The World of Courtesans c12.43

c12.43

The seventh story deals with the cheating of a bawd. It is related that once during the summer two sons of a Brahman proceeded from their home to another country In the course of their journey they reached the Vindhya forest where their hunger pangs were allayed by two pigeons who voluntarily fell into the fire The younger brother who ate the flesh of the pigeon was miraculously blessed and found that five hundred gold pieces were placed every day into his bag Somehow, the brothers got separated and it so happened that the elder brother became the ruler of Magadha and the younger one happened to go to Kanchi where his lavishness attracted the attention of a greedy bawd, Makaradamstra She was the mother of the courtesan Karpurika. He spent many days with her daughter and she, at the instance of her mother, wormed out from him the secret of his lavish gift. She wanted to grab the entire treasure all at once, so she made the lover vomit out the female pigeon, the cause of the magical gift, and she ate up the pigeon herself.