About courtesans

  about courtesans, was prepared by Vatsyayana from a treatise on the subject that was written by Dattaka, for the women of Pataliputra (the modern Patna), some two thousand years ago. Dattaka's work does not appear to be extant now, but this abridgement of it is very clever, and quite equal to any of the productions of Emile 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 Hindoos would not be complete without mention of the courtesan, and the part is entirely devoted to this subject. The Hindoos have ever had the good sense to recognise 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 womankind in Oriental countries.
  In the earlier days the well-educated Hindoo dancing girl and courtesan 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.



  By having intercourse with men courtesans obtain sexual pleasure, as well as their own maintenance. Now when a courtesan 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 and 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.
  She should form friendships with such persons as would enable her to separate men from other women, and attach them to herself, to 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
  • Pithamardas or confidants
  • Vitas or parasites
  • Vidushakas or jesters
  • Flower sellers
  • Perfumers
  • Vendors of spirits
  • Washermen
  • Barbers
  • 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

  When a courtesan 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, then an old and confidential 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.



  By natural or lawful means, and by artifices. Old authors are of opinion that when a courtesan can get as much money as she wants from her lover, she should not make use of artifice. But Vatsyayana lays down that though she may get some money from him by natural means, yet when she makes use of artifice he gives her doubly more, and therefore artifice should be resorted to for the purpose of extorting money from him at all events.
  Now the artifices to be used for getting money from her lover are as follows:
  • Taking money from him on different occasions, for the purpose of purchasing various articles, such as ornaments, food, drink, flowers, perfumes and clothes, and either not buying them, or getting from him more than their cost.
  • Praising his intelligence to his face.
  • Pretending to be obliged to make gifts on occasion of festivals connected with vows, trees, gardens, temples, or tanks.
  • Pretending that at the time of going to his house, her jewels have been stolen either by the king's guards, or by robbers.
  • Alleging that her property has been destroyed by fire, by the falling of her house, or by the carelessness of her servants.
  • Pretending to have lost the ornaments of her lover along with her own.
  • Causing him to hear through other people of the expenses incurred by her in coming to see him.
  • Contracting debts for the sake of her lover.
  • Disputing with her mother on account of some expense incurred by her for her lover, and which was not approved of by her mother.
  • Not going to parties and festivities in the houses of her friends for the want of presents to make to them, she having previously informed her lover of the valuable presents given to her by these very friends.
  • Not performing certain festive rites under the pretence that she has no money to perform them with.
  • Engaging artists to do something for her lover.
  • Entertaining physicians and ministers for the purpose of attaining some object.
  • Assisting friends and benefactors both on festive occasions, and in misfortune.
  • Performing household rites.
  • Having to pay the expenses of the ceremony of marriage of the son of a female friend.
  • Having to satisfy curious wishes including her state of pregnancy.
  • Pretending to be ill, and charging her cost of treatment.
  • Having to remove the troubles of a friend.
  • Selling some of her ornaments, so as to give her lover a present.
  • Pretending to sell some of her ornaments, furniture, or cooking utensils to a trader, who has been already tutored how to behave in the matter.
  • Having to buy cooking utensils of greater value than those of other people, so that they might be more easily distinguished, and not changed for others of an inferior description.
  • Remembering the former favours of her lover, and causing them always to be spoken of by her friends and followers.
  • Informing her lover of the great gains of other courtesans.
  • Describing before them, and in the presence of her lover, her own great gains, and making them out to be greater even than theirs, though such may not have been really the case.

  When a courtesan abandons her present lover after all his wealth is exhausted, she may then consider about her reunion with a former lover. But she should return to him only if he has acquired fresh wealth, or is still wealthy, and if he is still attached to her. And if this man be living at the time with some other woman she should consider well before she acts.
  Now such a man can only be in one of the six following conditions:
  • He may have left the first woman of his own accord, and may even have left another woman since then.
  • He may have been driven away from both women.
  • He may have left the one woman of her own accord, and been driven away by the other.
  • He may have left the one woman of his own accord, and be living with another woman.
  • He may have been driven away from the one woman, and left the other of his own accord.
  • He may have been driven away by the one woman, and may be living with another.
  Now if the man has left both women of his own accord, he should not be resorted to, on account of the fickleness of his mind, and his indifference to the excellences of both of them. As regards the man who may have been driven away from both women, if he has been driven away from the last one because the woman could get more money from some other man, then he should be resorted to, for if attached to the first woman he would give her more money, through vanity and emulation to spite the other woman. But if he has been driven away by the woman on account of his poverty, or stinginess, he should not then be resorted to.
  In the case of the man who may have left the one woman of his own accord, and been driven away by the other, if he agrees to return to the former and give her plenty of money beforehand, then he should be resorted to.
  In the case of the man who may have left the one woman of his own accord, and be living with another woman, the former (wishing to take up with him again) should first ascertain if he left her in the first instance in the hope of finding some particular excellence in the other woman, and that not having found any such excellence, he was willing to come back to her, and to give her much money on account of his conduct, and on account of his affection still existing for her.
  Or, whether, having discovered many faults in the other woman, he would now see even more excellences in herself than actually exist, and would be prepared to give her much money for these qualities.

