Kama Sutra Positions

    The Love Teachings of Kama Sutra
    By Vatasyayana

Source: "The Love Teachings of Kama Sutra"
(Translated by Indra Sinha)

    * Lying Down Positions:
    * Lying-down Positions - Samputa Group:
    * Positions From The Medieval Texts:
    * Sitting Positions:
    * Rear-Entry Positions:
    * Standing Positions:
    * Oral Pleasures -- Fellatio Techniques:
    * Oral Pleasures -- Cunnilingus Techniques:
    * Role Reversal:
    * Love Potions and Sex Aids
          o To Enslave a Lover:
          o To Increase Potency:
          o To Cope With Impotence:

Lying Down Positions:

    Indrani draws up both her knees
    until they nuzzle the curves of her breasts;
    her feet find her lover's armpits.
    Small girls love this posture,
    but becoming a goddess takes a lot of practice.

    She cups and lifts her buttocks with her palms,
    spreads wide her thighs,
    and digs in her heels besides her hips,
    while you caress her breasts:
    this is "Utphallaka" (The Flower in Bloom).

    Grasping the ankles
    of the round hipped woman, whose buttocks
    are like two ripe gourds,
    raise her beautiful thighs
    and spread the thigh-joints widely.

    Full of desire, saying sweet words,
    approach her with your body stiff as a pole
    and drive straight forward
    to pierce her lotus and join your limbs:
    experts call it "Madandhvaja" (The Flag of Cupid).

    Catch hold of her two feet,
    raising them till they press upon her breasts
    and her legs form a rough circle.
    Clasp her neck and make love to her:
    this is "Ratisundara" (Aphrodite's Delight).

    Lift the lady's feet until her soles
    lie perfectly parallel,
    one to each side of her slender throat,
    cup her breasts and enjoy her:
    this technique is "Uthkanta" (Throat-high).

    Your lovely wife, lying on the bed,
    grasps her own feet
    and draws them up until they reach her hair;
    you catch her breasts and make love:
    this is "Vyomapada" (Sky-foot).

    The round-thighed woman on the bed
    grasps her ankles and raises high her lotus feet;
    you strike her to the root, kissing
    and slapping open-palmed between her breasts:
    this is "Markata" (The Monkey).

    She lies flat on her back,
    you sit between her parted knees, raise them,
    hook her feet over your thighs,
    catch hold of her breasts, and enjoy her:
    this is "Manmathpriya" (Dear to Cupid).

Lying-down Positions - Samputa Group:

    If your penis is too small for a woman,
    the "Samputa" group of postures should be used:
    "Samputa" (the Jewel Case),
    "Pidita" (the Squeeze), "Veshtita (the Entwined)
    and "Vadavaka" (the Mare's Trick).

    In Samputa your legs lie along hers
    caressing their whole length from toes to thighs.
    Your lover may be below you,
    or you may both lie on your sides,
    in which case she should always be on your left.

    In Pidita the lovers' thighs
    are interlaced and squeeze each other in rhythm.
    In Veshtita she crosses her thighs
    or rolls each one inward,
    thus greatly strengthening her yoni's grip.

    When, like a mare cruelly gripping
    a stallion, your lover
    traps and milks your penis with her vagina,
    it is "Vadavaka" (the Mare's Trick),
    which can only be perfected with long practice.

    When she uses it, a woman
    should cease to kiss her lover
    and simply hold the lock.
    Courtesans are adept at Vadavaka,
    and it's a speciality with ladies from Andhra(*).

    *The South-Eastern state of India.

Positions From The Medieval Texts:

    When lovers, with legs stretched rigid
    and feet caressing feet,
    make love according to their hearts' desire,
    "tantra" scholars call it "Sampada" (Equal Feet)
    and agree it is a way to ecstasy.

    Stiff as a pole in the bed's center,
    she lies making love,
    cooing and warbling like a woodpigeon,
    the jewel of her clitoris well-polished:
    this is Mausala" (the Pestle).

    When she lies on her back
    with her two thighs pressed tightly together
    and you make love to her,
    keeping your thighs outside hers,
    it is "Gramya" (the Rustic).

    If, encircling and trapping
    her thighs with yours,
    you grip so hard that she cries out in pain,
    it is "Ratipasha" (Love's Noose),
    a device most charming to the ladies.

    Her limbs, entwined in yours
    like tendrils of fragrant jasmine creeper,
    draw taut and slowly relax
    in the gentle rhythm of linga and yoni:
    this is "Lataveshta" (the Clinging Creeper).

