Bharata Muni
| ← Chapter 24 | Chapter 26 → |
1/ One who excels in all the arts is called vaiśeṣika (a connoisseur), or he is called vaiṣika because of his dealings with courtesans.
2/ A man who has studied all the arts, is skilled in all crafts, and is able to captivate women’s hearts is called vaiśika (a skilled lover).
3/ His thirty-three characteristic qualities are briefly divided into three classes: bodily, external (āhārya), and innate (sahaja).
4-7/ A skilled connoisseur is versed in the śāstras, skilled in arts and crafts, well-proportioned, pleasant to behold, mighty, self-possessed, of suitable age, attire, and lineage, friendly, gentle in temper, generous, patient, free from boastfulness, fearless, accustomed to sweet speech, dexterous, graceful, cleanly, skilled in matters of love, honest, able to act according to time and place, utters no piteous words, is wont to speak with a smile, eloquent, cautious, sweet-tongued, not greedy as a companion, full of faith, firm in decisions, not rash.
8/ His six special qualities: devotion in matters of love, cleanliness, self-control, honesty, dignity, suitable age, and the ability to converse on a variety of topics.
Woman-messenger
9-10/ The following persons may serve as female messengers: wise women, storytellers, female ascetics, women of the stage, clever women, neighbors, friends, maidservants, unmarried maidens, craftswomen, wet nurses, nuns, or fortune-tellers.
Qualities of the messenger
11/ A wise person should never employ as a messenger a person who is foolish, beautiful, rich, or sick.
12/ A suitable messenger knows the art of encouraging the beloved, speaks sweetly, acts honestly, behaves charmingly, and keeps a secret.
13/ She should encourage the beloved, mentioning various reasons, conveying exact words, and describing the state [of the lover].
14/ She should exaggerate information about her birth, wealth, and sexual prowess, and freely speak about the purpose of her visit.
15/ The messenger must arrange in various ways a meeting between the man and a woman who is in love for the first time, or with a beloved who is angry with him.
16-17/ First meetings may take place on festive nights, in her home, in parks, at relatives’ houses, at a wet nurse’s or a friend’s, at dinner parties, under the pretext of visiting the sick, or in empty houses.
18/ After such meetings, one should carefully observe the signs indicating whether the woman is attached or indifferent.
Woman, excessively overcome by love
19/ A woman struck by love and not concealing her amorous behavior at the sight of her beloved is called “overwhelmed by love” (madanatura).
Bound Woman
20-23/ A devoted woman displays the following qualities: she speaks of her beloved’s virtues with her friends, gives him money, honors his friends, hates his enemies, strives for union with him, appears content upon seeing him, seems pleased when speaking of him, falls asleep after he falls asleep, kisses after he kisses, rises before he wakes, endures suffering, remains constant in happiness and sorrow, and never becomes angry.
Hostile woman
24-27/ A hostile woman wipes her mouth when kissed, speaks unpleasantly, grows angry despite sweet words, hates his friends, praises his enemies, lies with her back to him, lies down first, shows no pleasure despite honors, cannot bear suffering, angers without cause, refuses to look at him or greet him.
The Return of a Woman’s Heart
28-29/ The return of the heart includes: display of wealth, manifestation of goodwill, offering of monetary gifts, actual giving of money, feigned refusal of her, and manifestation of affection in proximity.
Causes of hostility
30-31/ Hostility arises from poverty, illness, misfortune, rudeness, ignorance, departure to a foreign land, wounded pride, excessive greed, transgression, late return home, and recourse to undesirable deeds.
Actions that captivate women’s hearts
32/ In connection with love, actions must be capable of captivating women’s hearts.
33-35/ The strategy differs by type: selfish women — with money, learned women — with knowledge of the arts, clever women — with playfulness, sensitive women — by gratifying their desires. Offering ornaments encourages intimacy; women who hate men — with pleasant stories; girls under sixteen — with toys; frightened women — with reassurance; proud women — with servile devotion; noble ladies — with pursuits of the arts.
Three types of women
36/ Three natures of women: highest, middle, and lowest. But the nature of courtesans corresponds to their own class.
Highest woman
37-39/ The highest woman remains unperturbed when she is offended, does not use harsh words, is brief in anger, skilled in the arts, desirable for high birth and wealth, versed in matters of love, honest, physically attractive, angered only with cause, speaks without malice, and knows the proper occasions for all actions.
The Middle Woman
40-41/ The average woman desires and is desired by men, is skilled in love affairs, jealous of rivals, full of malice, insincere, short-lived in anger, proud, but not for long appeased.
Nīca strī
42/ The lowest woman becomes angry without proper cause, is ill-tempered, exceedingly proud, fickle, coarse, and remains angry for a long time.
The Four Stages of a Woman’s Youth
43/ The youthful exploits of women who have known the pleasures of love manifest in four stages through attire, parts of the body and their movements, as well as inner qualities.
