Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra states it has 1,250 verses distributed over 36 chapters in 64 sections organised into 7 books.[55] This statement is included in the opening chapter of the text, a common practice in ancient Hindu texts likely included to prevent major and unauthorized expansions of a popular text.[56] The text that has survived into the modern era has 67 sections, and this list is enumerated in Book 7 and in Yashodhara's Sanskrit commentary (bhasya) on the text.[56]
The Kamasutra uses a mixture of prose and poetry, and the narration has the form of a dramatic fiction where two characters are called the nayaka (man) and nayika (woman), aided by the characters called pitamarda (libertine), vita (pander) and vidushaka (jester). This format follows the teachings found in the Sanskrit classic named the Natyasastra.[57] The teachings and discussions found in the Kamasutra extensively incorporate ancient Hindu mythology and legends.[58]
| Book.Chapter | Verses | Topics[59][60][61] |
| 1 | General remarks | |
| 1.1 | 1–24 | Preface, history of kama literature, outline of the contents |
| 1.2 | 1–40 | Suitable age for kama knowledge, the three goals of life: dharma, Artha, Kama; their essential interrelationship, natural human questions |
| 1.3 | 1–22 | Preparations for kama, sixty four arts for a better quality of life, how girls can learn and train in these arts, their lifelong benefits and contribution to better kama |
| 1.4 | 1–39 | The life of an urban gentleman, work routine, entertainment and festivals, sports, picnics, socialization, games, entertainment and drinking parties, finding aids (messengers, friends, helpers) to improve success in kama, options for rural gentlemen, what one must never do in their pursuit of kama |
| 1.5 | 1–37 | Types of women, finding sexual partners, sex, being lovers, being faithful, permissible women, adultery and when to commit it, the forbidden women whom one must avoid, discretion with messengers and helpers, few dos and don't in life |
| 2 | Amorous advances/sexual union | |
| 2.1 | 1–45 | Sexual relationships and the pleasure of sex, uniqueness of every lover, temperaments, sizes, endurance, foreplay, types of love and lovers, duration of sex, types of climax, intimacy, joy |
| 2.2 | 1–31 | Figuring out if someone is interested, conversations, prelude and preparation, touching each other, massage, embracing |
| 2.3–5 | 1–32, 1–31, 1–43 | Kissing, where to kiss and how, teasing each other and games, signals and hints for the other person, cleanliness, taking care of teeth, hair, body, nails, physical non-sexual forms of intimacy (scratching, poking, biting, slapping, holding her) |
| 2.6–10 | 1–52 | Intercourse, what it is and how, positions, various methods, bringing variety, usual and unusual sex, communicating before and during intercourse (moaning), diverse regional practices and customs, the needs of a man, the needs of a woman, variations and surprises, oral sex for women, oral sex for men, opinions, disagreements, experimenting with each other, the first time, why sexual excitement fades, reviving passion, quarreling, keeping sex exciting, sixty four methods to find happiness in a committed relationship |
| 3 | Acquiring a wife | |
| 3.1 | 1–24 | Marriage, finding the right girl, which one to avoid, which one to persuade, how to decide, how to proceed, making alliances |
| 3.2–3 | 1–35, 1–32 | Earning her trust, importance of not rushing things and being gentle, moving towards sexual openness gradually, how to approach a woman, proceeding to friendship, from friendship to intimacy, interpreting different responses of a girl |
| 3.4–5 | 1–55, 1–30 | Earning his trust, knowing the man and his advances, how a woman can make advances, winning the heart; utilizing confidants of your lover, types of marriage, formalizing marriage, eloping |
| 4 | Duties and privileges of the wife | |
| 4.1–2 | 1–48, 1–30 | Being a wife, her life, conduct, power over the household, duties when her husband is away, nuclear and joint families, when to take charge and when not to |
| 4.2 | 30–72 | Remarriage, being unlucky, harems,[note 2] polygamy |
| 5 | Other men's wives | |
| 5.1 | 1–56 | Human nature, tendencies of men, tendencies of women, why women lose interest and start looking elsewhere, avoiding adultery, pursuing adultery, finding women interested in extramarital sex |
| 5.2–5 | 1–28, 1–28, 1–66, 1–37 | Finding many lovers, deploying messengers, the need for them and how to find good go-betweens, getting acquainted, how to make a pass, gifts and love tokens, arranging meetings, how to discretely find out if a woman is available and interested, warnings and knowing when to stop |
| 5.6 | 1–48 | Public women [prostitution], their life, what to expect and not, how to find them, regional practices, guarding and respecting them |
| 6 | About courtesans | |
| 6.1 | 1–33 | Courtesans, what motivates them, how to find clients, deciding if someone should just be a friend or a lover, which lovers to avoid, getting a lover and keeping him interested |
| 6.2 | 1–76 | How to please your lover |
| 6.3 | 1–46 | Making a lover go crazy about you, how to get rid of him if love life is not fulfilling |
| 6.4–5 | 1–43, 1–39 | Methods to make an ex-lover interested in you again, reuniting, methods, checking if it is worth the effort, types of lovers, things to consider |
| 6.6 | 1–53 | Why love life gets dull, examples, familiarity and doubts |
| 7 | Occult practices | |
| 7.1–2 | 1–51, 1–51 | Looking good, feeling good, why and how to be attractive, bewitching, being virile, paying attention, genuineness and artificiality, body art and perforations, taking care of one's sexual organs, stimulants, prescriptions and unusual practices |
