The World of Courtesans c7.25

c7.25

Kautilya in his usual business-like way deals with the fees received by the *ganikas* from their lovers. As soon as a client paid the prescribed fees to a *ganika*, the contract between the client and the *ganika* was concluded, and if she refused to carry it out, she was liable to pay a fine amounting to twice the sum of the fees (bhoga) received. Denying sexual intercourse after receiving the fees entailed a fine eight times the amount received by her. J. J. Meyer, commenting on the terms *dvishatya* and *bhogupahara* of Kautilya, says that the first word refers to the deprivation of sexual intercourse in case an agreement was concluded for one night, and the second word carries the idea that it was concluded for a longer time. The contract, according to Kautilya, was not valid if the *ganika* was ill.