    She draws her limbs together,
    clasping her knees tightly to her breasts,
    her yoni, like an opening bud,
    offered up for pleasure:
    this is known as "Mukula" (the Bud).

    When she draws up her knees
    and you clamp yours about her raised thighs,
    trapping them in a tight knot
    while riding saddle upon her buttocks
    and kissing her, it is "Shankha" (the Couch).

Sitting Positions:

    Seated, mouth to mouth,
    arms against arms, thighs against thighs:
    this is "Kaurma" The Tortoise).
    If the lovers' thighs, still joined, are raised,
    it is "Paravartita" (Turning).

    If within the cave of her thighs
    you sit rotating your hips like a black bee,
    it is "Markata" (The Monkey).
    And if, in this pose, you turn away from her,
    it is "Marditaka" (Crushing Spices).

    She sits with raised thighs,
    her feet placed either side of your waist;
    "linga" (penis) enters "yoni" (vagina);
    you rain hard blows upon her body:
    this is "Kshudgaga" (Striking).

    When your wife sits
    with both knees drawn tight to her body
    and you mirror this posture,
    it is known to experts in the art of love
    as "Yugmapada" (The Foot Yoke).

    Seated erect, the lovely girl
    folds one leg to her body
    and stretches the other along the bed,
    while you mirror her actions:
    this is "Yugmapada" (The Feet Yoke).

    If, with left leg extended,
    she encircles your waist with her right leg,
    laying its ankle across her left thigh,
    and you do the same,
    it is "Svastika" (The Swastika)*.

    *An ancient good-luck talisman based on the symbolism of a
    cross whirling sun-wise. The Nazis used it the wrong way
    round, whirling widdershins, and the Indian pundits
    always said this was sacrilegious and would doom them.

    Sitting face to face in bed,
    her breasts pressed tight against your chest,
    let each of you lock heels
    behind the other's waist,
    and lean back clasping one another's wrists.

    Now, set the swing gently in motion,
    your beloved, in pretended fear,
    clinging to your body with her flawless limbs,
    cooing and moaning with pleasure:
    this is "Dolita" (The Swing).

    If, seated face to face,
    your toes caress the lovely woman's nipples,
    her feet press your chest
    and you make love holding each other's hands
    it is "Kaurma" (The Tortoise).

    Seated, the lady raises
    one foot to point vertically over her head
    and steadies it with her hands,
    offering up her "yoni" for lovemaking:
    this is "Mayura" (the Peacock).

    If, sitting facing her,
    you grasp her ankles and fasten them like a chain
    behind your neck, and she
    grips her toes as you make love,
    it is the delightful "Padma" (the Lotus).

    Sitting erect, grip your lover's waist
    and pull her on to you,
    your loins continuously leaping together
    with a sound like the flapping of elephants' ears:
    this is "Kirtibandha" (the Knot of Fame).

    Kneeling between her thighs,
    tickle her breasts and under her arms,
    call her 'my lovely darling'
    and print deep nailmarks around her nipples:
    thus "Jaya" (Victory) is expounded.

Rear-Entry Positions:

    She bends well forward and grips
    the bedstead, her buttocks raised high;
    cup your hands to serpents' hoods
    and squeeze her jar-shaped (sic) breasts together:
    this is "Dhenuka" (the Milch Cow).

    If you mount her like a dog,
    gripping her waist,
    and she twists round to gaze into your face,
    experts in the art of love say
    it is "Svanaka" (the Dog).

    If the lady, eager for love,
    goes on all fours, humping her back like a doe,
    and you enjoy her from behind,
    rutting as though you'd lost all human nature,
    it is "Hirana" (the Deer).

    When, with lotus-feet
    set well-apart on the ground, she bends,
    placing a hand upon each thigh,
    and you take her from the rear,
    it is "Gardabha" (the Ass).

    If she lies on her stomach
    and you seize her ankles in one hand,
    lift them high and make love,
    tilting her chin back with your other hand,
    it is "Marjara" (the Cat).

    She lies on her front,
    grasping her ankles in her own hands
    and pulling them up behind her:
    this difficult posture is known to experts
    as "Mallaka" (the Wrestler).

    When your mistress lays
    breasts, arms and forehead to the carpet,
    raising her buttocks high,
    and you guide your penis into her yoni,
    it is "Aibha" (the Elephant).

    You lift her ankles high;
    she draws up
    and extends her legs as though she were
    crawling through the air:
    this is "Hastika" (the Elephant).

    She stands on palms and feet;
    you stand behind her
    and lift one of her feet to your shoulder,
    enjoying the lovely girl:
    this is "Traivikrama" (the Stride).

