The World of Courtesans c4.52

c4.52

The Vedic, epic and Smritic evidences about courtesans are terse and to the point. The heroic nature of the *Mahabharata* could hardly be reconciled with the softer aspects of love, and in the moral atmosphere of the *Ramayana* courtesans and prostitutes are dismissed as mere appendages to royal pomp and show. Similarly the *Smritis* are more concerned with the social and legal position of prostitutes rather than their way of life. One is, therefore, pleasantly surprised to find in the *Harivamsa Purana* (a compendium of the *Mahabharata*) some interesting information about courtesans, *goshthis*, *yatras* and the *samaja*, with which some of the leading characters were closely associated.