Part six Introduction Chapters one and two of the Kaimasutra. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain and is read by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina.
The Kimasutra by Vitziayana, Part six about Courtesans introductory remarks. This Part
six about Courtesans was prepared by Viatziayana from a treatise on the subject that was
written by Dataka for the women of Polytaputra, the modern Patna, some two
thousand years ago. Dataka's work does not appear to be extant now, but
this abridgment of it is very clever, and quite equal to any of the
productions of Emil Zola and other writers of the realistic school of today. Although
a great deal has been written on the subject of the courtesan, nowhere will
be found a better description of her, of her belongings, of her ideas,
and of the working of her mind than is contained in the following pages.
The details of the domestic and social life of the early Hindus would not
be complete without mention of the courtesan, and Part six is entirely devoted to
this subject. The Hindus have ever had the good sense to recognize courtesans as
a part and portion of human society, and so long as they behaved themselves
with decency and propriety, they were regarded with a certain respect. Anyhow,
they have never been treated in the East with that brutality and contempt so common
in the West, while their education has always been of a superior kind to
that bestowed upon the rest of women kind in Oriental countries. In the earlier
days, the well educated Hindu dancing girl and kurtazan doubtless resembled the hetera of
the Greeks, and being educated and amusing, were far more acceptable as companions
than the generality of the married or unmarried women of that period. At all
times and in all countries, there has ever been a little rivalry between the
chaste and the unchaste. But while some women are born courtesans and follow the
instincts of their nature in every class of society, it has been truly said
by some authors that every woman has got an inkling of the profession in her
nature, and does her best, as a general rule, to make herself
agreeable to the male sex. The subtlety of women, their wonderful perceptive powers,
their knowledge, and their intuitive appreciation of men and things are all shown
in the following pages, which may be looked upon as a concentrated essence that
has been since worked up into detail by many writers in every quarter of the
Globe. Chapter one of the causes of a courtesan resorting to men, of
the means of attaching to herself the man desired, and of the kind of
men that it is desirable to be acquainted with. By having intercourse with men,
courtesans obtain sexual pleasure as well as their own maintenance. Now, when
a courtizan takes up with a man from love, the action is natural,
but when she resorts to him for the purpose of getting money, her action
is artificial or forced. Even in the latter case, however, she should
conduct herself as if her love were indeed natural, because men repose their confidence
on those women who apparently love them. In making known her love to the
man, she should show an entire freedom from avarice, and for the sake
of her future credit, she should abstain from acquiring money from him by unlawful
means. A courtesan, well dressed in wearing her ornaments, should sit or
stand at the door of her house, and without exposing herself too much,
should look on the public road, so as to be seen by the passers
by she being like an object on view for sale. Footnote. In England,
the lower classes of courtesans walk the streets. In India and other places
in the East, they sit at the windows or at the doors of their
houses and footnote. She should form friendships with such persons as would enable her
to separate men from other women and attach them to herself, and repair her
own misfortunes, to acquire wealth, and to protect her from being bullied or
set upon by persons with whom she may have dealings of some kind or another.
These persons are the guards of the town or the police, the officers
of the courts of justice, astrologers, powerful men or men with interest,
learned men, teachers of the sixty four arts, pithematas or confidants, vitas
or parasites, vitushakas or jesters, flower sellers, perfumers, vendors of spirits,
wash men, barbers and beggars, and such other persons as may be
found necessary for the particular object to be acquired. The following kinds of men
may be taken up with simply for the purpose of getting their money. Men
of independent income, young men, men who are free from any ties,
men who hold places of authority under the king, Men who have secured their
means of livelihood without difficulty. Men possessed of unfailing sources of income, Men
who consider themselves handsome, Men who are always praising themselves. One who is
a eunuch but wishes to be thought a man. One who hates his equals,
One who is naturally liberal, one who has influenced with the king or
his ministers, one who is always fortunate, one who is proud of his
wealth, one who disobeys the orders of his own one upon whom the members
of his caste keep an eye, the only son whose father is wealthy,
an ascetic who is internally troubled with desire, a brave man, a physician
of the king, previous acquaintance. On the other hand, those who are
possessed of excellent qualities are to be resorted to for the sake of love and
fame. Such men are as follows, men of high birth, learned with
a good knowledge of the world, and doing the proper things at the proper
times. Poets, good storytellers, eloquent men, energetic men, skilled in
various arts, far seeing into the future, possessed of great minds, full
of perseverance, of affirm devotion, free from anger, liberal affectionate to their
parents, and with a liking for all social gatherings. Skilled in completing verses
begun by others and in various other sports, free from all disease, possessed
of a perfect body, strong and not addicted to drinking, powerful and sexual
enjoyment, sociable showing love towards women and attracting their hearts to himself, but
not entirely devoted to them, Possessed of independent means of livelihood, free from
envy, and last of all, free from suspicion. Such are the good
qualities of a man. The woman should also have the following characteristics. She
should be possessed of beauty and amiability with auspicious body marks. She should have
a liking for good qualities in other people, as also a liking for wealth.
