The World of Courtesans c4.28

c4.28

The Pauranic view of the origin of prostitution requires further examination (*Br.* 212; *M.B* XVI.5,135,144; 7.223-70). One view asserts that after the death of Krishna his sixteen thousand women were carried off by the Abhiras. They are stated to have been subsequently compelled to take to prostitution and in the profession they were instructed by Dalbhya Chaikitaneya. Two reasons are advanced for this state of affairs, namely, Krishna cursing his wives for their infidelity and their subsequent rape by the Abhiras, and Ashtavakra's cursing a host of Apsaras (Krishna's wives) and forcing them to become courtesans. Several probabilities are suggested by these statements: Firstly, that "organized" prostitution (under royal patronage) may have arisen as early as at the time of the Aila kings, under conditions associated with conquests and subjection Secondly, that the destructive Yadava wars of the epic age produced a repetition of similar conditions and results on a large scale. Thirdly, that there existed an intimate contact between the harems and the courtesans with the result that royal polygamy often implied patronage of prostitution Fourthly, the Brahmans were chiefly instrumental in fostering and sanctioning the profession, as is shown by the prominent part played in its development by Dalbhya Chaikitaneya and Ashtavakra, nephew of the notorious Shvetaketu who was connected with Brahmanical laxity, and was a teacher of erotics (inclusive of prostitution). All these Brahmans were, remarkably enough, Kuru-Panchala Brahmans together with the two Panchala Babhravyas similarly associated in tradition.