Gaṇikā

The courtesan, Amrapali of Mularsavastivada

Gaṇikā (Devanagari:गणिका) is the Sanskrit term for courtesans in ancient India, with earliest reference in the Vedic period. In the Kamasutra, ganikas are dubbed "courtesans de luxe," distinguishing them from other prostitutes such as vesyas. According to Indian historian Moti Chandra, ganika occupied the highest place in the hierarchy of courtesans.

According to the Kamasutra, to become recognized as a ganika, a woman had to master the sixty-four arts of Kalā, which include musical, performing, and visual arts; writing; architecture; clairvoyance; and chemistry. After earning the title of ganika, they were revered as the most virtuous, beautiful, and luxurious of all courtesans. They would use these arts to entertain rulers, princes, and other wealthy patrons on religious and social occasions.

Terminology

Ganika refers more to a courtesan who is cultured, educated and skilled in the arts, distinct from a prostitute. Indian tradition has categorized and clearly distinguished between the two.Nagarvadhu was a royal courtesan, known as the "bride of the city," chosen only by the most beautiful and most skilled courtesan in dance.Rajnartaki means a female dancer who dances in the court.Roopjiva or Roopajeeva refers to a woman who performs for the general public; she is a courtesan and actress.Devadasi are dancers and musicians dedicated to temples. They care for the temples and perform during ceremonies.Vesya refers to a prostitute who engages in prostitution in society. Rupajiva refers to a prostitute who provides sexual services to the military.

Religious Contexts

Gaṇikās are mentioned in Sanskrit literature under the context of Hinduism, which focuses on the four goals of human life or puruṣārthas, as well as other texts which falls under other religions such as Buddhism and Jainism.

Hinduism

Kamasutra

Vātsyāyana dedicated Book Six of the Kamasutra to discussing the topic of Courtesans. Below are the following chapters in which they appear:

Book Six: Courtesans

Chapter	Title	Page numbers
1	Deciding on a Friend, Eligible Lover and Ineligible Lover, and How to Get a Lover	pp. 131 - 136
2	How to Give a Beloved What He Wants	pp. 137 - 142
3	Ways to Get Money from A Man, Signs That His Passion is Dying and How to Get Rid of Him	pp. 142 - 147
4	How to Get Back Together with an Ex-lover	pp. 147 - 151
5	How to Weight Different Kinds of Profits	pp. 151 - 155
6	Ways to Calculate Gains, Losses, Consequences and Doubts, and Types of Courtesans	pp. 155 - 160

In the final chapter of Book Six, ganikas are specifically mentioned in a list, "The servant woman who carries water, the servant girl, the promiscuous woman, the loose woman, the dancer, the artist, the openly ruined woman, the woman who lives on her beauty, and the courtesan de luxe: those are the types of courtesans."However, when a ganika lives with her lover, she maintains the relationship like a wife.

Dharmasastra

A courtesan in the midst of unveiling herself.

Written by Yajñavalkya, the Dharmasastra is a compilation or handbook focused on the laws and conducts which govern individuals' social and ethical behaviour in society. However, unlike the other texts, as far as we know, the Dharmasastra sheds light on the differences between the classes of courtesans and more or less has divided them into distinctive groups, such as:

1. Vesyas, public women who openly entertain people and do not earn a lot of income
2. Dasi (slave women) and Savarini (fallen women), who can be taken as concubines and live in a man's house
3. Gaṇikās, courtesans who are handsomely paid for their skills.

Arthasastra

Chanakya, also known as Kautilya, devoted a chapter in Book II of the Arthasastra to discuss the duties of gaṇikādhyaka, who is the supreme courtesan and a supervisor who enforces the rules regarding them. It was vitally important for other shastras (manuals) to discuss gaṇikās because they were not there for sexual pleasure, but were state-recognised and appointed institutionalised positions of the court in the Gupta Empire.

According to Kautilya, gaṇikās earned around 1,000 Karshapana and their duties mostly consisted of attending to the king's every need, such as fanning him or fetching water for him. On certain occasions, if a King wishes her to entertain men, she must do so; if not, this would result in a punishment of either whips or a heavy fine. Furthermore, gaṇikās earned part of their income from taxpayers or the king's treasury.

The presence of gaṇikās in the Arthasastra suggests that, although courtesans were highly prized and well compensated, they were restricted to specific duties and could not freely pursue their own paths. All trade and transactions were strictly regulated.Although ganika was respected in the past, women were not allowed to be both entertainers and housewives at the same time; women with public lives were considered "baazaru of the market." Even if she remained a performer, she did not engage in prostitution.

