[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The World of Courtesans](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973) › c4.34 # The World of Courtesans c4.34 The World of Courtesans c4.34 - **Language:** English ### [c4.34](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c4.34) The pattern of society revealed in the epics shows that while in the forests the hermits were engaged in expounding the deep mysteries of life, the towns had another culture pattern in which courtesans played no insignificant part. They enticed men of virtue, accompanied armies on the march, served the king and by their training in the arts and crafts gained for themselves an important place in society The institution of the courtesan is taken for granted in the epics, though their accomplishments are not praised sky-high as in the Kavya and prose literature of later days. The "public woman, open to the visits of all" (\*nari-prakasha sarvagamya\*) wore a red garment, a red wreath and red gold This, according to Meyer, recalled the god of death. They were never considered inauspicious, though of course they occupied a low rung in the social order. - [Previous: c4.33](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c4.33) - [Next: c4.35](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c4.35) - [Up: c4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c4) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c4.34](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c4.34) · Pramāṇa