Originally the Kama Sutra was meant to educate the people on the true essentials of balancing and preserving the Dharma (religious merit, virtue), Artha (worldly Wealth) and Kama (pleasure, love, sensual gratification). The only focus modern society places on now is the last of these three essentials. The Kama Sutra is in fact a distilled compilation of thirteen different books each written by a different person.

This is a beautifully illustrated edition of the kama sutra which takes on subjects that could be sensitive and presents them with prose in a truly poetic way. Although there are graphic illustrations, to those with a sense of sexual sophistication, they are still tasteful.

There are segments dedicated to biting, kissing and scratching. Couples are encouraged to express their pleasure, indulged in foreplay, use sex toys and role play during their sexual encounters. The thing that is surprisingly discouraged is oral sex.

There is a segment dedicated to romance and marriage. A tad nauseating is the list of what is expected of a bride to and not to do, a part which will have feminists protesting with indignation. If for example a husband is not pleased with his wife, it is her duty to encourage him to find another wife, a younger wife. Ten days must go by before a groom can initiate sex, however they are provided with instruction on seducing a woman prior to marriage.

There are segments that provide specifications on how to be a womanizer as well as how to be a courtesan. Tips on concocting disgusting aphrodisiacs are also provided such as the intake of milk that has been boiled with a goats or rams testicles and had sugar added to increase the sexual stamina. That being said, the brutish descriptions on how the orifice of the phallus or the phallus itself can be enlarged may cause female readers to cheer.

Some riveting insights into sexual practices are offered by the Kama Sutra, mainly that sex goes beyond being a bodily function. It makes for an interesting read, however this book was originally written somewhere between the first and sixth centuries A.D. is not recommended for those who are sexually squeamish or those who find the suggestion of subjugation of women to be morally offensive.