Exceptions to Śāstric Rules: Vātsyāyana's Dialectic Exchange on Oral Sex in the Kāmasūtra.
This article investigates the intellectual history of kāmaśāstra (theory of erotics) by asking how the Kāmasūtra of Vātsyāyana (ca. third-fourth century ce) theorizes oral sex (aupariṣṭaka) and why it does so in this way. To this end, it analyzes Chapter 2.9, which covers the subject of oral sex. Th...
| Publicado en: | Journal of the American Society for Premodern Asia (JASPA) Vol. 146; no. 3; pp. 529 - 551 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA)
Jul-Sep2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=196645963&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 196645963 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00030279 NZ6S jtl: Journal of the American Society for Premodern Asia (JASPA) issn: 00030279 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul-Sep2026 vid: 146 iid: 3 pid: 1463 pub: American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA) artinfo: ui: 196645963 10.7817/jaspa.146.3.2026.ar022 ppf: 529 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 4.6MB tig: atl: Exceptions to Śāstric Rules: Vātsyāyana's Dialectic Exchange on Oral Sex in the Kāmasūtra. aug: au: ARORA, SHUBHAM affil: UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA su: Intellectual history Oral sex Pleasure Gender identity Dharma sug: subj: Intellectual history Oral sex Pleasure Gender identity Dharma ab: This article investigates the intellectual history of kāmaśāstra (theory of erotics) by asking how the Kāmasūtra of Vātsyāyana (ca. third-fourth century ce) theorizes oral sex (aupariṣṭaka) and why it does so in this way. To this end, it analyzes Chapter 2.9, which covers the subject of oral sex. This chapter is particularly significant for two reasons. First, in this chapter, Vātsyāyana describes the "thirdnature" gender category (tṛtīyā prakṛti), which is absent from later kāmaśāstra works. Second, it demonstrates his dialectic style, through which he engages with other scholarly views on aspects of kāma (pleasure), such as oral sex, to reconcile the sometimes conflicting values of kāma and dharma (religious norms). With a particular focus on Vātsyāyana's authorial authority, this article shows that he resolves objections to oral sex by identifying exceptions and then explaining his position using dharmic categories and precedents. In doing so, he makes oral sex--an act that integrates nonprocreative, nonheteronormative bodies and desires into kāmaśāstra--acceptable under certain conditions. Vātsyāyana advocates erotic pleasure, while ensuring it does not transgress dharmic ideals. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Journal of the American Society for Premodern Asia (JASPA) is the property of American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Journal of the American Society for Premodern Asia (JASPA) holder: American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA) dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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