The World of Courtesans c5.50

c5.50

In the *Guttila Jataka*, *samajja* takes the form of a musical competition between two masters before a huge gathering in the palace courtyard. Master Guttila of Banaras, who was an expert in his art was renowned all over India. At that time certain merchants from Banaras had been to Ujjain on a business trip. When a holiday was proclaimed in Ujjain they all clubbed together, procured scents, perfumes and ointments and all kinds of food and meats. After they had their fill, Musila, the chief musician of Ujjain was brought in, but his lute-playing failed to impress the assembly as it could not compete with the lute-playing of Guttila. When Musila heard Guttila being praised, he asked the merchants to take him to Banaras. There he managed to learn all the intricacies of music from Guttila. Musila wanted to serve the king of Banaras with the help of his teacher, but he was offered only half the salary of his teacher unless he could defeat his teacher in a musical competition. The *samajja* was held, and with the miraculous help of Sakka, Guttila scored a victory over his rival.