    Seize her feet and lift them high
    (like a wheel barrow),
    drive your penis into her yoni
    and pleasure her with vigorous strokes:
    this is "Kulisha" (the Thunderbolt).

    You kneel, as in archery,
    take her on your lap
    and bend her forward till her breasts
    are pressed to her thighs:
    this is "Ekabandha" (One Knot).

    Lying on her side, facing away,
    the fawn-eyed girl
    offers you her buttocks
    and your penis penetrates the house of love:
    this is "Nagabandha" (the Elephant).

Standing Positions:

    And now for the love postures
    with which sculptors adorn our temple walls.
    When a couple make love standing,
    or leaning against a wall or a pillar,
    it is called "Sthita" (Steadied).

    When the woman sits in her lover's
    cradled hands, her arms around his neck,
    thighs gripping his waist,
    her feet pushing back and forth against a wall,
    it is "Avalambitaka" (Suspended).

    When, catching and crushing your lover
    in the cage of your arms,
    you force her knees apart with yours
    and sink slowly into her,
    it is "Dadhyayataka" (Churning Curds).

    When she leans against a wall,
    planting her feet as widely apart as possible,
    and you enter the cave
    between her thighs, eager for lovemaking,
    it is "Sammukha" (Face-to-face).

    If, as you lean against the wall,
    your lady twines her thighs around yours,
    locks her feet to your knees,
    and clasps your neck, making love
    very passionately, it is "Dola" (the Swing).

    When your lover draws up one leg,
    allowing the heel
    to nestle just behind your knee,
    and you make love, embracing her forcefully,
    it is "Traivikrama" (the Stride).

    If you catch one of her knees
    firmly in your hand
    and stand making love with her
    while her hands explore and caress your body,
    it is "Tripadam" (the Tripod).

    If she raises one leg
    and you catch hold of her little foot,
    caressing her breasts
    and telling her how much you love her,
    it is "Ekapada" (One Foot).

    Her foot pressed to your heart,
    your arms encircling and supporting her,
    lean back against the wall
    and enjoy the lovely girl:
    this is "Veshta" (the Encircling).

    She stands against the wall,
    lotus-hands on hips,
    long, lovely fingers reaching to her navel.
    Cup her foot in your palm
    and let your free hand caress your angel's limbs.

    Put your arm around her neck
    and enjoy her as she leans there at her ease.
    Vatsyayana (the author) answer others
    who knew the art of love in its great days
    called this posture "Tala" (the Palm).

    If you lean back to a wall
    and your lover, clinging to your neck,
    places both her feet
    in your palms and thus makes love,
    this is "Dvitala" (Two Palms).

    If you lift your lover
    by passing your elbows under her knees
    and gripping her buttocks
    while she hangs fearfully from your neck,
    it is "Janukurpara" (the Knee Elbow).

    Your wife grips your neck
    and locks her legs around your waist:
    this is "Kirti" (Fame) - a posture
    not described in "Kama Sutra" or "Ratirahasya".
    Never try it with heavy girls.

Oral Pleasures -- Fellatio Techniques:


    When your lover catches your penis
    in her hand and, shaping
    her lips to an 'O', lays them lightly to its tip,
    moving her head in tiny circles,
    this first step is called "Nimitta" (Touching).

    Next, grasping its head in her hand,
    she clamps her lips tightly about the shaft,
    first on one side then the other,
    taking great care that her teeth don't hurt you:
    this is "Parshvatoddashta" (Biting at the Sides).

    Now she takes the head of your penis
    gently between her lips,
    by turns pressing, kissing it tenderly
    and pulling at its soft skin:
    this is "Bahiha-samdansha" (the Outer Pincers).

    If next she allows the head to slide
    completely into her mouth
    and presses the shaft firmly between her lips,
    holding a moment before pulling away,
    it is "Antaha-samdansha" (the Inner Pincers).

    When, taking your penis in her hand
    and making her lips very round,
    she presses fierce kisses along its whole length,
    sucking as she would at your lower lip,
    it is called "Chumbitaka" (Kissing).

    If, while kissing, she lets her tongue
    flick all over your penis
    and then, pointing it, strikes repeatedly
    at the sensitive glans-tip,
    it becomes "Parimrshtaka" (Striking at the Tip).

    And now, fired by passion, she takes
    your penis deep into her mouth,
    pulling upon it and sucking as vigorously
    as though she were stripping clean a mango-stone:
    this is "Amrachushita" (Sucking a Mango).

