NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF STUDY AND RESEACH

IN LAW, RANCHI

HISTORY PROJECT

PROSTITUION IN ANCIENT INDIA

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. SREEMOYEE SARKAR NAME: SHREYANSHI SINGH

SEMESTER: I
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
SECTION : A
ROLL NO. : 1257

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 DECLARATION

I, Shreyanshi Singh, a first-semester B.A. LL.B student at the National University of Study
and Research in Law, Ranchi, hereby declare that the project named "Prostitution in Ancient
India" under the supervision of Dr. Sreemoyee Sarkar, faculty of History, is a unique work. I
have worked hard to produce this research and have not falsified any facts or data.

I declare that the claims I've made and the conclusions I've reached are the genuine results of
my study. I further state that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, suitable references have
been included, and that the document does not contain any work that has been submitted to
other colleges.

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 INTRODUCTION

Women have been objectified since times immemorial. Several texts prescribing to ancient
Indian history mention women as bearers of beauty and persona in every society. As long as
their existence was controlled by a man, a woman came under the radar of those who deserve
respect. Their roles have been limited to the domestic spheres. However the profession of
prostitution allowed them to enter into the public spheres. This ‘choice’, however never came
with a sense of literal freedom. Their actions were always controlled by the king, the state or
their paramour. Even though the kings and important officials of the state enjoyed sexual as
well as material pleasure in the presence of prostitutes, the act was frowned upon by the
Hindu population of Ancient India. Not much has changed centuries later, when women who
extract a livelihood out of sexual activities are looked down upon. The status of prostitution
was more or less similar across religions. Religions, when analyzed carefully have been
condescending towards women. The Hindu as well as Muslims texts mention clear disparities
between the two conventional genders. It is for this reason that sexual activities are inherently
masculine oriented and rarely made for a woman’s satisfaction.

The whole institution of prostitution is founded on the basic assumption that men deserve to
engage in sexual activities and women are obliged to comply. This patriarchal sense of
society has always kept women under the hem of men, especially powerful men. In Ancient
India, prostitution has been mentioned under the Ashokan as well as the Mauryan Empire.
The two great epics of Hinduism, Mahabharata and Ramayana, both mention the
‘availability’ of women for the sexual satisfaction of kings. These were prevalent either
during occasions of celebration or when the king’s wives were not able to provide for their
sexual needs.

Umesh kumar singh in his work ‘IMMORAL TRAFFICKING OF GIRLS AND WOMEN
IN ANCIENT INDIA’ has mentioned several anecdotes wherein ganikas were treated as
highly respectable individuals. One of those instances were from the ‘Mahabharata’. When
Gandhari was pregnant, a ‘Vesya’ waited upon Dhrithrashtra and fulfilled all his needs. Such
instances were very commonly mentioned in both the epics. Similarly, in the Ramayana,

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when Rama was to be consecrated, Vasistha ordered that the prostitutes should attend the
ceremony and when he returned from the exile, ganikas had to be there to honor him.1

R.S Sharma in his book, ‘Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India’, described
his interpretation of the causes of prostitution. According to him, the breakup of the old tribal
family led to a class of alienated women that took up prostitution as a source of livelihood
and sustenance. In this particular interpretation, it can be inferred that, women who were not
part of the traditional family structure were considered deviant and non-conforming to the
society’s ideals. 2

Prostitutes in ancient India were known by different terms. The Arthashastra by Kautilya has
mentioned several names for prostitutes and harlots. Terms are dasi, rúpájíva, 3
devadási4
abhisáraka5and bandhakiposhaka6. Another term very widely used for prostitutes was
‘ganikas’.The profession of prostitution was accompanied by added responsibilities.

OBJECTIVES

 What was the social status of prostitution in ancient India?

 What was the position of prostitutes under Kautilya?

SOCIAL STATUS OF PROSTITUTES

It's difficult to build an accurate picture of the social status of prostitutes at this point in time.
We've seen that prostitutes do not all fall into the same group. Because she was in such high
demand, the accomplished young beauty could set her own price, often at an ostensibly
excessive level. The lowest of the courtiers, according to the Kurudlamma Jataka, was the
door-keeper, the dvarika; he occupies the last place but one, because he is above the public
woman, the ganika. Every city had a principal courtesan who served as the city's "ornament."
72 The janapadakalyanii or sadharani of the Licehavis' non-monarchical kingdom were in
high demand and were frequently looked up to due of their beauty and culture, therefore they

1
Kumar Singh, Umesh. “IMMORAL TRAFFICKING OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN ANCIENT INDIA”. Proceedings of
the Indian History Congress, Vol. 68, Part One Indian History Congress, 2007 Print.
2
. R.S. S harm a, Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India. Macmilan, Delhi, Reprint
3
Kautilya. Arthashastra. Translated by R. Shamasastry. Bangalore: Government Press, 1915, Pg 56
4
Kautilya. Arthashastra. Translated by R. Shamasastry. Bangalore: Government Press, 1915,Pg 161
5
Kautilya. Arthashastra. Translated by R. Shamasastry. Bangalore: Government Press, 1915,Pg 325
6
Kautilya. Arthashastra. Translated by R. Shamasastry. Bangalore: Government Press, 1915, Pg 344

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could charge any price for their services. As many Buddhist writings attest, they got it. The
term janapadakalyani literally means "country's most beautiful woman."

