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Thank you for checking out this book by Theophania Publishing. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you soon. We have thousands of titles available, and we invite you to search for us by name, contact us via our website, or download our most recent catalogues. The mountain-goddess of many names, wife of Shiva, thethird person of the Hindu Trinity, who is here termedShambhu for Swayambhu, the Self-Existent. The invocationis abrupt and does not begin with the beginning, Ganesha(Janus), Lord of Incepts, who is invariably invoked by theHindu, that he may further the new undertaking. This god isworshipped under the form of a short stout man, with anelephant's trunk and protuberant belly. (See Vol. III, P. 38,"A View of the History, Literature, and Mythology of theHindus," by William Ward, of Serampore, London, 1832.)The loves of Krishna and the sixteen thousand milkmaidsare recorded in the Bhagavat; this eleventh incarnation ofVishnu is a dark-blue man, playing with both hands uponthe pipe, whilst Radha, his wife, stands his left side.Kamadeva, or the Hindu Cupid, the son of Bramha, isrepresented as a beautiful youth, the most lovely of all thegods, holding a bow and flower-tipped arrow, with which,while wandering through perfumed glades, accompanied byRati, his spouse, he wounds the hearts of the inhabitants ofthe Triloka or Three Worlds. Sir William Jones says thathe appears to correspond with the Greek Eros and theRoman Cupido, but that the Indian description of hisperson and arms, his family, attendants and attributes hasnew and peculiar beauties. Sambar' A'sura was one of theRakshasas, gigantic and diabolical beings, whom Kama slew.… (more)
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This particular edition is one of Sir Richard Francis Burton's translations of the Eastern classics of erotic instruction. Some of the best contents in fact consist of Burton's annotations. His explanation of the "various abominations" performed in order to ensure amatory attraction by secretly administering bodily fluids in the subject's food is worthy of remark (55), as is his observation that "most English women" have never learned the real delight of carnal copulation but that Ananga Ranga provides effective remedies for the situation (75). Of purushayitabandha, the category of coital positions with the woman superior, Burton notes that it "is held in great horror by Muslims, who commonly say, 'Cursed be he who makes himself earth and woman heaven!'" (106) (And thus it has come to be known in some quarters as the "Thelemic missionary position.")
The original text is dedicated to the god Panduranga (i.e. Vithoba), an avatar of Vishnu. It assures the reader that its purpose is to ensure the durability of marriage, by providing the necessary information to promote variety in conjugal activities. So mote it be.