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Eight bites of love from the Kama Sutra

Storyteller, mythologist and an authority on the Kama Sutra and eastern erotology, Dr Seema Anand runs us through the art of biting off as much as we choose

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If you were a 4th century AD elite man in India or born 800 to 1,000 years prior to that, dental care and good well-shaped teeth would have played a very important role in your love life. A naagrik or wealthy man-about-town would be sent to courtesans (the best were from Pataliputra, near modern-day Patna) to learn 64 arts of love, one of which was the art of love bites. Love bites were meant to be visible. Such was the prestige of this art, that those lacking skill or with chipped, overlapping, or protruding teeth would practise self-restraint lest they expose themselves and their partner to ridicule and dishonour.

The Kama Sutra gives a detailed account of the different regions where love bites were a common practice, explaining the combinations of preferences that differed from one region to another. But in general, it says women from the North (explained as the area extending from the Himalayas to the Vindhya mountains and the areas of Ujjain and Gandhara that is now northern Pakistan and Afghanistan) didn’t like rough practices. Those in the South had fewer inhibitions. Even in this geographical division, preferences varied a lot.

Love-making, according to the Kama Sutra, was never to be rushed and always to be enjoyed in all its leisurely, sensual details. Therefore, many practices, including love bites, had to be given time, attention and concentration to reach precision. Here’s a quick look at eight types of love bites from our ancient erotic guide:

Gudhaka: The lightest of bites, a gudhaka is only for the lower lip of a woman. Meant to be a discreet bite, it is such that it leaves no mark.

Uchhunaka: Moving to another erogenous zone, the ears, an uchhunaka or impressed bite generally leaves a faint mark. It’s also made on the cheeks, usually the left one. 

Bindu: A tiny little dot, the bindu, like the uchhunanka, is an ornamental bite. Besides the ears and cheeks, it was the only bite that could be made on the forehead as well. The lover has to nip the skin so cleverly that the mark is just the size of a sesame seed.

Bindu Mala: The mark of expertise, though, lies in creating a necklace of dots or bindu malas. It’s made in loops on different parts of the body such as the neck, breasts and hollow of the thighs, like jewel pieces.

Pravalamani: Using the upper teeth or the upper incisors, this small, ornamental curved mark, called pravalamani, or the coral was created.

Mani Mala: Like the bindu, an expert lover would make necklaces of these corals, which were twisted in loops on specific parts of the body, generally starting at the breasts or the thighs.

Khandabhraka: Light and widely placed, khandabhrakas were scattered, cloud-like bites. Although they had no particular arrangement, they were made just under the breasts.

Varaha charvita: If khandabrakhas came closer and were more red in the centre, they would form the varaha charvita, meaning chewing of the wild boar. Also placed randomly, they were harder bites that created the red centres. Both the khandabhraka and varaha charvita were made in a state of great excitement. While these two were made in no particular order or size, the rest were done with precision.

In those days, love bites also denoted love messages or love letters. If you couldn’t leave your teeth marks directly on a woman, you would make them on gifts for her. You would place bite marks on leaves she would use to apply rouge to her cheeks, flowers she would wear in her ear, betel leaves she would chew and palm leaves on which you wrote love letters to her. Now isn’t that romantic?

Dr Seema Anand discusses various aspects of art of seduction and the Kama Sutra on her YouTube channel, blog and Facebook page – Seema Anand Storytelling.

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