She should take delight in sexual unions resulting from love, and should be
of a firm mind and of the same class as the man. With regard
to sexual enjoyment, she should always be anxious to acquire and obtain experience and
knowledge, To be free from avarice, and always have a liking for social
gatherings and for the arts. The following are the ordinary qualities of all women.
To be possessed of intelligence, good disposition, and good manners. To
be straightforward in behavior and to be grateful. To consider well the future before
doing anything. To possess activity, To be of consistent behavior, and to
have a knowledge of the proper times and places for doing things. To speak
always without meanness, loud, laughter, malignity, anger, avarice, dullness,
or stupidity. To have a knowledge of the Kamisutra, and to be
skilled in all the arts connected with it. The faults of the women are
to be known by the absence of any of the above mentioned good qualities.
The following kinds of men are not fit to be resorted to by courtesans.
One who is consumptive, one who is sickly, one whose mouth contains worms,
one whose breath smells like human excrement, one whose wife is dear to
him, one who speaks harshly, one who is always suspicious, one who
is avaricious, one who is pitiless, one who is a thief, one
who is self conceited, one who has a liking for sorcery, one who
does not care for respect or disrespect, one who can be gained over even
by his enemies by means of money, and lastly, one who is extremely
bashful. Ancient authors are of opinion that the causes of a courtesan resorting to
men are love, fear, money, pleasure, returning some act of enmity,
curiosity, sorrow, constant intercourse, dharma, celebrity, compassion, the
desire of having a friend, shame, the likeness of the man to some
beloved person, the search after good fortune, the getting rid of the love
of somebody else, the being of the same class as the man with respect
to sexual union, living in the same place, constancy, and poverty.
But Vitziayana decides that desire of wealth, freedom from misfortune, and love are
the only causes that affect the union of courtesans with men. Now, a
courtesan should not sacrifice money to her love, because money is the chief thing
to be attended to, But in cases of fear, et cetera, she
should pay regard to strength and other qualities. Moreover, even though she be
invited by any man to join him, she should not at once consent to
a union, because men are apt to despise things which are easily acquired.
On such occasions, she should first send the shampooers, and the singers,
and the jesters, who may be in her service or in their absence,
the pithematis or confidants, and others to find out the state of his feelings
and the condition of his mind. By means of these persons, she should
ascertain whether the man is pure or impure, affected or the reverse, capable
of attachment or indifferent, liberal or niggardly. And if she finds him to
her liking, she should then employ the vita and others to attach his mind
to her. Accordingly, the pithemarta should bring the man to her house under
the pretense of seeing the fights of quails, cocks, and rams, of
hearing the mina a kind of starling talk, or of seeing some other spectacle,
or the practice of some art or. He may take the woman to
the abode of the man. After this, when the man comes to her
house, the woman should give him something capable of producing curiosity and love in
his heart, such as inns affectionate present, telling him that it was specially
designed for his use. She should also amuse him for a long time by
telling him such stories and doing such things as he may take most delight in.
When he goes away, she should frequently send to him a female attendant
skilled in carrying on a jesting conversation, and also a small present. At
the same time, she should also sometimes go to him herself, under the
pretense of some business, and accompanied by the Pithemarta. Thus then the means
of attaching to herself the man desired. There are also some verses on the
subject, as follows. When a lover comes to her abode, a courtesan
should give him a mixture of betel leaves and betel nut, garlands of flowers,
and perfumed ointments, and, showing her skill in arts, should entertain
him with a long conversation. She should also give him some loving presence,
and make an exchange of her own things with his, and at the same
time should show him her skill in sexual enjoyment. When a courtizan is thus
united with her lover, she should always delight him by affectionate gifts, by
conversation, and by the application of tender means of enjoyment. Chapter two of
Living like a wife. When a Courtizan is living as a wife with her
lover, she should behave like a chaste woman and do everything to his satisfaction.
Her duty in this respect, in short, is that she should give
him pleasure, but should not become attached to him, though behaving as if
she were really attached. Now, the following is the manner in which she
is to conduct herself. So as to accomplish the above mentioned purpose. She
should have a mother dependent on her, one who should be represented as very
harsh and who looked upon money as her chief object in life. In the
event of there being no mother, than an old and confidential man nurse should
play the same role. The mother or nurse, on their part, should
appear to be displeased with the lover and forcibly take her away from him.
The woman herself should always show pretended anger, dejection, fear, and shame
on this account, but should not disobey the mother or nurse. At any
time. She should make out to the mother or nurse that the man is
suffering from bad health, and making this a pretext of going to see him.