First youth
44/ First youth is marked by zeal for amorous affairs; it is characterized by full thighs, cheeks, sides, lips, and firm breasts, conducive to the pleasures of love.
Second youth
45/ The second youth brings the greatest pleasure; it is characterized by full, rounded limbs, a lush bosom, and a slender waist.
Third Youth
46/ The third youth possesses all kinds of beauty, arouses sensual desire, intoxicates, is rich in qualities, and amorous passion adds to its charms.
Fourth Youth
47-48/ The fourth youth arrives when the first, second, and third have passed. It is the “enemy of intimacy” and is characterized by diminished physical attractiveness — slightly paler cheeks, sides, lips, breasts — yet it retains zeal for amorous affairs.
Behavior in early youth
49/ Women in their first youth cannot exert much effort, feel neither pleasure nor displeasure toward rivals, and become attached to people of gentle disposition.
Behavior in the second youth
50/ Women in their second youth are easily offended; their anger and malice are slight, and in anger she remains silent.
Behavior in the third youth
51/ Women in their third youth are skilled in intimacy, full of malice toward rivals, possess many qualities, are not secretive, and display pride in their actions.
Behavior in the fourth youth
52/ Women in their fourth youth are capable of captivating men, bear no malice toward rivals, despite their skill in love, and always wish to remain inseparable from their beloved.
Five types of men
53-54/ There are five types in regard to love affairs: “skilled,” “highest,” “middle,” “lowest,” and “novice.”
The skilled man
55/ A skilled man is compassionate, endures hardships, knows how to soothe the anger of love, is versed in matters of love, honest, obedient, and not self-willed.
Highest man
56-57/ The superior man avoids unpleasant actions, discerns the slightest aversion, fully comprehends impulses, possesses good memory and self-control, is worthy, and understands the secrets of the senses. He is gentle in manner, generous, feels love without being overcome by passion, and experiences aversion when insulted.
Middle man
58-59/ The average man is balanced, strives to comprehend women’s feelings by all means, and feels disgust upon discovering deceit. He gives gifts at the proper time, shows little anger when insulted, and feels disgust upon discovering the slightest deceit.
Inferior man
60-61/ The lowest man shamelessly addresses women with unchanging love, despite insults, abandonment, and deprived affection. He loves her openly and even more strongly, contrary to his friends’ advice, even when he directly learns of her deceit.
Beginner
62-63/ A novice does not care about fear or anger, is foolish, by nature excessively sensitive, stubborn, unskilled in matters of love, not rough in love quarrels and blows, and becomes a plaything of women.
Psychological approach to women
64/ Women are diverse in nature, and their hearts are mysterious. Therefore, a wise man should approach them in a manner befitting their character.
65/ A man should treat a woman according to the science of love (kāmaśāstra), after having measured her love or its absence in various ways.
66/ Five means: conciliation (sāma), gift (pradāna), dissension (bheda), punishment (daṇḍa), and indifference (upekṣā).
Pacification
67/ Pacification is achieved by projecting oneself, saying: “I am yours,” “You are mine,” “I am dear to you,” “You are dear to me.”
Gift
68/ Giving wealth according to one’s means at an appropriate or inappropriate time, and concealing this under some pretext, is called a gift.
Strife
69/ Pointing out the shortcomings of her dear person in any way is discord.
Punishment
70-71/ An indifferent woman is reunited through pacification, a self-interested one — through wealth, a woman attached to another — through discord. When a woman becomes vicious due to a changed attitude, she should be punished with light beating and restriction of her movements.
Indifference
72/ If, after the exhaustive application in due order of such means as pacification and others, the woman does not submit, then the skilled man should remain indifferent to her.
Reading a woman’s heart by her behavior
73/ By the expression of her face, or by her eyes, or by the movement of her limbs, one should discern whether a woman hates a man, loves him, or is indifferent to him.
The mercenary dealings of a courtesan with men
74/ Hetairae, except for those belonging to gods or the king, are always available for money to a man, whether he is dear to them or not.
75-76/ For hetairas, men who pay money become dear, even if they were hateful before; become even dearer, if they were already dear; are accepted as virtuous, even if they are depraved; are acknowledged as possessing merits, even if they lack them. At the sight of him their eyes dance with joy and they seem to smile with their eyes, and through imitation of the proper feeling their faces take on a pleasant hue.
77/ Passion arises in them after they have been treated with proper means or have been separated for some time, just as fire emerges from wood.
78/ Such is the traditional method of dealing with women, as far as courtesans are concerned. It should be used appropriately in a nāṭaka or in a prakaraṇa.
79/ Such is the method of dealing with courtesans, which the experts should follow. Now hear about the pictorial representation (citrabhinaya).
Here ends chapter XXV of the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata, which treats of the handling of courtesans.