The Arts of Seduction

by Seema Anand

  The placing of mantras and sound vibrations is as complicated as it sounds. But the physical stimulation of erotic nerves and G-spots is simpler and a lot more fun, so perhaps focus on that.

  My Advice

  The Kama Sutra says that before you begin making love ‘Kama, the God of Love, must be invoked and installed in every part of the body’—then, and only then, must sex be performed.

  I think that is what your goal should be—to help invoke the God of Love and plant him in your lover’s body, arouse them so that they feel every nerve tingling in anticipation.

  The chapter on erotic nerves is great but it is not gospel, there are no hard and fast rules; it is simply a model, a set of suggestions that you can use according to what best suits you. Everything in the Kama Sutra comes with several possibilities, giving you the chance to pick things that you like as well as the opportunity of trying something new.

  Think of which nerves you want to experiment with. They are not all easy to follow but start with something that both of you like and gradually move on to things outside your comfort zone. Remember that both men and women have erotic nerves, so be generous in your loving. It can be very seductive to give rather than receive.

  And the most stimulating quality is intellect—stimulate each other’s minds. Humour is sexy—don’t get serious about all of it. For instance, most people cannot at all fathom how to place a mantra in the yoni. Well—you don’t have to do it seriously. Remember you are using this book as a modern-day guide to the arts of seduction; it has to be adapted to suit your needs. Why not make a shared joke out of it, something to do on special occasions? Let it be your own little sexy activity—you will be surprised at how much pleasure and arousal there is in shared laughter.

  One of my favourites bits in this chapter is the little nugget about moles—the idea that if there is one on the cheek it has its twin on the genitals. Turn it into a game of foreplay. Make it a secret message. The next time you want to seduce your partner show up at the dinner table with a mole painted on—they will know what is on your mind. Draw another mole somewhere else on your body—make it a sexy treasure hunt.

  Sex should be joyous, full of fun and games and filled with laughter. If that is not how it is for you, you need to spend more time on it, take it slower, try something new and, most importantly, believe that as a human being you were created to enjoy it!

  *Sculptures at the Ajanta Caves too show a woman with head bent and eyes lowered as her toe curls under her.

  *Alain Danielou (trans), The Complete Kama Sutra, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

  The Phases of the Moon

  ‘By following the Chandrakalas (lunar calendar) and varying the site of your caresses accordingly you will see your lover light up in successive places, like a figure cut in moonstone when the moon strikes on it....’*

  The Kama Sutra says that the different phases of the moon create different erogenous zones all around our body which shift and change every day—each phase has its own corresponding G-spot and each G-spot has its own method of arousal. Chandrakalas—the art of seduction based on the changing phases of the moon—explains where these sensitive spots are located on any given night, where best to stimulate your lover and how.

  Legend has it that the Chandrakalas were written by a sage named Bhabravya in the fourth century bce. His theory was that every night, with each phase of the moon, a different part of the body becomes more sensitive, and if those areas were to be excited with specific types of contact—kissing, biting, scratching—you could bring your lover to full arousal every single time.

  In his extensive treatise, Bhabravya took into account the power and the pull of the moon in all its permutations and combinations—how the effect of the moon changes according to the seasons and how it shifts as the night progresses. The night is divided into four quarters and with each quarter the moon is closer to or further from the surface of the earth, so its effect on the erogenous zones changes. He explained how the moon affects people of different physical characteristics and temperaments in different ways—who gets excited at what time and needs to be stimulated at what spot. It was an incredible piece of writing.

  Unfortunately the text has not survived, not even a small part of it. The only information we have of this work is what other authors have translated and quoted over the centuries, and so our knowledge of it is quite fragmented and at times contradictory—but I think it is all useful, in some way or the other.

  I have transcribed some of it for you. Have a go—you never know which one will work and you’ll have a lot of fun trying it out. Even if you don’t actually hit an erogenous zone, it will add a whole new dimension of romance and novelty to your lovemaking.

  The Chandrakalas were written for both men and women. The erogenous zones in both men and women are identical but on opposite sides of the body. There are thirty erogenous zones on the body corresponding to the thirty phases of the moon’s cycle, fifteen on the left and fifteen on the right. The seat of sexual excitement sits in the hair parting at the top of the head. Starting on the new moon with the big toe—of the left foot for women and the right foot for men—sexual excitement moves up the body for the fifteen days of the waxing half of the month until it reaches the head during the full moon and then starts back down again on the opposite side of the body for the next fifteen nights (of the waning half) until it reaches the foot once again.

  Most of the translations focus more on women because their arousal was considered more important. Men, we are told, have the advantage of being more visual. When they see their lovers come to arousal, it excites them and when they see that this arousal is a result of their own actions, it increases their own excitement and pleasure.

  Here is a list of the most basic spots and their stimuli.

  Beginning on the first day after the full moon, which corresponds to the sixteenth phase of the moon, the woman’s head and hair have the greatest sexual energy and should be kissed and massaged gently in order to fully excite the woman.

