Part
6 - Chapter 2
OF
LIVING LIKE A WIFE
WHEN
a courtesan is living as a wife with her
lover, she should behave like a chaste
woman, and do everything to his
satisfaction. Her duty in this respect, in
short, is, that she should give him
pleasure, but should not become attached to
him, though behaving as if she were really
attached.
Now
the following is the manner in which she is
to conduct herself, so as to accomplish the
above mentioned purpose. She should have a
mother dependent on her, one who should be
represented as very harsh, and who looked
upon money as her chief object in life. In
the event of there being no mother, then an
old and confidential nurse should play the
same role. The mother or nurse, on their
part, should appear to be displeased with
the lover, and forcibly take her away from
him. The woman herself should always show
pretended anger, dejection, fear, and shame
on this account, but should not disobey the
mother or nurse at any time.
She
should make out to the mother or nurse that
the man is suffering from bad health, and
making this a pretext for going to see him,
she should go on that account. She is,
moreover, to do the following things for the
purpose of gaining the man's favour:
Sending
her female attendant to bring the flowers
used by him on the previous day, in order
that she may use them herself as a mark of
affection, also asking for the mixture of
betel nut and leaves that have remained
uneaten by him; expressing wonder at his
knowledge of sexual intercourse, and the
several means of enjoyment used by him;
learning from him the sixty-four kinds of
pleasure mentioned by Babhravya; continually
practising the ways of enjoyment as taught
by him, and according to his liking; keeping
his secrets; telling him her own desires and
secrets; concealing her anger; never
neglecting him on the bed when he turns his
face towards her; touching any parts of his
body according to his wish; kissing and
embracing him when he is asleep; looking at
him with apparent anxiety when he is wrapt
in thought, or thinking of some other
subject than herself; showing neither
complete shamelessness, nor excessive
bashfulness when he meets her, or sees her
standing on the terrace of her house from
the public road; hating his enemies; loving
those who are dear to him; showing a liking
for that which he likes; being in high or
low spirits according to the state that he
is in himself; expressing a curiosity to see
his wives; not continuing her anger for a
long time; suspecting even the marks and
wounds made by herself with. her nails and
teeth on his body to have been made by some
other woman; keeping her love for him
unexpressed by words, but showing it by
deeds, and signs, and hints; remaining
silent when he is asleep, intoxicated, or
sick; being very attentive when he describes
his good actions, and reciting them
afterwards to his praise and benefit; giving
witty replies to him if he be sufficiently
attached to her; listening to all his
stories, except those that relate to her
rivals; expressing feelings of dejection and
sorrow if he sighs, yawns, or falls down;
pronouncing the words `live long' when he
sneezes; pretending to be ill, or to have
the desire of pregnancy, when she feels
dejected; abstaining from praising the good
qualities of anybody else, and from
censuring those who possess the same faults
as her own man; wearing anything that may
have been given to her by him; abstaining
from putting on her ornaments, and from
taking food when he is in pain, sick,
low-spirited, or suffering from misfortune,
and condoling and lamenting with him over
the same; wishing to accompany him if he
happens to leave the country himself or if
he be banished from it by the king;
expressing a desire not to live after him;
telling him that the whole object and desire
of her life was to be united with him;
offering previously promised sacrifices to
the Deity when he acquires wealth, or has
some desire fulfilled, or when he has
recovered from some illness or disease;
putting on ornaments every day; not acting
too freely with him; reciting his name and
the name of his family in her songs placing
his hand on her loins, bosom and forehead,
and falling asleep after feeling the
pleasure of his touch; sitting on his lap
and falling asleep there; wishing to have a
child by him; desiring not to live longer
than he does; abstaining from revealing his
secrets to others; dissuading him from vows
and fasts by saying `let the sin fall upon
me'; keeping vows and fasts along with him
when it is impossible to change his mind on
the subject; telling him that vows and fasts
are difficult to be observed, even by
herself, when she has any dispute with him
about them; looking on her own wealth and
his without any distinction; abstaining from
going to public assemblies without him, and
accompanying him when he desires her to do
so; taking delight in using things
previously used by him, and in eating food
that he has left uneaten; venerating his
family, his disposition.
Swami Veet Chintan T'Zorba-Krsna
Jyotish
Shastracharya
& Vedic Astrologer of India
Main
Menu