Guide to Aphrodisiacs: Kama Sutra Aphrodisiacs

Vatsyayana Kama Sutra or Aphorisms on Love by Vatsyayana is a classical Indian treatise on the art of making love and related subjects. It's precise date of origin is not known, only that it must have been written between the first and the sixth century, A.D. It was translated into English in 1883 by Sir Richard F. Burton and F. F. Arbuthnot; the present presentation is based on that translation, which is available.

Part seven deals with "means of attracting others to yourself" and contains numerous recipes for internal as well as external use. Many of them are based on plants which are identified only by their Hindi names and which are virtually impossible to obtain outside India. Most of these preparations have been excluded here.

Make a woman surrender

If a man wants to make a woman subject to his will, he can prepare a mixture of the powders of white thorn apple (Datura stramonium, extremely toxic!), long pepper (tippali, Piper longum) and black pepper, combine it with honey and anoint his penis before intercourse. It should be noted that the tropane alkaloids of the thorn apple will be readily resorbed through the mucous membranes of the penis and the vagina and might cause severe poisoning.

Alternative, and less risky, ointments to achieve the same purpose include constituents such as flowers thrown on human corpse when carried out to be burned and the remains of a kite who has died a natural death.

A less strange ointment can be prepared from the myrobalam plant (Phyllanthus emblica). Another suggestion, to apply a mixture of, inter alia, arsenic and honey to the male member just before intercourse appears to be directly dagerous to both parties involved in the union.

Increase sexual vigor

Several preparations are said to increase sexual vigor. The easiest to prepare consists of equal parts of ghee (clarified butter), honey, sugar, licorice, the juice of fennel bulbs and milk. This is "a nectar-like composition" which is "provocative of sexual vigor" and a "preservative of life".


Milk, licorice and sugar/honey play a central role in many of the recipes. Additional ingredients can include the asparagus relative shitawari (Asparagus racemosus), long pepper (Piper longum) and the seeds or roots of Trapa bispinosa.

Slightly more exotic is the suggestion to boil a testicle of a ram or a goat in milk, add sugar, and drink the concoction. Kama Sutra does not specify whether the testicle should be pureed before serving.

Increase the size of the penis or contract the vagina

Part seven of Kama Sutra also contains a number of recipes said to alter the size of the human reproductive organs. All of them appear totally useless but rather dangerous.