  On the second day (seventeenth phase), it is the eyes that are most sensitive and should be kissed repeatedly—the right eye is more sensitive during the waxing phase of the moon, the left one during the waning phase.

  On the third day (eighteenth phase), you must focus on the lips. We are told they should be kissed and softly bitten. The lower lip in particular should be repeatedly bitten, enough to make it swollen, but not enough to leave a lasting mark. Each bite should draw a soft moan from your lover—that shows it has hit the spot.

  On the fourth day (nineteenth phase), it is the cheeks. The cheeks should also be kissed and softly bitten. Did you know that according to the Kama Sutra, the cheeks are amongst the most sensitive and erotic parts of the body and their nerve endings are exactly like the nerves in the vulva?

  The fifth day (twentieth phase), particularly the fifth day of the waning moon, is the day of rest for the man. It is known as the lazy man’s day because on the fifth day a woman’s sexuality is self-sufficient and she does not require a man’s help to achieve arousal.

  On the sixth day (twenty-first phase), the throat is most sensitive and it should be very gently scratched with the nails.

  On the seventh day (twenty-second phase), it is the side of the waist. For this also, gentle scratching is best.

  On the eighth day (twenty-third phase), it is the nipples that are most sensitive.

  On the ninth day (twenty-fourth phase), the entire bosom area—the breasts, the nipples, the cleavage and the area under the breasts are waiting for attention.

  On the tenth day (twenty-fifth phase), the navel is most excitable. The best way to stimulate the navel is by tapping it gently with an open palm.

  On the eleventh day (twenty-sixth phase), it is the buttocks. The buttocks should be kneaded with the nails and squeezed and pressed hard.

  On the twelfth day (twenty-seventh phase), the woman’s knees are most sensitive and the best way to stimulate them is by pressing
against them with your own knees.

  On the thirteenth day (twenty-eighth phase), some say it is when the calves that need attention, others feel it is the ankle that is more sensitive at this time. Biting and scratching are recommended, but kissing works best. If it is the ankle, then pressing it with one’s own ankle is recommended.

  On the fourteenth day (twenty-ninth phase), it is the foot that should be gently pressed with your own foot.

  On the fifteenth day (thirtieth phase), there is a slight disagreement on whether the most sensitive point is the big toe of the left foot (we are going down the left side) or whether it should be the left thumb (the base of the thumb). My advice would be: don’t waste time choosing. Give them both equal amounts of attention.

  This is just the basic list. Now let’s get specific.

  Suppose you were making love in the second quarter of the night. This is supposed to be the time of the strongest sexual desires in women—the pull of the moon is such that any woman would be unquenchable at this time. The way to deal with this is to increase the amount of pressure with which you touch your lover. So if something needs to be pressed you need to press it harder, if a spot needs kissing you need to shift from using the lips to the teeth, stroking becomes squeezing, and so on.

  Below is the same table of erogenous zones, the difference is how to stimulate them for stronger sexual excitement—it’s time to up the passion!

  Big toes—the big toe should be pressed with your own toe. If her toes are curled, flatten them out, if necessary, apply pressure. If you are pressing her toe from above, then the pressing action should be like a pulse—up, down, up, down. If you are touching her toe from underneath, rub it from side to side with the back of your own toe.

  Feet—there is some disagreement on this. Feet are very important because of the number of nerve endings in that area. Some authors feel it is enough to press your lover’s feet with your own, just increase pressure. Others feel that in the second quarter, the pressure applied should be stronger—so the foot should be struck with your own foot. And there is also one who says that this calls for a complete change of technique—proceed by kissing the foot and nibbling on it.

  Ankles—again most of the suggestions are to press with one’s own ankle, except for one voice that says it is better to kiss the ankle. But I think it would depend on the position that you are in at the time.

  Knees—it is best to press your lover’s knees with your own. Press harder. But—this is extremely important—knees should only be stimulated if you are both in the exact same position, either standing, lying down side by side facing each other or lying on top of each other.

  Navel—the navel should only be gently patted with the open palm, but you can use the forefinger and trace circles around the navel and at this time, you can apply more pressure.

  The chest area—knead and stroke hard with a balled up fist. This area should be patted and stroked.

  Breasts—pressing, patting, fondling, squeezing with pressure. This is a very versatile area and one that is equally exciting for both men and women.

  Armpits—everyone is in agreement that the armpit should be scraped with the nails. This is an area that is generally ignored these days but in the time of the Kama Sutra it seems to have been one of the key areas of the body for erotic sensations. This unlikely spot was also a mirror of the vulva—as I mentioned earlier, experts said that a hairless armpit indicated a hairless vagina. The Kama Sutra tells us that in certain regions, people thought the armpit was the most exciting place to kiss.

  Neck—the suggestion again is to scrape gently with nails. Interestingly, in the Chandrakalas, the neck does not enjoy a position of any particular importance as an erotic spot. It’s just an also-ran. As the moon goes into the second quarter and erotic desires run very high, it seems as though nothing changes very drastically with the neck. Personally, I disagree. There’s nothing quite as fabulous as the neck for erogenous sensations.

