Ananga Ranga / Stage of the Bodiless One (1885)

S$255.00

Ananga Ranga / Stage of the Bodiless One (1885)

S$255.00

Title: Ananga Ranga / Stage of the Bodiless One / The Hindu Art of Love
Author: Kalyana Malla, Richard F Burton (trans)
Publisher: Privately printed for the Kama Shastra Society, 1885. First proper edition. Rare.
Condition: Hardcover, plain cloth, in v

SKU: ananga-ranga-burton Categories: , , ,

Title: Ananga Ranga / Stage of the Bodiless One / The Hindu Art of Love
Author: Kalyana Malla, Sir Richard F Burton (trans)
Publisher: Privately printed for the Kama Shastra Society, 1885. First proper edition. Rare.
Condition: Hardcover, plain cloth, in very good condition for its age. All edges dyed red.

The “first edition” was halted after only six copies were printed in the 1870s because the printer objected to the content and refused to print any more. This edition was also printed only for private circulation, but constitutes the first proper edition with a complete print run. Burton’s wife burnt the book after he died, and so later editions are also uncommon.

About the book (from wikipedia):

The Ananga Ranga is an Indian sex manual written by Kalyana malla in the 15th or 16th century. Later commentators have said it is aimed specifically at preventing the separation of a husband and wife. This work is often compared to the Kama Sutra, on which it draws.

“Satisfaction and enjoyment comes for a man with possession of a beautiful woman. Men marry because of the peaceful gathering, love, and comfort and they often get nice and attractive women. But the men do not give the women full satisfaction The reason is due to the ignorance of the writings of the Kamashastra and the disdain of the different types of women. These men view women only from the perspective of an animal. They are foolish and spiritless”.

The work was intended to show that a woman is enough for a man. The book provides instructions in how a husband can promote the love for his wife through sexual pleasure. The husband can so greatly enjoy living with his wife, that it is as if he had lived with 32 different women. The increasingly varied sexual pleasures are able to produce harmony, thus preventing the married couple from getting tired of one another. In addition to the extensive catalogue of sexual positions for both partners, there are details regarding foreplay and lure.

The contents of the chapters of Burton’s translation of the Ananga Ranga are as follows:

Chapter I: The Four Orders of women
Chapter II: Of the Various Seats of Passion in Women
Chapter III: Of the Different Kinds of Men and Women
Chapter IV: Description of the General Qualities, Characteristics, Temperaments, Etc., of Women.
Chapter V: Characteristics of the Women of Various Lands
Chapter VI: Treating of Vashikarana
Chapter VII: Of Different Signs in Men and Women
Chapter VIII: Treating of External Enjoyments
Chapter IX: Treating of Internal Enjoyments in Its Various Forms
Appendix I: Astrology in Connection With Marriage
Appendix II: (considers a variety of alchemical recipes, which are either potentially lethal, or completely ineffective as a remedy, or both)