Āgamas

Leslie Orr, a scholar of the religious and social history of medieval Tamil Nadu and of women in pre-colonial South Asia, opened new possibilities for understanding how gaṇikās may have been involved in these texts. She studied and collected several passages and Sanskrit texts that indicate women were involved in temple work.

Rudrakanyas or Rudraganikas meaning "daughters of Rudra" or "the female ganas of Rudra", were an ancient female religious order related to Shaivism that included formal spiritual initiation (diksha) and were at the high end of the religious hierarchy of temples. The confusion of their names with the generic term gaṇikā which came to colloquially refer to courtesans led to them being persecuted during colonial times.

The Therīgāthā illuminates another potential identity for these women. The Therīgāthā is part of the Buddhist canon, and it includes poems of nuns who were previously courtesans. It suggests that women did leave courtesan profession to become renunciates.They yearn to escape the secular world and embark on the path of freedom and enlightenment.

Kavyamimamsa

A work and compilation by Rajashekhara, a Sanskrit poet, suggests that ganikas and princesses were excellent poets. Both mastered the 64 arts of Kala, distinguishing them from vesyas and non-courtesans. Courtesans were required to master all these fine arts to prove themselves, and were paid for this. Contrary to the stereotypical and contemporary view of courtesans or ganikas suggests they were more refined and skilled in many arts, not just sex.

Nāṭyaśāstra

Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra is a second-century BCE work in which gaṇikās are described as heroes or idealized women. They "should have the qualities of light-heartedness, exaltedness and expertise in dance, music and other arts." This idealized view of a gaṇikā's skills in the theatrics was circulated throughout ancient India. This resulted in courtesans being the stars of many Sanskrit plays, such as Meghadūta, The Farce of the Pious Courtesan, King Vikramaditya and the Courtesan and The Ocean of Story.

Mṛcchakaṭikam

Vasantsena in her courtesan house, possibly one of the early art representations of courtesans during Gupta period.

Vasanthansena, famous for her role as a courtesan in Sanskrit play, Mṛcchakaṭika (The Little Clay Cart).

Also known as The Little Clay Cart, is a famous Sanskrit play, written by Śūdraka. It is widely known and has even been adapted into a film, known as Utsav. In this play, the youthful courtesan known as Vasantasenā, is rich and famous and is pursued by a married Cārudatta, who is also a father. The role of the Gaṇikā here, or the courtesan is dramatized and is introduced into a different medium compared to the treatise. Additionally, there is a narrational aim to turn the Gaṇikā into a kulavadhü (wife), this transformation is further complicated with Cārudatta's son refusing to acknowledge Vasantasenā because she didn't wear his mother's jewelry.

In this play, Gaṇikās were not simply courtesans and are restricted to this role after taking it. There is a shift of roles for Vasantasenā, from being a courtesan to a wife, and taking one the role of a step-mother. It is interesting to see this process and direction a Gaṇikās can discover, because the treatise so far have only identified the roles of Gaṇikā play in the big schema of men, instead of how their role could signify more, instead of fulling man's desire in a patriarchal society. Also, as Shalini Shah, a scholar, states that Vasantasenā, herself goes through a psychological and symbolical change because she forsake her jewels (and therefore her pride as a courtesan) to Cārudatta's son, by placing them in his toy clay cart, hence the name.

Buddhism

Jatakas

The Jataka tales are Indian stories about the births and rebirths of the Buddha. However, scholars such as Monika Saxena argue that gaṇikās appear in texts under terms such as nagarasobhani (town beauty) or nagaramandana (ornament of the city), and that, like the necklaces and earrings they wear, gaṇikās helped beautify the world.

Pride is addressed in these texts because of the gaṇikās' mastery of arts. Citizens of the Gupta period were proud of these courtesans, and many women who followed the path of a courtesan emulated the gaṇikā as the "ideal". Despite being texts focused on the Buddha, the Jatakas make numerous references to the types of beautiful women and the skills they require, as these were important to royals.

Mulasarvastivada

One of the early texts that highlights and allows us insights into the reasons for the prestige of gaṇikās is the Mulasarvastivada. As the term gana means to be in a group and to associate with, by adding a feminine suffix which is ika, the word Gaṇikā is derived. The text further highlights this through a narrative of Amrapali who tried to understand how gana works in Gaṇikā.

Amrapali is famous because she was more than just a Gaṇikā, she is celebrated and given the title of nagarvadhu (royal courtesan). This was because during an assembly with the nobles, princes and the King, they all decided that she was too good of a woman to belong to one man, and so she earned the title Striratna (jewel of woman), basically suggesting that she was the crème de la crème and she was to be enjoyed by the gana.

