The World of Courtesans c11.6

c11.6

King Kalasha reached a mature age and still he refused to give up this wicked mode of life taught to him by foreigners. The Takka Vullīya bought slave girls from the distant parts of Turushka. They swelled the ranks of his own wives and mistresses. He led a dissolute life and yet managed to preserve his strength by partaking of fish broth and other aphrodisiacs. He also participated eagerly in Tantric rites (*Mahāsamaya*) in which he drank a great deal in the company of his *gurus*. But in this age of degeneration at a time when parasites and prostitutes held their sway, the character of Sahaja, the concubine of Utkarsha, draws our admiration. She had been attached to a temple as a dancing girl. Utkarsha had watched her dance. He admired her talents and took her to the royal seraglio. When Utkarsha committed suicide, she entered the pyre and chose death.