  When a courtesan is able to realize much money every day, by reason of many customers, she should not confine herself to a single lover; under such circumstances, she should fix her rate for one night, after considering the place, the season, and the condition of the people, and having regard to her own good qualities and good looks, and after comparing her rates with those of other courtesans. She can inform her lovers, and friends, and acquaintances about these charges. If, however, she can obtain a great gain from a single lover, she may resort to him alone, and live with him like a wife.
  Now the sages are of opinion that, when a courtesan has the chance of an equal gain from two lovers at the same time, a preference should be given to the one who would give her the kind of thing which she wants. But Vatsyayana says that the preference should be given to the one who gives her gold, because it cannot be taken back like some other things, it can be easily received, and is also the means of procuring anything that may be wished for. Of such things as gold, silver, copper, bell metal, iron, pots, furniture, beds, upper garments, under vestments, fragrant substances, vessels made of gourds, ghee, oil, corn, cattle, and other things of a like nature, the first - gold - is superior to all the others. When the same labour is required to gain any two lovers, or when the same kind of thing is to be got from each of them, the choice should be made by the advice of a friend, or it may be made from their personal qualities, or from the signs of good or bad fortune that may be connected with them.
  When there are two lovers, one of whom is attached to the courtesan, and the other is simply very generous, the sages say that the preference should be given to the generous lover, but Vatsyayana is of opinion that the one who is really attached to the courtesan should be preferred, because he can be made to be generous, even as a miser gives money if he becomes fond of a woman, but a mail who is simply generous cannot be made to love with real attachment. But among those who are attached to her, if there is one who is poor, and one who is rich, the preference is of course to be given to the latter.
  When there are two lovers, one of whom is generous, and the other ready to do any service for the courtesan, some sages say that the one who is ready to do the service should be preferred, but Vatsyayana is of opinion that a man who does a service thinks that he has gained his object when he has done something once, but a generous man does not care for what he has given before. Even here the choice should be guided by the likelihood of the future good to be derived from her union with either of them.

  It sometimes happens that while gains are being sought for, or expected to be realized, losses only are the result of our efforts. The causes of these losses are:
  • Weakness of intellect
  • Excessive love
  • Excessive pride
  • Excessive self conceit
  • Excessive simplicity
  • Excessive confidence
  • Excessive anger
  • Carelessness
  • Recklessness
  • Influence of evil genius
  • Accidental circumstances
  The results of these losses are:
  • Expense incurred without any result
  • Destruction of future good fortune
  • Stoppage of gains about to be realized
  • Loss of what is already obtained
  • Acquisition of a sour temper
  • Becoming unamiable to every body
  • Injury to health
  • Loss of hair and other accidents
  Now gain is of three kinds: gain of wealth, gain of religious merit, and gain of pleasure; and similarly loss is of three kinds: loss of wealth, loss of religious merit, and loss of pleasure. At the time when gains are sought for, if other gains come along with them, these are called attendant gains. When gain is uncertain, the doubt of its being a gain is called a simple doubt. When there is a doubt whether either of two things will happen or not, it is called a mixed doubt. If while one thing is being done two results take place, it is called a combination of two results, and if several results follow from the same action, it is called a combination of results on every side.
  We shall now give examples of the above.
  As already stated, gain is of three kinds, and loss, which is opposed to gain, is also of three kinds.
  When by living with a great man a courtesan acquires present wealth, and in addition to this becomes acquainted with other people, and thus obtains a chance of future fortune, and an accession of wealth, and becomes desirable to all, this is called a gain of wealth attended by other gain.
  When by living with a man a courtesan simply gets money, this is called a gain of wealth not attended by any other gain.