    When she senses that your orgasm
    is imminent she swallows up the whole penis,
    sucking and working upon it
    with lips and tongue until you spend:
    this is "Sangara" (Swallowed Whole).

Oral Pleasures -- Cunnilingus Techniques:

    With delicate fingertips,
    pinch the arched lips of her house of love
    very very slowly together,
    and kiss them as though you kissed her lower lip:
    this is "Adhara-sphuritam" (the Quivering Kiss).

    Now spread, indeed cleave asunder,
    that archway with your nose and let your tongue
    gently probe her "yoni" (vagina),
    with your nose, lips and chin slowly circling:
    it becomes "Jihva-bhramanaka" (the Circling Tongue).

    Let your tongue rest for a moment
    in the archway to the flower-bowed Lord's temple
    before entering to worship vigorously,
    causing her seed to flow:
    this is "Jihva-mardita" (the Tongue Massage).

    Next, fasten your lips to hers
    and take deep kisses
    from this lovely one, your beloved,
    nibbling at her and sucking hard at her clitoris:
    this is called "Chushita" (Sucked).

    Cup, lift her young buttocks,
    let your tongue-tip probe her navel, slither down
    to rotate skilfully in the archway
    of the love-god's dwelling and lap her love-water:
    this is "Uchchushita" (Sucked Up).

    Stirring the root of her thighs,
    which her own hands
    are gripping and holding widely apart,
    your fluted tongue drinks at her sacred spring:
    this is "Kshobhaka" (Stirring).

    Place your darling on a couch,
    set her feet to your shoulders, clasp her waist,
    suck hard and let your tongue stir
    her overflowing love-temple:
    this is called "Bahuchushita" (Sucked Hard).

    If the pair of you lie side by side,
    facing opposite ways,
    and kiss each other's secret parts
    using the fifteen techniques described above,
    it is known as "Kakila" (the Crow).

Role Reversal:

    During lovemaking, ten types of blows
    may be struck with the penis,
    but of these only "Upasripta" (Natural),
    which is instinctive even to untutored cowherds,
    results in full clitoral stimulation.

    It is a gentle forward stroke
    which may be varied for depth and speed,
    allowing a subtlety, rhythm
    and spontaneity which
    the other nine each lack to some degree.

    If you grasp your penis and move it
    in circles inside her yoni,
    it is "Manthana" (Churning).
    When you strike sharply down into the yoni,
    it is "Hula" (the Double-edged Knife).

    If, when her hips are raised by a pillow,
    you strike a rising blow,
    it is "Avamardana" (Rubbing).
    If you hold your penis pressed breathlessly
    to her womb it is "Piditaka" (Pressing).

    If you withdraw completely
    and then strike her violently to the womb,
    it is "Nirghata" (the Buffet).
    Continuous pressure on one side of her yoni
    is "Varahaghata" (the Boar's Blow).

    If you thrust wildly in every direction,
    like a bull tossing its horns,
    it is "Vrishaghata" (the Bull's Blow).
    Quivering in her yoni is "Chatakavilasa" (Sparrow Sport),
    which usually heralds orgasm.

    The involuntary shuddering of orgasm
    is called "Samputa" (the Jewel Case).
    But no two women make love quite the same way,
    so orchestrate your rhythms
    to the moods and colors of each lover's "raga" (emotions).

    If long lovemaking exhausts you
    before your lover has reached her orgasm,
    you should allow her
    to roll you over your back
    and sit astride you, taking initiative.

    If the posture gives her deep pleasure,
    or you enjoy its novelty,
    she may transpose into it as a matter of course,
    taking great care, however,
    not to expel the linga from the temple of love.

    Consider: she climbs upon you,
    the flowers dropping from her tousled hair,
    her giggles turning to gasps;
    every time she bends to kiss your lips
    her nipples pierce your chest.

    As her hips begin to churn,
    her head, flung back, bobs ever faster;
    she scratches, pummels you with small fists,
    fastens her teeth in your neck,
    doing unto you what you've often done unto her.

    When she takes the man's role,
    your lady has the choice
    of three famous lovemaking techniques:
    "Samdamsha (the Tongs),
    "Bhramara" (the Bee) and "Prenkholita" (the Swing).

    If she uses the Mare's Trick,
    gripping your penis with her yoni's vice,
    squeezing and stroking it,
    holding it inside her for a hundred heart-beats,
    it is known as "Samdamsha" (the Tongs).

    If, drawing up her feet,
    she revolves her hips so that your penis
    circles deep within her yoni,
    you arching your body to help her,
    it is "Bhramara" (the Bee).

