The World of Courtesans c5.17

c5.17

The *Takkariya Jataka* throws some interesting light on the life of a courtesan. Kali, a famous courtesan (*nagara-shobhani*) of Banaras earned a thousand pieces a day, which her brother Tundila, a debauchee, a drunkard, and a gambler, took from her and wasted. She could not restrain him or make him give up his habits. One day her brother lost all his clothes in a gambling match. Wrapping himself in a tattered loin cloth, Tundila went to his sister's house, but ordered by her, the serving maids threw him out. As he lay in the street bemoaning his fate, one of the customers of Kali saw him and taking pity on him promised to plead for him with his sister. He kept his promise, but Kali refused to give anything to her profligate brother and told her lover that he was at liberty to give him whatever he liked