Editing Kama Sutra (section)

== Background ==
===Purusharthas===
{{Main|Purusharthas}}
The Hindu tradition has the concept of the ''[[Purusharthas]]'' which outlines "four main goals of life".<ref>Hopkins, p. 78.</ref><ref>Flood (1996), p. 17.</ref> It holds that every human being has four proper goals that are necessary and sufficient for a fulfilling and happy life:<ref>[a] A. Sharma (1982), The Puruṣārthas: a study in Hindu axiology, Michigan State University, {{ISBN|978-99936-24-31-8}}, pp 9–12; See review by Frank Whaling in Numen, Vol. 31, 1 (Jul., 1984), pp. 140–142;<br>[b] A. Sharma (1999), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 The Puruṣārthas: An Axiological Exploration of Hinduism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174154/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 |date=29 December 2020 }}, The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Summer, 1999), pp. 223–256;<br>[c] Chris Bartley (2001), Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy, Editor: Oliver Learman, {{ISBN|0-415-17281-0}}, Routledge, Article on Purushartha, pp 443</ref>
*[[Dharma]] – signifies behaviors that are considered to be in accord with ''[[rta]]'', the order that makes life and universe possible,<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dharma.aspx#1 The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, ''Dharma''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926234045/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dharma.aspx#1 |date=26 September 2016 }}, The [[Oxford Dictionary of World Religions]]: "In Hinduism, dharma is a fundamental concept, referring to the order and custom which make life and a universe possible, and thus to the behaviours appropriate to the maintenance of that order."</ref> and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and ''right way of living''.<ref name=tce>Dharma, The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed. (2013), Columbia University Press, Gale, {{ISBN|978-0-7876-5015-5}}</ref> Hindu dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.<ref name=tce/> Dharma, according to Van Buitenen,<ref name=vanbuitenen>J. A. B. Van Buitenen, Dharma and Moksa, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. - Jul., 1957), pp 33–40</ref> is that which all existing beings must accept and respect to sustain harmony and order in the world. It is, states Van Buitenen, the pursuit and execution of one's nature and true calling, thus playing one's role in cosmic concert.<ref name=vanbuitenen/>
*[[Artha]] – signifies the "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in.<ref name=johnk>John Koller, Puruṣārtha as Human Aims, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct., 1968), pp. 315–319</ref> ''Artha'' incorporates wealth, career, activity to make a living, financial security and economic prosperity. The proper pursuit of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.<ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, pp 55–56</ref><ref name=bruces>Bruce Sullivan (1997), Historical Dictionary of Hinduism, {{ISBN|978-0-8108-3327-2}}, pp 29–30</ref>
*[[Kama]] – signifies desire, wish, passion, emotions, pleasure of the senses, the [[aesthetic]] enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Macy |first1=Joanna |year=1975 |title=The Dialectics of Desire |journal=Numen |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=145–60 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/156852775X00095 |jstor=3269765}}</ref> [[Gavin Flood]] explains<ref name=gavinf>Gavin Flood (1996), The meaning and context of the Purusarthas, in Julius Lipner (Editor) - The Fruits of Our Desiring, {{ISBN|978-1-896209-30-2}}, pp 11–13</ref> kāma as "love" without violating dharma (moral responsibility), artha (material prosperity) and one's journey towards moksha (spiritual liberation).
*[[Moksha]] – signifies emancipation, liberation or release.<ref>John Bowker, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-213965-8}}, pp. 650</ref> In some schools of Hinduism, ''moksha'' connotes freedom from ''[[saṃsāra]]'', the cycle of death and rebirth, in other schools moksha connotes freedom, self-knowledge, self-realization and liberation in this life.<ref>See:
* E. Deutsch, The self in Advaita Vedanta, in Roy Perrett (Editor), Indian philosophy: metaphysics, Volume 3, {{ISBN|0-8153-3608-X}}, Taylor and Francis, pp 343–360;
* T. Chatterjee (2003), Knowledge and Freedom in Indian Philosophy, {{ISBN|978-0-7391-0692-1}}, pp 89–102; Quote - "Moksa means freedom"; "Moksa is founded on atmajnana, which is the knowledge of the self."</ref><ref>See:
* Jorge Ferrer, Transpersonal knowledge, in Transpersonal Knowing: Exploring the Horizon of Consciousness (editors: Hart et al.), {{ISBN|978-0-7914-4615-7}}, State University of New York Press, Chapter 10
* Andrew Fort and Patricia Mumme (1996), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2706-4}};
</ref>

Each of these pursuits became a subject of study and led to prolific Sanskrit and some Prakrit languages literature in ancient India. Along with [[Dharmaśāstra|Dharmasastras]], [[Arthashastra|Arthasastras]] and Mokshasastras, the Kamasastras genre have been preserved in palm leaf manuscripts. The ''Kamasutra'' belongs to the Kamasastra genre of texts. Other examples of Hindu Sanskrit texts on sexuality and emotions include the ''[[Ratirahasya]]'' (called ''Kokashastra'' in some Indian scripts), the ''[[Anangaranga]]'', the ''Nagarasarvasva'', the ''Kandarpachudmani'', and the ''Panchasayaka''.{{sfn|Wendy Doniger|Sudhir Kakar|2002|pp=xii-xiii}}<ref>[a] {{cite journal|title= Rethinking the History of the "Kāma" World in Early India| author= Daud Ali| journal= Journal of Indian Philosophy| volume= 39| number= 1|year= 2011| pages= 1–13| jstor=23884104| doi=10.1007/s10781-010-9115-7| doi-access= free}};<br>[b] {{cite journal| title= Padmaśrī's "Nāgarasarvasva" and the World of Medieval Kāmaśāstra|author= Daud Ali| journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy| volume= 39| number= 1| year= 2011| pages= 41–62| jstor= 23884106| doi=10.1007/s10781-010-9116-6|s2cid= 170779101}}</ref><ref name=desmond2011p15>{{cite journal| title= The Pleasure is Mine: The Changing Subject of Erotic Science|author=Laura Desmond| journal= Journal of Indian Philosophy| volume= 39|number= 1| year= 2011| pages= 15–39|publisher= Springer| jstor= 23884105| doi=10.1007/s10781-010-9117-5|s2cid=170502725}}</ref>

