around,
mock him while raising her brows, and with a smile on her lips and rolling eyes, say all sorts of
things to him. This is the kissing-quarrel game.
This also explains the quarrel games with nails, teeth, scratching, and slapping. Lovers with
fierce sexual energies initiate these because they share the same nature.
26
While she is kissing, he should seize the upper lip. This is called kissing the upper lip.
One may also kiss using one’s own lips as a pincer to seize both lips of the other. This is the
enveloping kiss of a woman or man with no signs of sexual maturity.
Here, the man may also rub her teeth, palate, and tongue with his tongue. This is called the battle
of the tongues. The forcible seizing and offering of mouth and teeth is also explained by this.
The equal, the squeezed, the curved, and the gentle kiss may be applied to the other parts of the
body, according to their particular place of use. These are the different kinds of kisses.
When she sees the mouth of her sleeping man, she may, for her own satisfaction, kiss him to
enflame his passion. When she kisses him while he is inattentive, quarreling, looking elsewhere,
or sleepy so as to disturb his sleep, that kiss is called the stirring kiss.
When the lover comes back late at night and, for his own satisfaction, kisses her sleeping on the
bed, that kiss is called the awakening kiss. But she may pretend to continue sleeping because she
wants to discover her lover’s mood, having noticed what time he arrived.
One may kiss the reflection of the woman one fancies in a mirror, on a wall, or in water to show
one’s underlying intention.
Kissing a boy, a painting, or a statue is called the transferred kiss, and the same applies to an
embrace.
This also applies when the lover comes close to a woman he desires at night, at a spectacle, or at
a meeting of relatives, and kisses her finger, or when he sits next to her and kisses her toes.
But when a massage girl, enticing a lover, rests her face on his thighs as if she were reluctant
because she is sleepy, and then kisses them, this counts as one of the inviting kisses.
And there is a verse about this.
For every action there should be a counteraction, for every blow a counterblow, and by
the same logic, for every kiss a counterkiss.
Thus ends the third chapter, Ways of Kissing, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide
to sensual pleasure by the glorious Vatsyayana.
27
Chapter Four
Forms of Scratching
Scratching with the fingernails happens when passion increases. It is characterized by scraping.
It is used at the first sexual union, when returning from a journey, when departing on a journey,
when mollifying an angry woman, and with a woman who is drunk. People without fierce sexual
energies should not do it all the time. The same applies to biting, because it is of the same nature.
Nail scratching has eight varieties based on shape: discus, half-moon, circle, line, tiger’s claw,
peacock’s foot, hare’s leap, and lotus leaf.
The places to put them are the armpits, breasts, throat, back, genital region, and thighs. For those
for whom the wheel of sexual ecstasy has started to turn, there is no such thing as a right or
wrong place, according to Suvarnanabha.
A couple with fierce sexual energy may have the nails on the left hand freshly sharpened into
two or three points.
Excellent nails are streaked, even, clear, clean, unbroken, well grown, soft, and lustrous. For the
Gaudas, nails should be long and make the hands look beautiful, catching the attention of women
when they look at them. For the people in the South, nails should be short, able to endure work,
and suitable to form any kind of shape. For the people of Maharashtra, nails are of medium size,
enjoying the advantages of both.
The discus is characterized by a light movement with the nails pressed together in the area of the
cheek, the breasts, or the lower lip without leaving a mark, by which the mere touch at the end
creates gooseflesh accompanied by a sound produced when the nails strike each other. It is used
when a man massages the limbs of the woman he desires, rubs her head, pops her pimples, or
gives her a jolt to scare her.
The half-moon is a curved impression of the nail on the neck or the upper part of the breast.
Two of these pointing towards each other make the circle. It is used on the Mound of Venus, in
the hollows of the loins, and in the groin.
The line, not too long, can be put anywhere.
When this is curved, it is called the tiger’s claw. It reaches the nipple.
Lines made with five fingers facing inward and towards the nipple is called the peacock’s foot.
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When there are contiguous marks of five nails near the nipple of a woman praised for her
lovemaking, it is called the hare’s leap.
A mark put on the upper part of the breast or on the waist in the shape of a lotus leaf is called the
lotus leaf.
