Kama Sutra: The Embraces

This is an excerpt from the unabridged Kama Sutra, a sacred Indian text about the art of love and eroticism.

Before copulation, in order to arouse the penis with desire, the following four kinds of caress are practiced:

Contact

It is termed contact when the boy and girl are face to face, body pressing against body, uniting the areas involved. Although in contact, there is no question of penetration.

Bruising

In an isolated spot, finding her sitting or standing, he seizes her breasts. Since the boy hurts her by catching hold of her, it is called bruising.

The girl does not refuse the advances of the enterprising boy and does not go away. She allows him to continue, but there is no question of sleeping together, since they are not yet lovers.

Even in an isolated spot, she is reluctant to uncover her breasts. What can he do in order to knead them? Having drawn close, he finds some pretext to place his hands on her breasts. If she resists, the boy puts his arms around her and, uncovering his own sex, presses it against her from behind. Then, freeing her from his embrace, he kneads her breasts until she experiences a certain pleasure, sliding his penis between them and bruising them.

If they are not excited and do not speak, it will not work.

Baring

In the darkness, if people are present, or otherwise in an isolated place, they stroll slowly showing their bodies to each other, not just for an instant, but for some time.

The boy shows his body, the girl only the area involved. They caress each other and are both excited. Or else, he only exposes himself, while she remains clothed.

Squeezing

Leaning against a wall or a pillar, he presses his erect organ against her.

Image from The Daily Loaf. Information from The Complete Kama Sutra, translated by Alain Danielou.