She should go on that account. She is moreover to do the following
things for the purpose of gaining the man's favor, sending her female attendant to
bring the flowers used by him on the previous day in order that she may
use them herself as a mark of affection, Also asking for the mixture of
betel nut and leaves that have remained uneaten by him, expressing wonder at his
knowledge of sexual intercourse and the several means of enjoyment used by him, learning
from him the sixty four or kinds of pleasure mentioned by Bavavra, Continually practicing
the ways of enjoyment as taught by him and according to his liking, keeping
his secrets, telling him her own desires and secrets, concealing her anger,
never neglecting him on the bed when he turns his face towards her, touching
any parts of his body according to his wish, kissing and embracing him when
he is asleep, looking at him with apparent anxiety when he is wrapped in
thought or thinking of some other subject than herself, showing neither complete shamelessness nor
excessive bashfulness when he meets her or sees her standing on the terrace of her
house from the public road, Hating his enemies, loving those who are dear
to him, showing a liking for that which he likes, being in high
or low spirits according to the state that he is in himself, expressing a
curiosity to see his wives, not continuing her anger for a long time,
suspecting even the marks and wounds made by herself with her nails and teeth on
his body to have been made by some other woman, keeping her love for
him unexpressed by words, but showing it by deeds and signs and hints,
remaining silent when he is asleep, intoxicated, or sick, being very attentive
when he describes as good actions and reciting them afterwards to his praise and benefit,
giving witty replies to him if he be sufficiently attached to her, listening
to all his stories except those that relate to her rivals, expressing feelings of
dejection and sorrow if he sighs, yawns, or falls down, pronouncing the
words live long when he sneezes, pretending to be ill, or to have
the desire of pregnancy, when she feels dejected, abstaining from praising the good
qualities of anybody else, and from censuring those who have possess the same faults
as her own man, wearing anything that may have been given to her by
him, abstaining from putting on her ornaments and from taking food when he is
in pain, sick, low spirited, or suffering from misfortune, and condoling
or lamenting with him over the same, wishing to accompany him if he happens
to leave the country himself, or if he be banished from it by the
King, expressing a desire not to live after him, telling him that the
whole object and desire of her life was to be united with him, offering
previously promise sacrifices to the deity when he acquires wealth or has some desire fulfilled,
or when he has recovered from some illness or disease, putting on ornaments
every day, not acting too freely with him, reciting his name and the
name of his family in her songs, placing his hand on her loins,
bosom, and forehead, and falling asleep after feeling the pleasure of his touch,
sitting on his lap and falling asleep there, Wishing to have a child
by him, desiring not to live longer than he does, abstaining from revealing
his secrets to others, dissuading him from vows and fasts by saying, let
the sin fall upon me, keeping vows and fasts along with him when it
is impossible to change his mind on the subject, telling him that vows and
fasts are difficult to be observed even by herself, when she has any dispute
with him about them, looking on her own wealth and his without any distinction,
abstaining from going to public assemblies without him, and accompanying him when he
desires her to do so, taking delight in using things previously used by him,
and eating food that he has left uneaten, venerating his family, his
disposition, his skill in the arts, his learning, his caste, his
complexion, his native country, his friends, his good qualities, his age,
and his sweet temper, asking him to sing and to do other such
like things if able to do them, going to him without paying any regard
to fear, to cold, to heat, or to rain, saying with
regard to the next world, that he should be her lover even there,
adapting her tastes, disposition, and actions to his liking, abstaining from sorcery,
disputing continually with her mother on the subject of going to him, and
when forcibly taken by her mother to some other place, expressing her desire to
die by taking poison, by starving herself to death, by stabbing herself with
some weapon, or by hanging herself, and lastly assuring the man of her
constancy and love by means of her agents, and receiving money herself, but
abstaining from any dispute with her mother, with regard to be cuniary matters.
When the man sets out on a journey, she should make him swear that
he will return quickly, and in his absence, should put aside her vows
of worshiping the deity, and should wear no ornaments except those that are lucky.
If the time fixed for his return is past, she should endeavor to
ascertain the real time of his return from omens, from the reports of the
people, and from the positions of the planets, the moon, and the
stars. On occasions of amusement and of auspicious dreams, she should say,
let me be soon united to him. If moreover she feels melancholy or sees
any inauspicious omen, she should perform some rite to appease the deity. When
the man does return home, she should worship the god Kaema, that is,
the Indian Cupid, and offer oblations to other deities. And having caused
a pot filled with water to be brought by her friends, she should perform
the worship and honor of the crow who eats the offerings which we make to
the mains of deceased relations. After the first visit is over, she should
ask her lover also to perform certain rites, And this he will do if
he is sufficiently attached to her. Now, a man is said to be
sufficiently attached to a woman when his love is disinterested, when he has the
same object in view as his beloved one, when he is quite free from
any suspicions on her account, and when he is indifferent to money with regard
to her. Such is the manner of a courtesan living with a man like
a wife. And set forth here for the sake of guidance from the rules
of Dataka. What is not laid down here should be practiced according to the
custom of the people and the nature of each individual man. There are also
two verses on the subject, as follows. The extent of the love of
women is not known even to those who are the objects of their affection,
on account of its subtlety, and on account of the avarice and natural intelligence
of womankind, women are hardly ever known in their true light. Though they
may love men and become indifferent towards them, They may give them delight or
abandon them, or may extract from them all the wealth that they may possess.
End of Chapter two,