A man leaving on a journey should leave three or four contiguous lines on her thighs and the
upper part of the breast to remember him by.
Such are the uses of the nails.
One may also make other scratches with various kinds of shapes. Because the variations are
endless and skills infinite, because practice can be had anywhere and scratching has passion at its
core, who can keep track of the various ways, ask the teachers.
Even in passion one seeks diversity, and mutual passion must be generated through variety.
Furthermore, proficient courtesans and their lovers are desirable to each other. For even in
manuals on the martial arts, such as the science of archery, variety is required. “Why shouldn’t
this be the case here?” asks Vatsyayana.
But one should not do this to married women. One should put special marks in their secret places
to make them remember and to increase their passion.
The love of a woman who sees nail scratches in her secret places becomes new and tender, even
if it was abandoned long ago. When passions are long gone, love might wane if there are no
scratches to remind her of the place of passion.
When a man sees a young woman from afar whose breasts have been torn by nails, he feels great
respect and passion, even if he is a stranger. And a man who is marked by nails in various places
is likely to disturb the mind of a woman, however steady it may be.
There is no better way of increasing passion than the art of leaving nail and tooth marks.
Thus ends the fourth chapter, Forms of Scratching, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the
guide to sensual pleasure by the glorious Vatsyayana.
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Chapter Five
Biting and Behaviors
Ways of Biting
Biting is done in the same places as kissing, with the exception of the upper lip, the inside of the
mouth, and the eyes.
Good teeth are even, lustrous, retain betel’s color, are the right size, complete, and have sharp
edges. Bad teeth are blunt, protruding, uneven, irregular, soft, broad, and widely spaced.
The variations of biting are as follows: the hidden bite, the swelling, the dot, the garland of dots,
the coral stone, the necklace of jewels, the rift in the sky, and the nibbling of the boar.
The hidden bite is perceptible merely as a colored mark that is not too red.
When this is caused by pressing, it is called the swelling.
These two together make the dot in the middle of the lower lip.
The swelling and the coral stone go on the cheek. The ear-ornament kiss and tearing with nails
and teeth are ornaments for the left cheek. The coral stone is achieved by repeatedly squeezing
the teeth and lips together.
When this is achieved on a large scale it becomes the necklace of jewels.
The dot is achieved when two teeth pinch a small part of the skin. When all the teeth do it, you
get the garland of dots. The pair of garlands may also be put in places such as the throat, the
armpit, and the groin. The garland of dots may be put on the forehead and the thighs.
The rift in the sky is like a circle with uneven peaks. It is only used on the upper part of the
breast.
The nibbling of the boar consists of closely joined, very long and numerous lines of tooth marks
with coppery red intervals. It is only used on the upper part of the breast.
The last two are only for people with fierce sexual energy.
This covers biting.
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Biting, scratching, etc., on a forehead decoration, ear ornament, diadem of flowers, betel leaf, or
cinnamon bay leaf are invitations when brought to the desired woman.
Behavior Typical of Women from Different Provinces
One should approach women according to local custom. The women of the Midlands are mostly
noble with a pure way of life, and hate kisses, nail, and tooth marks. The same thing goes for the
women of Bahlika and Avanti, but they are partial to unusual sexual acts. The women of Malava
and Abhira are particularly fond of embracing, kissing, scratching, biting, and sucking, but they
do not tolerate wounds, and may be won over by slapping. The women who live between the
rivers, of which the Indus is the sixth, specialize in oral sex. The women at the western border
and the women of Lata have fierce sexual energy and moan softly. The women of Strirajya and
Kosala are particularly fond of sex toys, practice hard slapping, and have a harsh temper. The
women of Andhra are by nature delicate, love sexual ecstasy, like impure acts, and behave badly.
The women of Maharashtra are made passionate by the practice of all sixty-four arts, are fond of
vulgar and coarse talk, and are impetuously aggressive in bed.
The elegant women of the city are just the same, but show it only in secret. As for Dravidian
women, they become wet very slowly when they are rubbed energetically. The women of
Vanavasa have average sexual energy, endure everything, hide their bodies, mock other
women’s bodies, and avoid things that are vile, vulgar, and coarse. The women of Gauda speak
gently, are affectionate, and have soft bodies.
