The Ananga Ranga is a book written around the 16th century by Kalyana Malla. Conceived to be a manual about sex which would give advice on how a husband should give pleasure to his wife to avoid being tempted to cheat her due to monotony, the Ananga Ranga is somehow based on the Kama Sutra (another well-known Indian work about love). However differently from the Kama Sutra, which presented important insights about Indian social customs, the Ananga Ranga is in its entirety devoted to sex, specially when it comes to sex positions.

Many times we see the Ananga Ranga being referred as a part of the original Kama Sutra, or being treated as a part of the book, although it was written thousands of years later than its famous relative. Many of the sex positions described in the Ananga Ranga are also present in the Kama Sutra, some with different names. Let’s see the most common Ananga Ranga sex positions:

The Winged Eros – This sex position leaves the man dominating his partner, as he will feel completely pleased with her riding on top of him while standing on his hands and feet. This position being a celebration to Eros, god of love and son of goddess Aphrodite.

The Refined position – This sex position enables greater penetration. The woman lies on her back with legs spread and on either side of the man’s waist. It may be especially sexy if the man start controlling penetration by holding in her partner’s hips. This sex position also appears in the Kama Sutra.

Kama’s Wheel – For the people in India, sex always have a religious, spiritual connotation, especially at the time both Ananga Ranga and the Kama Sutra were written. This sex position where both partners sit with legs outstretched facing each other was meant for both pleasure and meditation.