The World of Courtesans c6.24

c6.24

It has been pointed out earlier that courtesans referred to in Jain literature were supposed to have acquired a knowledge of the seventy-two traditional arts. Naturally the list contains a large number of items which must have been learnt by men alone and it enumerates some highly specialized crafts which must have been the prerogative of artisans working in their own fields. The only purpose served by such a comprehensive list was to remind society that a cultured man or woman was expected to know as many of these arts as possible. This list contains many of the items of the sixty-four arts mentioned in the *Kamasutra* The following arts are mentioned: