Vātsyāyana

Vātsyāyana is the name of a Hindu philosopher in the Vedic tradition who is believed to have lived around 2nd century CE in India. His name appears as the author of the Kama Sutra. Not to be confused with Pakṣilasvāmin Vātsyāyana, the author of Nyāya Sutra Bhāshya, the first preserved commentary on Gotama's Nyāya Sutras.

His name is sometimes confused with Mallanaga, the prophet of the Asuras, to whom the origin of erotic science is attributed. This is an error; as Daniélou says:

Hardly anything is known about him, although it is believed that his disciples went on his instructions, on the request of the Hindu Kings in the Himalayan range to influence the hill tribals to give up the pagan cult of sacrifices. He is said to have created the legend of Tara among the hill tribes as a tantric goddess. Later as the worship spread to the east Garo hills,the goddess manifest of a 'yoni' goddess Kamakhya was created. His interest in human sexual behavior as a medium of attaining spirituality was recorded in his treatise Kama Sutra.

Kama Sutra

The Kama Sutra (Sanskrit: कामसूत्र  pronunciation , Kāmasūtra) is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses. "Kāma" which is one of the four goals of Hindu life, means desire including sexual desire the latter being the subject of the textbook, and "sūtra" literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Contrary to popular perception, especially in the western world, Kama sutra is not exclusively a sex manual; it presents itself as a guide to a virtuous and gracious living that discusses the nature of love, family life and other aspects pertaining to pleasure oriented faculties of human life.Kama Sutra, in parts of the world, is presumed or depicted as a synonym for creative sexual positions; in reality, only 20% of Kama Sutra is about sexual positions. The majority of the book, notes Jacob Levy, is about the philosophy and theory of love, what triggers desire, what sustains it, how and when it is good or bad.

Sudesh Berry

Sudesh Berry is an Indian television and film actor. Berry made his debut in 1988 with Khatron Ke Khiladi. He played the lead roles in Vansh (1992) and Yudhpath (1992). He has done supporting roles in a number of multi-starrers including Ghayal (1990), Border (1997), Refugee (2000), LOC Kargil (2003), Tango Charlie (2005) . He appeared in Wafaa (2008) and Shaabash! You Can Do It (2009) directed by Shankar Mondal.

He played Inspector Bharat in the television serial Suraag - The Clue and Loha singh and King Vichitravirya in Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo and Mahabharat.

Filmography

Kama

Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) means desire, wish, longing in Indian literature. Kāma often connotes sexual desire and longing in contemporary literature, but the concept more broadly refers to any desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.

Kāma is one of the four goals of human life in Hindu traditions. It is considered an essential and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing the other three goals: Dharma (virtuous, proper, moral life), Artha (material prosperity, income security, means of life) and Moksha (liberation, release, self-actualization). Together, these four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha.

Definition and meaning

Kāma means “desire, wish or longing”. In contemporary literature, kāma refers usually to sexual desire. However, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music, painting, sculpture and nature.