The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text written by Vātsyāyana. It is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behaviour in Sanskrit literature. 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 'sutra' 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 western popular perception, only 20% of Kama Sutra is about sexual positions. 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.

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Vātsyāyana is the name of a Hindu philosopher in the Vedic tradition who is believed to have lived around 2nd century AD in India. His name appears as the author of the Kama Sutra.