Part
1 - Chapter 4
THE
LIFE OF A CITIZEN
HAVING
thus acquired learning, a man, with the
wealth that he may have gained by gift,
conquest, purchase, deposit, or inheritance
from his ancestors, should become a
householder, and pass the life of a citizen.
He should take a house in a city, or large
village, or in the vicinity of good men, or
in a place which is the resort of many
persons. This abode should be situated near
some water, and divided into different
compartments for different purposes. It
should be surrounded by a garden, and also
contain two rooms, an outer and an inner
one. The inner room should be occupied by
the females, while the outer room, balmy
with rich perfumes, should contain a bed,
soft, agreeable to the sight, covered with a
clean white cloth, low in the middle part,
having garlands and bunches of flowers
upon it, and a canopy above it, and two
pillows, one at the top, another at the
bottom. There should be also a sort of couch
besides, and at the head of this a sort of
stool, on which should be placed the
fragrant ointments for the night, as well as
flowers, pots containing collyrium and other
fragrant substances, things used for
perfuming the mouth, and the bark of the
common citron tree. Near the couch, on the
ground, there should be a pot for spitting,
a box containing ornaments, and also a lute
hanging from a peg made of the tooth of an
elephant, a board for drawing, a pot
containing perfume, some books, and some
garlands of the yellow amaranth flowers. Not
far from the couch, and on the ground, there
should be a round seat, a toy cart, and a
board for playing with dice; outside the
outer room there should be cages of birds,
and a separate place for spinning, carving
and such like diversions. In the garden
there should be a whirling swing and a
common swing, as also a bower of creepers
covered with flowers, in which a raised
parterre should be made for sitting.
Now
the householder, having got up in the
morning and performed his necessary duties,
should wash his teeth, apply a limited
quantity of ointments and perfumes to his
body, put some ornaments on his person and
collyrium on his eyelids and below his eyes,
colour his lips with alacktaka, and look at
himself in the glass. Having then eaten
betel leaves, with other things that give
fragrance to the mouth, he should perform
his usual business. He should bathe daily,
anoint his body with oil every other day,
apply a lathering substance to his body
every three days, get his head (including
face) shaved every four days and the other
parts of his body every five or ten days.
All these things should be done without
fail, and the sweat of the armpits should
also be removed. Meals should be taken in
the forenoon, in the afternoon, and again at
night, according to Charayana. After
breakfast, parrots and other birds should be
taught to speak, and the fighting of cocks,
quails, and rams should follow. A limited
time should be devoted to diversions with
Pithamardas, Vitas, and Vidushakas, and then
should be taken the midday sleep. After this
the householder, having put on his clothes
and ornaments, should, during the afternoon,
converse with his friends. In the evening
there should be singing, and after that the
householder, along with his friend, should
await in his room, previously decorated and
perfumed, the arrival of the woman that may
be attached to him, or he may send a female
messenger for her, or go for her himself.
After her arrival at his house, he and his
friend should welcome her, and entertain her
with a loving and agreeable conversation.
Thus end the duties of the day.
The following are the things to be done
occasionally as diversions or amusements:
* Holding festivals in honor of different
Deities
* Social gatherings of both sexes
* Drinking parties
* Picnics
* Other social diversions
* Festivals
On some particular auspicious day, an
assembly of citizens should be convened in
the temple of Saraswati. There the skill of
singers, and of others who may have come
recently to the town, should be tested, and
on the following day they should always be
given some rewards. After that they may
either be retained or dismissed, according
as their performances are liked or not by
the assembly.
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