    If she now swings her hips
    in wide circles and makes figures-of-eight,
    swaying upon your body
    as though she were riding on a seesaw,
    it is "Prenkholita" (the Swing).

    When her passion has ebbed,
    she should rest, bending forward to lay
    her forehead upon yours
    without disturbing your yoked bodies:
    it won't be long before desire stirs again.

    Catching your penis, the lady
    with dark eyes like upturned lotus petals
    guides it into her yoni,
    clings to you and shakes her buttocks:
    this is "Charunarikshita" (Lovely Lady in Control).

    Enthroned on your penis,
    she places both hands on the bed
    and makes love, while you
    press your two hands to her thudding heart:
    this is "Lilasana" (Seat of Sport).

    She sits upright upon you,
    her head thrown back like a rearing mare,
    bringing her feet together
    on the bed to one side of your body:
    this is "Hansabandha" (the Swan).

    The young woman has one foot
    on your heart and the other on the bed.
    Bold, saucy women adore this posture,
    which is known to the world
    as "Upavitika" (the Sacred thread).

    If, with one of her feet
    clasped in your hand
    and the second placed upon your shoulder,
    your young lady enjoys you,
    it is "Viparitaka" (Reversed).

    If your lover, seated above you
    with feet lotus-crossed
    and her body held erect and still
    makes love to you,
    it is known as "Yugmapada" (the Foot Yoke).

    If she strides you,
    facing your feet,
    brings both her feet up to your thighs,
    and works her hips frantically,
    it is known as "Hansa-lila" (Swan Sport).

    Your lover places one foot
    on your ankle, lodges
    her other foot just above your knee,
    and rides you, swinging and rotating her hips:
    this is "Garuda" (Garuda).

    If you lie flat on your back
    with legs stretched out
    and your lover sits astride you, facing away
    and grasping your feet,
    it is called "Virsha" (the Bull).

    Clasping each other's hands,
    you lie sprawled like two starfish making love,
    her breasts stabbing your chest,
    her thighs stretched out along yours:
    this is "Devabandha" (the Coitus of the Gods).

    Lying upon you, your beloved
    moves round like a wheel,
    pressing hands one after the other on the bed,
    kissing your body as she circles:
    experts call this "Chakrabandha" (the Wheel).

    If, by means of some contraption,
    your lover suspends herself above you,
    places your linga in her yoni
    and pulleys herself up and down upon it,
    it is "Utkalita" (the Orissan).

Love Potions and Sex Aids
To Enslave a Lover:

    Anoint your penis, before lovemaking,
    with honey into which
    you have powdered black pepper,
    long pepper and "datura" (the green thorn apple) -
    it will utterly devastate your lady.

    Leaves caught as they fall from trees
    and powdered with peacock-bone
    and fragments of a corpse's winding-sheet
    will, when dusted lightly
    on the penis, bewitch any woman living.

    If you crush milky chunks of cactus
    with sulphur and realgar,
    dry the mixture seven times, powder it
    and apply it to your penis,
    you'll satisfy the most demanding lover.

    And if, to these powerful ingredients,
    you add a monkey's turd,
    grind them together and sprinkle the powder
    on your unsuspecting lover's head,
    she will be your devoted slave for life.

To Increase Potency:

    Honey-sweetened milk in which
    the testicles of a ram
    or a goat have been simmered
    has the effect, when drunk,
    of making a man as powerful as a bull.

    Pumkin seeds ground with almonds
    and sugarcane root,
    or with cowhage root and strips of bamboo,
    and stirred into honeyed milk,
    have the same arousing effect.

    The sages say that wheat-flour cakes
    baked with honey and sugar
    and sprinkled with the powdered seeds
    of pumpkin and cowhage
    give one strength for a thousand women.

    The yolk of a single sparrow's egg
    stirred into rice pudding
    that has been thickened with cream,
    wild-honey and "ghee" (clarified butter)
    has the same invigorating effect.

To Cope With Impotence:

    A man who climaxes too swiftly
    should arouse his lady
    by caressing her clitoris with his fingers
    and flooding the well
    of her yoni before he enters her.

    If, during lovemaking, the erection
    cannot be sustained because
    the man is old, or simply exhausted
    he should use the delicate
    oral techniques given in an earlier chapter.

    The man who is utterly unable
    to achieve an erection
    should pleasure his wife/lover with a phallus
    crafted from materials like
    gold, silver, copper, iron (!!), ivory or horn.

    The artificial phallus should be shaped
    to your natural proportions.
    It will be more arousing for the lady
    if the outside is studded
    with a profusion of large, smooth nodules.