According to Suvarnanabha, character is stronger than region. In these matters, practices do not
depend upon locality. And one should know that with time, practices, fashions, and games pass
from one region to another.
In the series starting with the close embrace, the previous item increases passion more than the
next, and the next item adds more variation.
Whatever wound a man may inflict on a woman who tries to stop him, she should pay him back,
twice as hard, without mercy.
The retaliation for the dot is the garland, for the garland the rift in the sky. She should respond to
quarrels as if she were possessed by anger.
Raising him up by grasping his hair, she should then drink from his mouth, embrace him firmly,
and bite him here and there, driven by passion.
Raising his head by the hair while resting on the bulging chest of her beloved, she may apply the
garland of jewels to his neck and whatever else she knows.
Even during the day, when she sees the mark she made shown by her lover in a crowd of people,
she may laugh, unnoticed by the others.
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Pretending to wrinkle her face, as if she were reviling her lover, she may show the marks on her
own limbs in mock anger.
Therefore, when both of them mutually agree to live modestly in this manner, their love will not
disappear, even for a hundred years.
Thus ends the fifth chapter, Ways of Biting and Behavior Typical of Women from Different
Provinces, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to sensual pleasure by the glorious
Vatsyayana.
32
Chapter Six
Positions and Unusual Acts
Different Sexual Positions
At the moment of passion, when the union is high, the doe woman may lie down while stretching
her sexual parts to open them up. When the union is low, the elephant-cow woman may lie down
while making her sexual parts smaller, as it were. Where the union has the right fit, she may lie
flat on her back.
These two rules also apply to the mare. In these positions, she should receive her lover with her
sexual parts.
Sex toys are particularly useful when the union is low.
For the doe woman, there are generally three positions: the open blossom, the yawning, and the
Indra queen position.
The open blossom position is when the head is bent backward and the sexual parts are held high.
In this position, she should provide room to move.
The yawning position means that she receives him while spreading her thighs horizontally in a
suspended position.
In the same manner, the Indra queen position means that she places her thighs along his sides and
draws both her knees towards her own sides. This depends upon repeated practice.
This is also used to receive the lover when the union is higher. When the union is low, the dish
position is used to receive the lover.
The elephant-cow woman can also use this when the union is lower. Her positions are the dish,
the squeeze, the wrapping, and the mare’s grip.
The dish means that both lovers have both of their legs stretched straight out. There are two
versions of the dish position—the lateral and the supine, named according to how the act is
performed. When the lover lies on his side, he should lie next to the woman lying on her right
side. This is the usual, lateral way of doing it.
When his tool has penetrated her in the dish position, she may squeeze her thighs tightly
together. This is called the squeeze.
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If the thighs are placed crosswise, it is called the wrapping.
If she grasps him hard like a mare, it is called the mare’s grip. It is acquired by practice. This is
common among the women of Andhra.
Such are the different sexual positions, according to the followers of Babhravya. But the
positions described by Suvarnanabha are as follows.
When both thighs are raised, it is called the curve.
If the lover holds both her legs up, it is called the yawn.
When he bends her legs, it becomes the high squeeze.
When this is done with one leg stretched out, it is called the half squeeze.
When one leg rests on the lover’s shoulder and the other is stretched out with repeated
alternation, it is called the bamboo splitting.
When one leg goes above the head and the other is stretched out, that is called impalement on a
stake. It is acquired by practice.
If her legs are bent and put on her abdomen, it is called the crab.
If she crosses her raised legs, it is called the squeeze.
When the legs are crossed, it is like the lotus position.
When the lover turns away from the woman who embraces his back, it is called the rotated
position. It is acquired by practice.
One may also observe unusual unions such as lying, sitting, or standing in water, because they
are easy to perform in this manner, according to Suvarnanabha. But this is not good, because
scholars do not include them in the tradition, according to Vatsyayana.
And now the unusual sexual acts.
Unusual Sexual Acts
When two young people stand upright, supporting each other or leaning against a wall, it is
called the standing intercourse.
