[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › The World of Courtesans # The World of Courtesans Courtesans (gaṇikā, veśyā) and urban pleasure culture from Vedic to medieval times, from Kāmasūtra, drama, kāvya, Jātakas and Jain texts. - **Language:** English - **Author:** [Moti Chandra](https://indike.org/pramana/person/chandra-m) - **Extent:** 1,231 passages, 107,099 words - **Text:** complete digital text - **Source:** archive.org · Vikas Publishing House, Delhi 1973; scan on archive.org, OCR Gemini 3.8 Flash; chapters and sections by… · In copyright (Moti Chandra †1981); freely available on archive.org — shown with credit and a link to that… ## Contents - [c1 Front matter](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c1) — 8 parts - [c2 Contents](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c2) — 2 parts - [c3 Preface](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c3) — 5 parts - [c4 1 Courtesans in Vedic, Pauranic and Smriti Literatures](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c4) — 62 parts - [c5 2 Courtesans in Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c5) — 53 parts - [c6 3 Courtesans in Jain Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c6) — 86 parts - [c7 4 Courtesans in the Mauryan Period](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c7) — 56 parts - [c8 5 Courtesans in the Kamasutra and the Natyashastra](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c8) — 274 parts - [c9 6 Courtesans in the Gupta Period](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c9) — 102 parts - [c10 7 Courtesans and Goshthi in Sanskrit Drama](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c10) — 266 parts - [c11 8 Courtesans in Mediaeval Kashmir](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c11) — 160 parts - [c12 9 Courtesans in Mediaeval Times in Other Parts of India](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c12) — 96 parts - [c13 10 Courtesans in South India](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973.c13) — 61 parts --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.chandra-1973) · Pramāṇa