  Cheeks—sexual energies really explode when it comes to the cheeks. The Kama Sutra says that cheeks should be adorned with love bites, scraped with nails or kissed very vigorously. One of the main erotic nerves begins at the cheek and ends in the vulva. If the lover had a little black mole on her cheek (especially the left cheek), then it was believed that she would have one on her vagina as well—all the more exciting because you could ‘see’ it.

  Lips—the lips are to be squeezed, bitten and kissed, as before but much harder.

  Eyes and eyelids—press with the palms and kiss alternately.

  Forehead—unlike other spots, this is one area that is calmer during the second quarter of the night. The best way to deal with the forehead at this time is to kiss it gently.

  Head—this is the time to twist your lover’s hair around your fingers and pull—the harder the better.

  The hair parting—at this time of the night, the hair parting should be scraped and scratched with the nails.

  Waist—scratch and kiss.

  Thighs—press with the thighs. Love bites are also recommended.

  The Rati Manjari by Jayadeva, one of several ancient Indian erotic texts, adds that when the erogenous zones shift from the left to the right side of the body, you should celebrate this change by inverting the position of lovemaking—let the woman take her position on top. But the author adds the caveat—‘only if the woman is strong’—because being on top was hard work.

  The Dinalapanika Sukasaptati (The Seventy Discourses of the Parrot) says that the Chandrakalas should be synchronized with the start of the menstrual cycle, not the lunar cycle.

  Nandikesvara, one of the authors of whose work forms a part of the Ratirahasya (also known as the Koka Shastra), says that biting, kissing, scratching etc. should be accompanied by sound vibrations or mantras (see chapter Erotic Nerves). So each erogenous spot should be stimulated with a physical action and also by sound.

  The most complete account of the Chandrakalas is given by Gonikaputra (another author whose work Kokkoka, the poet, relied greatly on in compiling the Koka Shastra)* and is based on the moon being in the last quarter of the night; in other words it is for women who enjoy sex at the end of the night and in the very early hours of dawn. Interestingly, Western science believes that this is the time when our bodies are at their ‘most sexual’ and for those of us who can manage to wake up at 6 a.m., it can lead to the most rewarding sex.

  But Gonikaputra takes a very different approach from the others—he says that with each shifting phase it is not just one spot that becomes excited every day—rather, it is a combination of spots. So his table of erogenous zones has several activities for each day. He also seems to have ignored the feet and toes completely in his ranking and focused much more on the armpits and nipples instead. So even though he begins by saying that on the first day, the sexual excitement begins at the lowermost part of the body, the places he suggests for kissing are nowhere near the feet, they are all in the upper half of the body. But I think you should try it anyway—trust me, you will not be disappointed.

  The concept of the Chandrakalas was a very popular one and certainly the Kama Sutra gave them a place of great importance in the arts of seduction. But equally there are those who dismiss the entire theory as a piece of fantasy with no basis in fact whatsoever.

  Whether this it is science or fantasy, I think the main purpose of the Chandrakalas was to add variety to sex. The Kama Sutra maintains that for sex to be exciting and fulfilling, nothing should be repetitive.

  Yes, there are some areas of the body that are always exciting to caress regardless of the shifting phases of the moon. The idea of aligning erogenous zones with the lunar calendar just means there are other areas to arouse.

  My Advice

  If you would like to try out the Chandrakalas, get yourself an app that tells you what phase of the moon you are in. Once you are able to figure out the phase of the moon, pick the simplest routine and work with it. Don’t worry about the combinations—the very fact of trying
something new will add enough novelty to your lovemaking to keep you going for a while.

  The fun (or chaos) of using the Chandrakalas should lessen your inhibitions—it will become more like a game and will remove your embarrassment in exploring your lover’s body more openly.

  Don’t do it every day—anything you do every day becomes boring and stops being fun. Pick something from the charts that you like the sound of and then work out the day on which it should be practised. Make a date with your partner for that night, tell them what you have in mind and give each other the time to get excited about it.

  Don’t be pedantic. Remember our skin is a giant erogenous zone—everything you do can be a turn-on—it just depends on how you do it. As the author of Passion Play: Ancient Secrets for a Lifetime of Health and Happiness Through Sensational Sex, Felice Dunas, says: the most tantalizing are the tiniest of touches—‘the most delicate brushing of a hair, the slow progress of fingertips or nails or tongue across the skin, the slightest change or pause.’ Do it slowly, deliberately—linger on the moment, make your partner wonder what you will do next.

  The more subtle the movements the sharper the senses become, so that the tiniest change in pressure or movement is noticeable. And it is not just exciting for the partner on the receiving end but equally erotic to know that you are having this effect on your beloved.

  If you really want to become ‘the best lover’, begin with investing time in understanding what turns your partner on. Create a table of your own erogenous zones. You will be surprised to see how much of the human body is sexually responsive.

  *Alex Comfort, The Koka Shastra: Being the Ratirahasya of Kokkoka and Other Medieval Indian Writings on Love, London: G. Allen and Unwin, 1964, p. 107.