When the lover leans against a wall, and the woman puts the noose of her hands around his neck
while sitting on his folded hands, covering his sexual parts with the trap of her thighs, and moves
to and fro while shifting her legs against the wall, that is called the suspended intercourse.
34
When she gets down on the ground like a four-legged animal and he mounts her like a bull, it is
the cow position. In this position, the back is treated like the chest.
By this union one may consider various other new kinds of union, such as the dog’s, the stag’s,
the billy goat’s, the donkey’s attack, the cat’s dalliance, the tiger’s pounce, the elephant’s crunch,
the boar’s rubbing, the stallion’s mounting, and so on.
With two women who have affection for each other, it is called the joint intercourse. With many
women, it is the cow-herd intercourse.
The expressions water play, billy-goat union, and stag union are due to the imitation of the
actions of these animals.
In the area of Gramanari, in Strirajya, and in Bahlika, many young men are married to one and
the same woman, like a harem. They should each one, alone and together, please her according
to their natures and their tasks. One may hold her and another unite with her, one should attend
to her sexual parts, one to her face, another to her middle region and thus repeatedly by turns. By
this example, a prostitute receiving a group of men, and attending to a royal concubine are
explained.
The women of the South have intercourse below, even in the anus.
So far, the unusual sexual acts. We will explain the man’s sexual technique in Imitating the
Sexual Role of a Man.1
And there are two verses about this.
A man who knows the heart should add to his techniques of sexual ecstasy by this means
and that, watching the amorous gestures of tame and wild animals and birds.
A woman’s affection, passion, and respect grow when these various erotic sports are
applied according to her nature and her local customs.
Thus ends the sixth chapter, Different Sexual Positions and Unusual Sexual Acts, in the second
part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to sensual pleasure by the glorious Vatsyayana.
35
Chapter Seven
Slapping and Moaning
They say that the sexual act has the form of strife, because sensual pleasure has quarrel at its
core, and because it is a left-handed practice.1
Therefore slapping plays a part in it. The places are the shoulders, head, cleavage, back,
buttocks, and sides.
It has four varieties: with the back of the hand, the outstretched hand, the fist, and the flat palm
of the hand.
Slapping produces moaning because it is a sign of pain, and it has several forms.
There are eight kinds of vocal sounds: whimpering, groaning, cooing, crying, sighing, shrieking,
sobbing, and furthermore, words such as “mamma,” “stop,” “let go,” and “enough,” as well as
other words with a similar meaning.
She may use the screams of turtledoves, cuckoos, green pigeons, parrots, bees, datyuha hens,
geese, ducks, and quails—richly interspersed with moaning—as she likes.
He may strike her on the back with his fist while she is sitting on his lap. Then she may groan,
cry, coo, and strike back at him as if she were angry.
When his tool is inserted in her, he may strike her with the back of his hand between her breasts,
gently to begin with, but with rising passion until she reaches climax. She may simultaneously
whimper, etc., with no fixed order, repetition, or variation.
Striking her head with the fingers of his hand slightly bent while she protests, sobbing, is the slap
with an outstretched hand. Here she may coo and sob with her mouth closed.
At the end of intercourse she may pant and cry.
Shrieking sounds like bamboo splitting.
Sobbing sounds like berries falling into water.
All the time, while she falls back, assailed by kisses, etc., she may moan and give tit for tat in the
same manner.
36
During the repeated slapping caused by passion, she uses words meaning “stop,” “let me go,”
“enough,” or “mamma” mixed with heavy breathing, panting, crying, groaning, and screams.
When the passion recedes, he beats her buttocks and sides very quickly until the climax. Then
she may coo quickly, like a quail or a wild goose.
So far the use of groaning and slapping.
And there are two verses about this.
Violence and ferocity are called fiery male energy. Helplessness, pain, self-denial, and
weakness are typical of women.
Sometimes, there may even be a role reversal caused by passion and the nature of their
technique. Not for long! When it is over, the natural way is resumed.
The wedge on the chest, the scissors on the head, the stab on the cheeks, the tongs on the breasts
and sides: along with those already mentioned, the people of the South have eight kinds of
slapping. Therefore, wedges are seen on the chests of young women. This is a peculiarity of the
region.
