The Kama Sutra Explained – 97 Positions

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Use the arrows above to quickly find new Kama Sutra positions.

If you assumed people only started writing about sex once the Internet came along (sites like this one included!), think again! The Kama Sutra, occasionally called the Karma Sutra in casual conversation, is a collection of Hindu texts roughly 1,800 to 2,400 years old. Hindus regarded it as an essential guide to understanding loving relationships and sex.

Penned by a Hindu philosopher, the Kama Sutra has since been rendered into English and countless other languages. In 1883, Sir Richard Francis Burton and a group of collaborators tackled the translation. The undertaking wasn't easy, and the team had to source copies from multiple libraries before finishing. What emerged in English was a composite drawn from four separate manuscripts of the text.

Since then, countless people have turned to the Kama Sutra to learn about love and sex. Yet it's become something of a legend that gets talked about far more than it's actually understood. For one, the Kama Sutra isn't simply tantric sex. Both practices trace back to ancient India and Hinduism, but Tantra draws on its own sacred texts and distinct rituals separate from the Kama Sutra.

Likewise, the Kama Sutra isn't purely a sex-position manual, contrary to what many Westerners assume. The original text, authored by the philosopher Vātsyāyana, covers all manner of human desire, not just the sexual kind. That material makes up only about 20% of the book, which otherwise guides readers on finding and maintaining love, along with recognizing when love is healthy or unhealthy.

Beyond that, the Kama Sutra offers guidance on living virtuously across every part of life, including family and other relationships. Sexuality obviously fits into that latter category, and it's the reason most modern readers pick up the book in the first place.

What's Inside the Kama Sutra

The Kama Sutra is organized into seven sections, each broken into multiple chapters.

• Introduction: Five chapters covering the preface, the three worldly pursuits (Virtue, Wealth, and Love), and how a gentleman should conduct himself.
• Sexual Union: This is the section most people picture when they think of the Kama Sutra. Vātsyāyana explores sexual chemistry and attraction in one chapter. Nine additional chapters cover types of embraces, kissing, nail-marking, biting or giving a hickey, sex positions, slapping, women taking the lead during sex, oral sex, and how to open and close a lovemaking session. This section even touches on the importance of using lube!
• Acquiring a Wife: Fairly self-explanatory — six chapters advising men on how to pursue marriage.
• About Wives: Once married, a man could turn to these chapters to understand a wife's expected role, both toward him and toward any other wives.
• Wives of Other Men: Certain provisions allowed a man to sleep with another man's wives, particularly if that man had already violated the chastity of the first man's wives. These chapters guide a man through such affairs with women who aren't his own wife.
• Courtesans: Six chapters devoted to pursuing and keeping courtesans (prostitutes), who were sometimes regarded as more desirable company than other women in the Hindu society of the time.
• Sexual Attraction: Men who struggle to attract partners might find the final two chapters useful. This advice, some of it rooted in the occult, describes ways to draw women in and even enlarge a man's penis. Modern readers might also want to check out whether penis size actually matters.

Looking at this outline, it's clear the practitioners of the Kama Sutra were sexually adventurous — kinky, even! — and didn't necessarily embrace monogamy the way many cultures do today. In some ways, the Love Curi functions like a modern-day Kama Sutra, offering information on different sex positions alongside advice for finding real love and strengthening your relationship.

It's also understandable why some of the ideas in the Kama Sutra might strike modern readers as questionable. Some content seems to condone cheating. More on that in our piece about dating and having sex with a married man. The Kama Sutra also centers on four rigid castes, reflecting classist attitudes that don't translate to most Western societies today. And there's an undeniable strain of misogyny running through it, treating a man's wives somewhat like property while placing heavy emphasis on virtue.

Of course, our society today looks nothing like Vātsyāyana's. Our views on love, sex, and relationships have shifted dramatically. That's likely why so many people zero in exclusively on the sex-position content within the Kama Sutra.

Kama Sutra Positions

If sex positions from the Kama Sutra are what you're really after, keep reading!