Jainism

A courtesan arranging a flower in her hair to beautify herself.

In the Jain literature, ganikas are well known and are extremely respected by the kings and is known to be the jewel of the city and almost every large city had their own ganika. Similar to the other texts in Hinduism, the ganikas are paid handsomely for their skills and that is how they are recognized away from veshyas. The similarity between the two is that they both are women who are open and accessible to all members of gana, and to gain access to ganikas, men would need to pay a fee to them, and in a sense, ganikas are valued based on how much they charge. Whilst veshyas also sell their physical charms but not their cultural and intellectual skills as they have not yet mastered the 64 arts.

Due to many different interpretations of the term ganikas, this leads to the word itself losing its original meaning, and therefore, subjective. Ludwik Sternbach, an Indologist, in his compilation on texts about courtesans which he translated from Sanskrit, was extensive detailed research of courtesans mentioned in all Sanskrit literature, however, he also did not make a clear distinction between the different types of courtesans, or at least between veshyas and ganikas. This is possibly due to the difficulty of translating Sanskrit, as well as the lack of information to really differentiate the two.

History

Gupta Period

• Social

Ganikas were mostly famous during the reign of the Gupta Empire, as this was the golden age of when the ideas of the court and courtliness was established and so was the position of courtesans. They also did exist around the time of the Mauryan empire.

So far there has been no recording of the first ganika in any sources or scholarly works, instead their history is rich and is based on the current Sanskrit texts that has already been translated and studied by scholars. She is clearly recognized for her professionalism and identity in the working class, but where is placed in the working class level is unknown and unclear. As she is part of the working class, but she was also vital to the state and remunerated for her services to the King. Nitin Bora, a scholar suggested that a ganika social position could be lower than a doorkeeper or the most rich and powerful person in the state or city.

Even in the profession of courtesans there were level of hierarchies and categories. Not only were ganikas part of the category of courtesans, they also had their own subsets: uttama, Madhyama, and Kanishta. The three of them were segregated based on their physical attributes and working skills, as this made it easier to properly renumerate them. As the basis for earning the title of ganikas was to master the 64 arts, there is a need to further segregate the ganikas when there more of them based on their level of skills in singing, dancing and playing musical instruments.

• Economic

A courtesan leading a sheep with a human head, symbolic of woman leading the man or satire on female domination over men

While Gaṇikās certainly had more autonomy than a typical housewife, ancient texts like the Arthashāstra show they weren't entirely "free." They were heavily regulated by the state, had to pay 2/15th of their earnings as tax, and had to report their income to a government official. Her chief objective above all else was monetary gain, and as such their clients were mostly or rather had to be wealthy and generous. However, at the same time, the ganikas must not let the man know that pleasuring him was because of a material gain. As this may bruised the man's ego because initially they would expect ganikas to be into him, because he is "the man", instead of his wealth.

How much a ganika should charge will be based on several factors such as her social status (her lineage and her family standing), where her establishment is located, and the quality of both her business and the neighborhood, the customs of the region she lives in or has lived at, the time of the year, the habits of her clients, her worth, her cultural accomplishments in relation to her competitors (other local courtesans). Ganikas are also prided because not only were they cultural entities, but also cultural benefactors, who when have sufficient money, instead of spending the money to ornament and beautify themselves further, they would spend on expanding their influence through the erection of temples, gardens or bridges, and this only made society love them more because they were giving back to the community, as much as they were taking from the men.

• Cultural

According to the Kāmasūtra, a courtesan who mastered the 64 arts earned the title of ganika — a courtesan of high quality — and was held in esteem by kings and learned men alike.

Praised by society and loved for their skills in arts and culture, they were aesthetic beings who refined the culture of Ancient India. They were literally always and must be mentioned and participated in the arts such as performances at festivals or were the main characters of plays. This may be why they could also be considered as "dancing girl" because they did dance, but they also did many other things.Of the many skills, the first two that ganikas must master are music and dance.Ganikas will learn singing, chanting, dancing, acting, calligraphy and painting. They will also learn to play the Veena, venu and mridangam.

Early Indian Art

Possibly an early art depiction of Ganikas

A possibly early depiction of a Ganika is the ancient Pataliputra sculpture, also known as Didarganj Yakshi statue. As Doris Meth Srinivasan, a historian of Indological studies and writer suggests:

The statue itself, even though found in 1917 in Didarganj, India is still being investigated on her identity. Her name was only given because of the "typical" traits she gave off. Yaksi being a name for a fertility figure, as the statue fits the characteristics of having large breasts, curved hips and a thin waist.

