| The 64 arts are described
in the ancient sanskrit writings of the Kama Sutra, part one, chapter 3. They
consist of key-words with additional comments and are - like all parts of the
kama sutra - understood as a compendium rather than an original work, meant to
be re-written over and over again. The original version was composed during, or shortly before, the Gupta period (320-540 A.D. - the classical Age of India) by several authors, passed on in the summary of Vatsyayana, of whom we know little to nothing. For a long period of time, nothing was heard about the 64 arts until in 1883 they emerged again, hastily translated by Sir Richard Burton who feared censorship from his victorian contemporaries. Since then many translations followed - reflecting zeitgeist and cultural background - topped by the brand new 'version for the 21 century' as embedded in the matrix64. |