But this behavior is evil, unworthy of an Aryan, and reprehensible, according to Vatsyayana.
Thus, one should not use a local custom elsewhere. But even there, one should avoid what is
dangerous.
For the king of the Cholas killed the courtesan Chitrasena with the wedge during intercourse.
The Kuntala king, Shatakarni Shatavahana, killed his queen, Malayavati, with the scissors.
Broken-hand Naradeva blinded a dancing girl in one eye with a badly applied stab.
And there are these verses about this.
Here there is no calculation, nor summary from a handbook. When joined in sexual
union, passion is the driving force.
Not even in sleep does one experience such feelings and rapture as are conjured up in a
moment in sexual play.
Just as a horse galloping on the road, blinded by the speed, does not see a post, a hole,
or a ditch, so two lovers, blinded by passion in the battle of sex, hurtle forward on their
impetuous course and do not perceive any danger.
Therefore, knowing the delicacy, the ferocity, and the strength of the young woman, as well as
his own strength, the expert on this handbook should unite with her accordingly.
Sexual techniques are not always used with all women. Their use is determined according to the
part of the body, geographical region, and time.
37
Thus ends the seventh chapter, Techniques of Slapping and the Manners of Moaning Associated
with Them, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to sensual pleasure by the
glorious Vatsyayana.
1
A heterodox religious practice, normally associated in Hinduism with certain Tantric sects. Practices include breaking
taboos and sometimes ritual sex.
38
Chapter Eight
Imitation and Techniques
Imitating the Sexual Role of a Man
When the lover is exhausted by nonstop action—yet his passion is unquenched—she may, with
his permission, help him by rolling him under her and imitating the sexual role of a man.
Or she may do it because she wants sexual variation, or because her lover is curious about it.
In this situation, when he has inserted his tool and supports her, she can make him lie under her
and continue intercourse without interrupting the fluids. This is one alternative. When action is
renewed, she may proceed in this manner from the very beginning. That is the other alternative.
With flowers in her scattered hair, her laugh interrupted by her groans, pressing her breasts
against his chest in order to get close to his face, dropping her head over and over again, she
should make the exact moves he showed her before. Laughing, scolding, and beating him, she
may say, “If I am thrown down, I’ll throw you down in return.” But then she may show shame,
exhaustion, and wish to stop. Thus she may approach him with male sexual techniques. We will
now explain these.
Sexual Techniques of a Man
The man should loosen the woman’s skirt while she is lying on the bed, her mind seemingly
distracted by his conversation. When she protests, he should excite her with kisses on her cheeks,
and his erect penis should touch her in various places.
If they are coming together for the first time, he should stroke her between her tightly closed
thighs. And if it is a young woman, he should, in the same manner, stroke her breasts that she
presses together, her hands, armpits, shoulders, and neck.
If she is like a wayward wife, he should stroke her according to her nature and the circumstances.
In order to kiss her, he should cup his fingers and forcefully catch hold of her hair and cheeks. In
this situation, she feels shame and closes her eyes if it is their first intercourse, or if she is a
young girl.
While they are making love, he should try hard to find out how to satisfy her.
39
Wherever she turns her eyes while she is being caressed with his tool inside her, in that direction
he should thrust. This is the secret of young women, according to Suvarnanabha.
The hallmarks of the female climax are the loosening of her limbs, the closing of her eyes, her
loss of shame, and intense sexual exertion. She shakes her hands, sweats, bites, does not allow
him to get up, kicks him with her foot, and when the lovemaking ends, she outdoes the man.
Before inserting his tool, he should massage her vagina with his hand, imitating an elephant’s
trunk until it is wet. Then he inserts his tool.
The man’s sexual techniques are the direct approach, churning, the dagger, grinding, pressing,
the wind blast, the boar’s thrust, the bull’s thrust, sparrow sport, and the dish.
The direct approach is the regular, straight union.
Churning is when he moves his penis in all directions with his hand.
When he lowers her hips and thrusts from above, it is called the dagger.
When he does the opposite, thrusting impetuously, it is called grinding.
When he forces his penis deeply into her and continues to press for a long time, it is called
pressing.
When he pulls out quite far and pushes his abdomen abruptly down, it is called the wind blast.
