The World of Courtesans c10.17

c10.17

In the Third Act, Charudatta and Maitreya discuss Rebhila's music on the way home When they reach Charudatta's house, Maitreya washes his feet and he is given the golden casket containing Vasantasena's jewelry. He is asked to keep it in safe custody, and then both he and Charudatta retire for the night. Now enters Sharvilaka, the thief, one of the most interesting characters in the play. He had reached the house after breaking the orchard wall and was ready to force his way into the inner court as well. He welcomes the night. He speaks of his trade: "The trade that thrives while sleeps the sleepy-head." Then he selects a soft place in the wall weakened by constant sunlight and eaten by saltpetre rot. He then cites the four varieties of breaching that are prescribed by Skanda, the patron saint of thieves: "If the bricks are baked, pull them out; if they are unbaked, cut them; if they are made of earth, wet them; if they are made of wood, split them. Here we have baked bricks; ergo, pull out the bricks." He defines the shapes that the breaching can take and quotes again the treatises on thieving. They mention seven shapes—a "lotus," a "cistern," a "crescent moon," a "sun," an "oblong," a "cross" (*svastika*), and a "full vessel" (*purnakumbham*). He wonders which one he should use to excite the wonder of the men the next morning. He finally chooses the shape of the "full vessel" and offers prayers to Skanda and then to the teacher of magic who gave him a magic salve. The salve had made his body invisible to the eyes of watchers and impervious to wounds made by sharp-edged swords. He applies the magic salve to his body and breaks the wall. He then enters the courtyard. From the sleeping Maitreya's hands he gently takes the golden casket belonging to Vasantasena. He confesses that this has been done to redeem his beloved Madanika's slavery. Soon the theft is discovered and Charudatta's wife sends her own necklace to Vasantasena as compensation for the loss she has suffered.