The defining object of the Indian Kamasastra literature, according to Laura Desmond – an anthropologist and a professor of Religious Studies, is the "harmonious sensory experience" from a good relationship between "the self and the world", by discovering and enhancing sensory capabilities to "affect and be affected by the world".<ref name=desmond2011p15/> Vatsyayana predominantly discusses Kama along with its relationship with Dharma and Artha. He makes a passing mention of Moksha in some verses.{{sfn|Wendy Doniger|Sudhir Kakar |2002 |pp=xi-xvi}}

===Vedic heritage===
The earliest foundations of the ''kamasutra'' are found in the [[Vedic era]] literature of Hinduism.{{sfn|Wendy Doniger|Sudhir Kakar |2002 |pp=xiv with footnote 8}}<ref name="De1969p89"/> Vatsyayana acknowledges this heritage in verse 1.1.9 of the text where he names Svetaketu Uddalaka as the "first human author of the ''kamasutra''". Uddalaka is an early Upanishadic [[rishi]] (scholar-poet, sage), whose ideas are found in the ''[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]'' such as in section 6.2, and the ''[[Chandogya Upanishad]]'' such as over the verses 5.3 through 5.10.{{sfn|Wendy Doniger|Sudhir Kakar |2002 |pp=xiv with footnote 8}} These Hindu scriptures are variously dated between 900 BCE and 700 BCE, according to the Indologist and Sanskrit scholar Patrick Olivelle. Among with other ideas such as [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (self, soul) and the ontological concept of [[Brahman]], these early Upanishads discuss human life, activities and the nature of existence as a form of internalized worship, where sexuality and sex is mapped into a form of religious ''[[yajna]]'' ritual (sacrificial fire, [[Agni]]) and suffused in spiritual terms:{{sfn|Wendy Doniger|Sudhir Kakar |2002 |pp=xiv with footnote 8}}

<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
<poem>
A fire – that is what a woman is, Gautama.
Her firewood is the vulva,
her smoke is the pubic hair,
her flame is the vagina,
when one penetrates her, that is her embers,
and her sparks are the climax.
In that very fire the gods offer semen,
and from that offering springs a man.
</poem>
– ''[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]'' 6.2.13, {{Circa|700 BCE}}, Trans.: [[Patrick Olivelle]]<ref>{{cite book|title= The Early Upanishads | year=1998| publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 0-19-512435-9 | page=149, context: pp. 143–149}}</ref><ref>योषा वा आग्निर् गौतम । तस्या उपस्थ एव समिल् लोमानि धूमो योनिरर्चिर् यदन्तः करोति तेऽङ्गारा अभिनन्दा विस्फुलिङ्गास् तस्मिन्नेतस्मिन्नग्नौ देवा रेतो जुह्वति तस्या आहुत्यै पुरुषः सम्भवति । स जीवति यावज्जीवत्य् अथ यदा म्रियते ।१३, – 6.2.13, For the context and other verses: [https://sa.wikisource.org/s/x59 Wikisource] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125030003/https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A3%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%95_%E0%A4%89%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D_6p |date=25 January 2022 }}</ref></blockquote>

According to the Indologist De, a view with which Doniger agrees, this is one of the many evidences that the ''kamasutra'' began in the religious literature of the Vedic era, ideas that were ultimately refined and distilled into a ''sutra''-genre text by Vatsyayana.<ref name="De1969p89">{{cite book|author=Sushil Kumar De|title=Ancient Indian Erotics and Erotic Literature|url= https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.71326|year= 1969|publisher= K.L. Mukhopadhyay|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.71326/page/n120 89]–92}}</ref> According to Doniger, this paradigm of celebrating pleasures, enjoyment and sexuality as a ''dharmic'' act began in the "earthy, vibrant text known as the ''[[Rigveda]]''" of the Hindus.{{sfn|Wendy Doniger|Sudhir Kakar |2002 |pp=xiii}} The ''Kamasutra'' and celebration of sex, eroticism and pleasure is an integral part of the religious milieu in Hinduism and quite prevalent in its temples.<ref>{{cite journal| title= The Erotic Sculptures of India| author= Y. Krishan| journal= Artibus Asiae| volume= 34| number= 4| year= 1972|pages = 331–343| doi= 10.2307/3249625| jstor= 3249625}}</ref>{{sfn|Wendy Doniger|Sudhir Kakar |2002 |pp=xi-xvii}}

===Epics===
Human relationships, sex and emotional fulfillment are a significant part of the post-Vedic Sanskrit literature such as the major Hindu epics: the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayana''. The ancient Indian view has been, states Johann Meyer, that love and sex are a delightful necessity. Though she is reserved and selective, "a woman stands in very great need of ''surata'' (amorous or sexual pleasure)", and "the woman has a far stronger erotic disposition, her delight in the sexual act is greater than a man's".<ref name="Meyer1953p229">{{cite book|author=Johann Jakob Meyer|title=Sexual Life in Ancient India: A Study in the Comparative History of Indian Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izFNswlJ9LMC|year=1989|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Orig: 1953)|isbn=978-81-208-0638-2|pages=229–230, 240–244, context: 229–257 with footnotes|access-date=22 November 2018|archive-date=7 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207014949/https://books.google.com/books?id=izFNswlJ9LMC|url-status=live}}</ref>