When he rubs her vagina many times on only one side, it is called the boar’s thrust.
This becomes the bull’s thrust when he alternates between sides.
When he has united with her once, and makes two, three, or four thrusts without pulling out, it is
called the sparrow sport.
The posture assumed when passion ceases, as previously explained, is called the dish.
The use of these postures is optional, determined by the woman’s inclination.
But when the woman imitates the man’s role, there are in addition the tongs, spinning top, and
swing.
When she receives his penis with the mare’s grip and draws at it or presses it for a long time, it is
called the tongs.
When his penis is inside her and she moves around like a wheel, it is called the spinning top.
This is learned by practice. Here the man must raise his abdomen.
When she lets her hips swing in all directions, it is called the swing.
40
With his tool still inside her, she may relax, resting her forehead against his. When she has
rested, the man moves on top of her again. Such are the imitations of the sexual role of a man.
And there are these verses about this.
Even if she hides her true feelings, even if she conceals her underlying intention, a
passionate woman certainly reveals her feelings when passion puts her on top.
A woman’s character—and how she longs for sexual satisfaction—all this is signaled by
her behavior.
One should not make a woman imitate the role of a man if she is menstruating, has recently
given birth, is a doe woman, is pregnant, or is very fat.
Thus ends the eighth chapter, Imitating the Sexual Role of a Man and Sexual Techniques of a
Man, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to sensual pleasure by the glorious
Vatsyayana.
41
Chapter Nine
Oral Sex
The third nature is of two kinds: the form of a woman and the form of a man. 1
A person with the form of a woman should imitate a woman’s dress, speech, charm, feelings,
delicacy, timidity, naivety, frailty, and modesty.
When the action of the sexual organ takes place in her mouth, it is called oral sex. She may get
psychological sexual satisfaction from this, as well as a livelihood. She may live like a prostitute.
So far the person with the form of a woman.
But if she has the form of a man, she may hide her desire, and wishing to get a man, work as a
masseuse.
During the massage, she should rub the lover’s thighs with her limbs as if she were embracing
him. With increasing intimacy, she may touch the place where his thighs meet and the sexual
organ.
If she sees that he gets an erection, she may rub it, churning it in her hand, and she may laugh
and pretend to rebuke him for getting so excited.
If one objects that she has not been encouraged by the man, in spite of the fact that he produces
this sign and is obviously aroused, then we reply that she should continue of her own accord. But
if the man prods her, she should protest and then reluctantly assent.
Here, there are eight different acts, which should be used one after the other: the measured way,
side pinch, outer tongs, inner tongs, kissing, polishing, mango sucking, and swallowing.
When she has performed each of these, she should indicate that she wants to stop. But when she
has performed the first of these acts, the lover should demand the next one after that, and when
that one is finished, the next one.
Clutching his penis with her hands and placing it between her lips, she should put it in her mouth
and move it back and forth. This is the measured way.
Covering his glans with her hand and, without biting, pressing her lips against its side, she may
soothe him by saying, “That’s enough!” That is the side pinch.
When she is encouraged, she should squeeze the glans with closed lips and kiss it as if she were
pulling it out. This is the outer tongs.
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Right here, if urged to do so, she should insert it further, then squeeze it with her lips and spit it
out. This is the inner tongs.
Grasping the penis in her hand as if using her lips is called kissing.
Having done that, touching it all over and hitting the tip with the tip of the tongue is called
polishing.
When it is like this, she should repeatedly press it, intensely and passionately, while it is halfway
into her mouth, then let go of it. This is called mango sucking.
When it is clearly the man’s intention, she should put it deep into her mouth and squeeze it until
he reaches climax. This is called swallowing.
When suitable, groaning and slapping may also be used here. Thus far oral sex. It is also
practiced by runaway wives, wayward wives, servant girls, and masseuses.
But this should not be done, because social convention is against it and because it is vulgar. For
if a man has contact with the mouths of these women again, he may incur injury to himself. This
according to the teachers.
This is not a sin for the lover of a prostitute. It should, however, be avoided for other reasons,
according to Vatsyayana.