Although in terms of figure such as its thin waist and large breasts, it fits the category of being a Yakshi, but the most important accessory which may deviate her from being a Yakshi is her hand fan. Her hand fan, which Srinivasan and other art historians, Frederick Asher and Walter Spink suggested that is a key accessory for courtesans.

The hand fan, which is also quite a common accessory for courtesans in other cultures. For example, the Japanese "Courtesan with Fan and Koto" by Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之. Another example would be the Chinese "Courtesans with fan and flute" possibly by Zhang gui, found in 1916 to 1919. Despite their vast difference in time periods, it shows how courtesans and fans go hand-in-hand. Especially since gaṇikās who attended the king, had duties in fanning him, so having a hand fan would be natural for a courtesan to have. There is also many other attributes which this statute has pointing her to be a Gaṇikā.

Famous Courtesan

• Amrapali
• Purasati :A ganika and poet. She achieved her accomplishments through the practice of Vajra Tikshana. She is considered one of the teachers of the philosopher Nagarjuna.
• Barani : A ganika and poet. She was a daughter of the commoner Rahuta and Joyful Dhari. Kashmiri scholar Brilliance also consulted her on academic matters.
• Buta : A Durga temple built in the 7th century refers to ganika called Buta.
• Anukkiyara Paravai Nankiyara : A dancer in the Chola empire, donated gold, copper and jewels to the shrine of Tiruvarura, in the 10th century.
• Vithanayakaci Nayaki : One of the 200 donors to the Vithoba Temple in the 13th century.
• Panditaci Nayaki Hira : One of the 200 donors to the Vithoba Temple in the 13th century.
• Nandavva : Ganga King Simhavarman's concubine.
• Paliyakka : Vikrama Santaras's concubine.
• Camekamba : Amma II of the Eastern Chalukyas's concubine.
• Sirima: A ganika.Through her Buddhist faith and offerings to monks, she entered the palace of Indra. After her death, her image was carved on a stupa, becoming an idol and gaining acceptance from mainstream society.

Popular culture

Although the term ganika is not very well known unlike tawaif who has been in numerous Bollywood films, ganika may have appeared in:

In films

• Utsav (1984)
• Chitralekha (1964 film)

In Sanskrit plays and dramas

• Bhagavadajjukam
• Mṛcchakatika
• Madhavi (Silappatikaram)

Further reading

• Ganika-vrtta-sangrahah: or Texts on courtezans in classical Sanskrit. Compiled and presented by Ludwik Sternbach{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute(1953)
• The World Of Courtesans{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Hindi Pocket Book(1973)

Bibliography

• The Ganika in Buddhist and Jaina literature. INDIAN CULTURE. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
• The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana: Part I: Introductory: Chapter III. On the Study of the Sixty-Four Arts. sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
• Leslie Orr - Concordia University. www.concordia.ca.
• Ganika, Gaṇika, Gaṇikā: 28 definitions. www.wisdomlib.org(3 August 2014). Retrieved 22 September 2014.
• Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之 | Courtesan with Fan and Koto | Japan | Edo period (1615–1868). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Courtesans with fan and flute. National Museum of Asian Art.
• The little clay cart: an English translation of the Mṛcchakaṭika of Śūdraka, as adapted for the stage{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. State University of New York Press(1994). ISBN 0791417255
• The World Of Courtesans{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Hindi Pocket Book(1973)
• Prostitution and Beyond: An Analysis of Sex Work in India{{#if:Chatterjee|, Chatterjee}. SAGE Publications(January 2008)
• The institutions of Ganika and Devadasi from ancient to medieval times{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sangeet Natak Akademi(1990)
• Status of The Ganikas in the Gupta Period: Change or Continuity?. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress({Template:Date).
• Female Images in the Arthasastra of Kautilya. Social Scientist({Template:Date).
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• Ganikas in Early India: Its Genesis and Dimensions. Social Scientist({Template:Date).
• Facets of Economic and Cultural Life of a Courtesan in Ancient India. Studies in People's History({Template:Date).
• In the Business of Kāma: Prostitution in Classical Sanskrit Literature from the Seventh to the Thirteenth Centuries. The Medieval History Journal({Template:Date).
• The Mauryan Gaṇikā from Dīdārgañj (Pāṭaliputra). East and West({Template:Date).
• Ganika-vrtta-sangrahah: or Texts on courtezans in classical Sanskrit. Compiled and presented by Ludwik Sternbach{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute(1953)
• Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oriental Institute(1934)
• Kamasutra. A new, complete English translation of the Sanskrit text with excerpts from the Sanskrit Jayamangala commentary of Yashodhara Indrapada, the Hindi Jaya commentary of Devadatta Shastri, and explanatory notes by the translators{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2009)