The World of Courtesans c9.90

c9.90

At this hour it was announced that Kamamanjari’s younger sister Ragamanjari intended to give a musical performance in the assembly hall of the *Panchayat* (*panchaviragoshthi*), and the elite of the town (*nagaraka-ganah*) assembled there in a mood of tense anticipation. Such was the beauty of the girl and her accomplishment that Apaharavarman fell in love with her. His friend Dhanamitra told him that Ragamanjari too returned his love. She had declared, "My price is virtue, not cash. Hereafter no man may hold my hand except in matrimony.” Her sister Kamamanjari tried to dissuade her from such a stupid course and her mother submitted a petition to the king praying for his intervention. However, Ragamanjari's relatives would not consent to a marriage without money and she was not ready to favour a man who offered money. There the matter stood. Apaharavarman was confident that he would seduce her with his virtue and secretly satisfy her relatives with money.