Therefore, people in the East do not have intercourse with women who practice oral sex. Men
from Ahichatra do not have intercourse with prostitutes, but if they do, they avoid their mouth
work. Men from Saketa have such intercourse without worries. But elegant men do not
themselves practice oral sex. The men of Surasena do everything without hesitation.
For they say, “Who can trust a woman’s character, purity, good conduct, behavior, reliability, or
word? For by their very nature they have impure minds, yet they must not be avoided. Therefore,
their purity must be ascertained from the scriptural tradition itself.”
For they say, “A calf is unpolluted when the milk flows, a dog is pure when it catches a deer, a
bird when it loosens a fruit, the mouth of a woman during sexual intercourse.”
Because learned men hold different opinions and the scriptural tradition is ambiguous, one
should practice what is in accordance with local custom and one’s own nature and conviction,
according to Vatsyayana.
And there are these verses about this.
Even young servants, wearing polished earrings, perform oral sex on certain men.
In the same manner, some elegant men who wish each other well, perform this as a
mutual service when they have come to trust each other.
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Men also do this work, they say, on women. The method should be regarded as its transposition,
like kissing the mouth.
But when man and woman turn their bodies in opposite directions and make love to each other
simultaneously, this love is known as crow sex.
Therefore, rejecting virtuous, clever, and generous men, prostitutes are attracted to scoundrels,
servants, elephant drivers, and those sorts of people.
Nor should a wise Brahmin or a minister managing the king’s affairs, or even a man in whom
people have confidence, have oral sex performed on him.
A statement like, “There is textual authority for this,” should not justify a practice. One should
know that the subject matters of the texts are of a general character, whereas practices are limited
to a region.
For the taste, strength, and effect of even dog meat is known to medical science, but should
intelligent men eat it for that reason?
There really are some men, some places, and some times when these practices would not be
without their uses.
Therefore, one should practice or avoid the techniques while considering place, time, practice,
and indeed textual authority, as well as oneself.
Because this matter is secret, and because the mind is fickle, who can know who should do what
and when and why?
Thus ends the ninth chapter, Oral Sex, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to
sensual pleasure by the glorious Vatsyayana.
1
The form of a woman probably primarily refers to transsexuals and secondarily to transvestites. The form of a man
probably refers to homosexual or bisexual males dressing and behaving as men. Both kinds are referred to as “she.”
44
Chapter Ten
Sex: Beginning, Ending, Types, Quarrels
The Beginning and Conclusion of Sexual Intercourse
In his love chamber, his decorated bedroom replete with flowers and filled with the fragrance of
perfume and incense, the elegant man, together with his friends and servants, with soothing
words should offer the woman—already slightly drunk, bathed, and adorned—another drink.
He sits down on her right side, touching her coiffure, the hem of her garment, or her waistband.
He gently embraces her with his left arm to arouse her.
There follows jocular and affectionate conversation about past matters, mentioning briefly things
secret and obscene.
There is music, with dance or without dance, and discussions about the arts. Then she is enticed
with another drink.
When she starts to feel passionate, the rest of the people are sent away with a gift of flowers, oils,
and betel. When they are alone, he should arouse her with the embraces and so forth that have
been described. Then he should proceed to loosen her waistband, etc., as described.
This is the beginning of sexual intercourse.
When the passion is over at the end of intercourse, they go separately and with modesty to the
bathing place as if they don’t know each other. When they return, they sit in the usual place
without feeling ashamed and chew betel. He may rub clear sandalwood paste or some kind of oil
on her body.
Embracing her with his left arm, a cup in his hand, he should speak soothing words and make her
drink, or the two of them may enjoy a drink of water or some candied sugar and snacks, or
something else that suits their habits and dispositions, depending upon local custom: bouillon,
sour rice porridge, grilled meat dishes, drinks, mangoes, dried meat, and sweet-lime vinegar with
candied sugar. He should repeatedly take a bite of this or that, saying, “This is sweet, this is mild,
this is tender,” and offer it to her.
Or staying on the flat roof of the house, they sit to admire the moonlight. Here he may entertain
her with enjoyable tales. He points out a row of constellations to her while she watches, cuddling
in his lap. He shows her Alcor, the Pole Star, and the garland of the Seven Sages.
