The World of Courtesans c13.47

c13.47

There the king met the keepers of prostitutes (*bhujangas*) and rakes from different parts of the country. They wore the distinctive costumes of their lands. One class wore white earrings and creased white garments (*tungabhanji samanoitam*). To their white tunics (*angika*) were attached knives. Some wore chaplets and held daggers in their hands and were clad in strange costumes. Their foreheads were marked with a conch-shaped *tilaka*. Some wore doublets (*varahana*) and held knife-shaped sticks. Some were equipped with swords and shields and guarded the houses of the courtesans. One of them wore a green jacket (*kurpasaka*). He had covered his hair with a green scarf and was wielding a knife. A young man in white wore ornaments. He was followed by swordsmen. A *vita* wearing a saffron tunic (*angika*) and equipped with a knife walked with a following of swaggering companions. Another man came there mounted on a horse. He wore a tunic and a chaplet in his top-knot. He was decked in ornaments and was accompanied by seven or eight attendants. These well dressed *vitas* from Karnataka walked haughtily with upraised heads.