Page:The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana.djvu/193

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
of Vatsyayana
157

man, a religious student, a sacrificer, a devotee, or an ascetic who may have all fallen in love with her, and who may be consequently at the point of death, by doing this she might either gain or lose religious merit, and therefore this is called a mixed doubt about the gain and loss of religious merit.

(c) If a courtezan relies solely upon the report of other people (i.e., hearsay) about a man, and goes to him without ascertaining herself whether he possesses good qualities or not, she may either gain or lose pleasure in proportion as he may be good or bad, and therefore this is called a mixed doubt about the gain and loss of pleasure.

Uddalika has described the gains and losses on both sides as follows.

(a) If, when living with a lover, a courtezan gets both wealth and pleasure from him, it is called a gain on both sides.

(b) When a courtezan lives with a lover at her own expense without getting any profit out of it, and the lover even takes back from her what he may have formerly given her, it is called a loss on both sides.

(c) When a courtezan is uncertain whether a new acquaintance would become attached to her, and, moreover, if he became attached to her, whether he would give her any thing, it is called a doubt on both sides about gains.

(d) When a courtezan is uncertain whether a former enemy, if made up to by her at her own expense, would do her some injury on account of his grudge against her; or, if becoming attached to her, would take away angrily from her anything that he may have given to her, this is called a doubt on both sides about loss.

Babhravya has described the gains and losses on both sides as follows:

(a) When a courtezan can get money from a man whom she may go to see, and also money from a man whom she may not go to see, this is called a gain on both sides.

(b) When a courtezan has to incur further expense if she goes to see a man, and yet runs the risk of incurring an irremediable loss if she does not go to see him, this is called a loss on both sides.

(c) When a courtezan is uncertain, whether a particular man would give her anything on her going to see him, without incurring expense on her part, or whether on her ne-