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That is the conclusion of sexual intercourse.
It is said about this.
Even at its conclusion, love, adorned by considerate acts, produces the greatest sensual pleasure
with confidential words and acts that inspire mutual love and reflect their feelings, now turning
away in anger, now in loving contemplation with songs accompanied by the Hallisa dance, with
dances from Lata, with eyes moist and passionately rolling, looking at the circle of the moon,
talking about the desires that arose when they first met, and the pain again at separation, about all
this, and at the end of the talk, with passionate embraces accompanied by kisses: touched by
these and other feelings, the passion of a young person increases.
Different Kinds of Sex
These are the different kinds of sexual unions: natural passion, excitable passion, artificial
passion, transferred passion, union with a menial, union with a rustic, and unrestrained union.
When passion grows in both of them after their first meeting and they meet only with great
effort, or after he returns from a journey, or they unite after separation due to a quarrel, that
union is called natural passion. Here the union develops according to their intentions until it
reaches its goal.
If the two of them start out with moderate passion, which then becomes more passionate, that is
excitable passion. Here one should proceed gradually, kindling passion using the sixty-four
sexual techniques in accordance with the nature of the persons involved.
When both unite for some other purpose, or are attached elsewhere, that is artificial passion.
Here one should consider all the sexual techniques according to this handbook in general.
The man may mentally concentrate upon another woman who is dear to his heart and transfer his
passion from the beginning of intercourse to its climax. This is transferred passion.
Intercourse with a common scullery maid or a servant girl until climax is called union with a
menial. Here one may dispense with polite behavior.
In the same manner, intercourse between a prostitute and a peasant until climax is called union
with a rustic.
The same goes for intercourse between an elegant man and women from a village, milkmaids,
and women from the border areas. When they have come to trust each other, mutual compliance
leads to unrestrained union.
So far the unions.
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The Lovers’ Quarrel
As the affection of the lady friend grows, she should not put up with a female rival’s name being
mentioned, or talk related to her, or any mistaken use of names, nor any foul play on the part of
the lover.
Here a terrible quarrel arises: she weeps, trembles, tosses her hair about, slaps him, falls from her
seat or bed onto the ground, strips off her garlands and jewelry, and throws herself to the floor.
In this situation, mollifying her by using suitably calming words with a tranquil mind, or by
kneeling down next to her, he should approach her and lift her onto the bed.
Talking back to him, grabbing his hair with increasing anger, pushing his face away, she should
kick him once, twice, or thrice on his arms, head, chest, or back. Then she should head for the
door. There she sits down with tears streaming.
But even if she is extremely angry, she should not go further than the door, because that would
have a detrimental effect, says Dattaka. Right there, being suitably won over, she should wish for
reconciliation. But although she has been reconciled, she should pummel him with seemingly
angry words, then, wishing sexual ecstasy from her reconciled lover, she should let him embrace
her.
If she lives in her own house, and she has started quarreling with him for some such reason, she
should approach her lover with the same sorts of gestures.
In this situation, when her anger has been calmed by the instructor, the party wit, and the jester,
who have been employed by the lover, and these have reconciled her, she should go with them to
his house, and there she should live.
So far the love quarrel.
And there are these verses about this.
Babhravya taught the sixty-four arts in this manner. The lover who practices them is
successful with the best women.
Even if he discusses disciplines other than the sixty-four arts, he does not receive much
praise in conversations where learned men are gathered.
Even if he has no other knowledge, he who is adorned with these arts meets with the
utmost approval in conversations when men and women meet.
Praised by men of learning, praised by the bands of courtesans, well praised even by
scoundrels, who would not praise this source of joy?
The teachers in their manuals call it, “a source of joy, good fortune, success, a bringer of
luck in love,” saying, “it is dear to women.”
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A man who is skilled in the sixty-four arts is regarded with affection and deep respect by young
women, other men’s wives, and courtesans.
Thus ends the tenth chapter, The Beginning and Conclusion of Sexual Intercourse, Different
Kinds of Sex, and The Lovers’ Quarrel, in the second part, Sexual Intercourse, in the guide to
sensual pleasure by the glorious Vatsyayana.