1.Yawning Position

Bended Knee Sex PositionCoital Alignment Technique Sex Position

In this Kama Sutra position, the woman lies on her back while her partner kneels in front of her. She spreads her legs into a "V" around his waist. Since you're both fully supported by the bed or floor, it's one of the easier Kama Sutra positions to attempt! Your hands stay free, too, so you can stimulate your own clitoris.

Take a look at the Spread Legs position, a similar variation that skips the kneeling.

2. Indrani Position

Acrobat Sex PositionPearly Gates Sex Position

The Indrani position has the woman on her back with knees bent toward her chest, while her partner kneels over her with her legs outside his. Her legs and ankles slide beneath his armpits so her feet land near his back. As you'd expect, this allows for deep penetration — read more about deep penetration. Some variations have the woman crossing her ankles with knees still bent toward her chest.

That said, Indrani calls for real flexibility and can be uncomfortable if you have a rounder belly or larger breasts. With enough agility, you might be able to rest your feet on his chest instead, similar to the Launch Pad position. It also resembles the Pressed position described in the original text.

3. Lotus Position

Sitting Sex PositionMastery Sex Position

This is one of the better-known Kama Sutra positions. You sit in your partner's lap with legs crossed around him as you make love, while he also crosses his legs. Check out more on the Lotus position. Its main downside is the agility it demands — it's also tough if you're heavily pregnant or if either of you carries more weight.

4. Suspended Congress

Jellyfish Sex PositionWheel Barrow Sex Position

Looking for one of the more daring Kama Sutra positions? This is it. In suspended congress, the man leans against a wall while his partner wraps her legs around his waist, feet braced on the wall, as he supports her weight with his hands beneath her butt. She controls the depth by pushing off the wall with her feet. Take the wall away, and you've essentially got the Stand & Carry position.

5. Congress of a Cow

Washing Machine Sex PositionBodyguard Sex Position

The Kama Sutra also describes a position where the woman stands on hands and feet, cow-like, while her partner enters from behind. It's more demanding than standard doggy style, especially if your torso and legs are mismatched in length. His thrusting might also throw off your balance, so proceed carefully.

6. Tripadam

The tripod position gets its name because only three of four "legs" stay planted on the ground. In this standing position, your partner holds one of your knees near his waist while your hands stay free to roam his body, as the text specifically notes. A significant height gap will make this trickier, though.

7. Upavitika

In this challenging position, the woman places one foot on the bed and the other against the man's chest. The text describes it as fit for a "bold, saucy" woman. In some renderings, the man supports her raised foot himself. Naturally, this demands careful balance and strong legs — it wouldn't hold up on a waterbed.

8. Hansa-lila

Cowgirl Sex PositionAmazon Sex Position

Also called the Swan Sport, this position resembles reverse cowgirl. The woman sits atop her partner facing his feet, resting her feet on his thighs while she "works her hips frantically." It requires balancing atop him with your feet on his thighs and considerable hip agility.

The Kama Sutra lists roughly 64 sexual positions, though the exact count shifts depending on the translation. Modern interpretations vary based on how the original language is read. These positions span man-on-top, woman-on-top, rear entry, anal sex, threesomes (threesome positions), and even group sex! There's genuinely something here for everyone.

Try: Eiffel Tower threesome sex position.

Several positions demand more flexibility than others, but the Kama Sutra covers just as many simple bed-friendly poses as it does positions requiring one partner to support the other's weight or worry about falling. That said, Vātsyāyana notes that certain positions, Indrani included, can only be mastered "by practice."

If you're squeezing in a quickie or sleeping with someone new for the first time, some of these Kama Sutra positions could feel awkward or even a bit embarrassing if you can't quite pull them off. But if you're with someone you're comfortable with, or you don't mind a little clumsy experimentation, positions from the Kama Sutra could be right up your alley.

Not everything in the Kama Sutra will appeal to you or even be physically possible, but the underlying message — that exploring your sexuality is worthwhile and healthy — still holds up. The Kama Sutra can spark fresh ideas for sex positions or simply nudge you toward spending more time exploring your own sexuality. Plenty of contemporary books borrow from and modernize the original Kama Sutra if you want to give it a shot. Ultimately, only you and your partner know whether it's the right fit.

October 19, 2020