Social Life in Ancient India: Studies in Vatsyayana's Kamasutra c8.s5.t2.4

c8.s5.t2.4

At these gatherings were invited *gaṇikās* or brilliant artists who by their education and knowledge of the arts, could please the *nāgaraka* by meeting him on his own ground, viz., in mental and aesthetic culture, and who were therefore loved and honoured by the people. Sometimes the parties were held at the house of one of the *gaṇikās*, or the *nāgarakas* met at each other's house, or they assembled in the *sabhā*, the public hall of the city or of the *gaṇa* or corporation to which every citizen belonged. Here the citizens came together to discuss politics and philosophy, or to hold competitions in literature or art, or merely to enjoy themselves in convivial parties. This *sabhā* of Vātsyāyana is the direct descendant of the *samiti* or *pariṣad* of the Vedic times, at one of which, viz., that of the Pañcālas, Svetaketu Āruṇeya, who is reputed to be the founder of the science of erotics, was defeated by a Kṣatriya.²