Talk:Kama Sutra

A bad start
In the opening section, there are multiple issues. Is "Kama Sutra", which is how I have usually seen it written in English, one word or two? Should be consistent, even if acknowledging variations. Second, just a couple of paragraphs in, we have the clumsy phrase "'art-of-living' well". I will not provide analysis here, it is too wrong to even go into. Is "art-of-living" a quote? Why? Why is "well" tacked onto the end? The art of living well is a perfectly acceptable English phrase.

Finally, we have the phrase "sutra-genre text". This is a perfect example of clumsy. A far better construction would be, (after introducing the term "Kama Sutra" with a brief description of the book and definitions of the two words making up the title), "It is one of a genre of (Hindi? Hindu? Indian?) literature, the sutras, intended to..." You get the idea.

Someone reading about the Kama Sutra might want to know what the two words mean, and that there is such a thing as a genre of texts known as sutras. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.162.148.108 (talk • contribs) 19 may 2019 (UTC)

"Translations" section requires significant revision
The section titled "translations" reads like a lengthy advertisement for Doniger's recent translation and has little objective content. It notably fails to mention the important and influential translation of Schmidt from the turn of the century that went through many editions and which has formed the basis for most scholarship on the text. The problem is more general: the entire article names Wendy Doniger repeatedly, shifting the attention away from the topic and onto a modern scholar of South Asia. References in support of factual claims belong in footnotes, not in the text.

Wendy Doniger
you tagged the article, but gave no further explanation or examples. Could you please do so? Regards, Joshua Jonathan  - Let's talk!  05:39, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 June 2022
There's an incorrect translation and narration. of the verse 6.2.13 being shown in the article. Kindly change it with the right meaning one. 203.81.243.226 (talk) 07:34, 29 June 2022 (UTC) The correct one is as follows. Verse 6.2.13:

योषा वा आग्निर्गौतम; तस्या उपस्थ एव समित्, लोमानि धूमः, योनिरर्चिः, यदन्तः करोति तेऽङ्गाराः, अभिनन्दा विस्फुलिङ्गाः; तस्मिन्नेतस्मिन्नग्नौ देवा रेतो जुह्वति; तस्या आहुत्यै पुरुषः संभवति; स जीवति यावज्जीवति, अथ यदा म्रियते ॥ १३ ॥

yoṣā vā āgnirgautama; tasyā upastha eva samit, lomāni dhūmaḥ, yonirarciḥ, yadantaḥ karoti te'ṅgārāḥ, abhinandā visphuliṅgāḥ; tasminnetasminnagnau devā reto juhvati; tasyā āhutyai puruṣaḥ saṃbhavati; sa jīvati yāvajjīvati, atha yadā mriyate || 13 ||

13. Woman, O Gautama, is fire. In this fire the gods offer the seed. Out of that offering a man is born. He lives as long as he is destined to live. Then, when he dies—

Woman, O Gautama, is fire, the fifth one to serve as the receptacle of the sacrifice. In that fire the gods offer the seed. Out of that offering a man is born. Thus water (liquids), designated as ‘faith,’ being successively offered in the fires of heaven, rain-god, this world, man and woman, in the increasingly grosser forms of faith, moon, rain, food and seed respectively, produce what we call man. The fourth question, ‘Do you know after how many oblations are offered water rises up possessed of a human voice and speaks?’ (par. 2), has been thus answered, viz. that when the fifth oblation is offered in the fire of woman, water, transformed into the seed, becomes possessed of a human voice. He, that man, born in this order, lives. How long? As long as he is destined to live, i.e. as long as the resultant of his past work, which makes him stay in this body, lasts.
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. Aaron Liu (talk) 09:02, 10 July 2022 (UTC)

Spelling error in the first sentence
In the first sentence between "text" and "on" there's a space missing. It's hardly noticeable because of the footnotes in between, but in cross-page previews the footnotes aren't displayed, so it becomes "texton". Please someone change it since I don't have an account. 194.49.19.205 (talk) 09:20, 13 June 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ Thank you for pointing out the error. RegentsPark (comment) 05:09, 14 June 2024 (UTC)