The World of Courtesans c7.9

c7.9

A *pratiganika* was a substitute prostitute employed on a short-term contract during the absence of a *ganika* but she could become a full fledged *ganika* in the future But as long as she remained a mere substitute, she received only half of the salary of the *ganika* whom she substituted The very appointment of a *pratiganika* shows the inexorable ways of the state so far as the revenue-making machinery was concerned. As the state-employed courtesans paid a respectable amount in the form of revenue, the machinery organized for the work of such a profession had always to be kept in proper order.