As the price and social prestige of looks, age, and accomplishments decreased, middle-aged,
unaccomplished, or plain-looking women were forced to accept subsistence rates or even
lower. Even still, they did not always receive as many erotica texts as they claim. The
Kuttanimata, a major work on prostitution, portrays the predicament of such abandoned
prostitutes who were driven to begging, theft, and other forms of deception. They had no
assurance of the next food or shelter, no protection from old age, disease, or poverty. The
heartbreaking portrayal of an abandoned, unattractive prostitute who resorts to becoming a
confidence trickster and is hunted by society is occasionally made funny by the absurdity of
her variotus movements and their invariable failure. Beyond this hilarious portrayal, however,
is the heartbreaking situation of a woman who, after fulfilling the desires of numerous men
throughout her life, is forced to fend for herself at a time when she is least prepared for such a
lone battle.7

THE ARTHASHASTRA

The Arthshastra was compiled by Chanakya, otherwise known as Kautliya. The text was
compiled during 350-275 BCE, yet was popularly referred to till the 12th century.8 Chanakya
was a philosopher, statesman, chief advisor, and Prime Minister of the Indian Emperor
Chandragupta. Arthashastra is a Sanskrit word that originally means The Science of Material
Gain, Science of Politics or Science of Political Economy. This book is all about running an
empire and was written in 350-275 BCE. Arthashastra summarizes the political thoughts of
Kautilya.

Arthshastra is a book with a greater reach. It is a branch of political science. It encompasses

practically all aspects of life, not just religion. It is a book on economic policy, military
strategy, statecraft, dealing with the adversary, and internal justice written in ancient India. It
is for the smooth operation of government and for the wellbeing of the people. Its Law was
structured in a hierarchical manner. Manusmriti is a narrower notion than Arthshastra
because it only incorporates religious laws and practices and excludes all other things. It is
the earliest metrical work in Hinduism's Dharmastra textual tradition.

7
Bhattacharji, Sukumari. Prostitution in Ancient India, Social Scientist , Feb., 1987, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Feb., 1987),
pp. 32-61, Social Scientist, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3520437
8
Gauhar, Sara. Arthashastra and Manusmriti,- A comparison. Bloggerbunny. August 27, 2020, Online.
https://bloggerbunny.com/comparison-between-arthashastra-and-manusmriti/

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Kautilya did not give Vedas supreme authority; rather, Anvikshaki, the science that kept the
mind solid and strong excellence of vision, speech, and action, was more essential than Vedas,
according to Kautilya.

ANALYSING THE RULES REGARDING PROSTITUTION UNDER

ARTHASHAHSTRA

Chanakya who conceived this profession as lucrative, regulated the duties and activities of a
prostitute contained in Arthasastra. He has tried to focus attention on the purpose and benefits
of the office of prostitution. Chanakya1 divided the institute of harlots into three categories as
follows:

a) Royal prostitutes

b) City-level prostitutes

c) Private prostitute or a group of prostitutes under the control of a private person.

All the three classes of harlots were under the control of the state. The institution as a whole
yielded an enormous amount income to the public exchequer, then the problem of female
unemployment would almost certainly have been eliminated.

The Mauryan empire's stamped harlots were dubbed "ganik," a term that refers to both a
prostitute and a government official. Chanakya also used the phrases pratiganika, rupajiva,
Vesya, dasi, devadasi, pwnschali, silpakarika, kausikastri, and rupadasi to describe different
types of prostitutes. According to the politician, the individual prostitute, rupajiva 3, was not
a government employee, and the reason for this is obscenity. Ganikadhyaksa, who was
appointed by the King, was the superintendent of the prostitutes. His main responsibility was
to keep a check on the prostitutes' behavior, ensuring that she paid her taxes on time, received
presents, and had a sufficient number of paramours.

CATEGORIES AND SALARIES

Based on their rank, the harlots were divided into three groups: first, medium, and highest.
They received pay commensurate with their rank. A ganika working for the royal palace was
paid 1000 panas1 a year, while a prostitute of the middle level was paid the same amount.

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The highest rank that of Royal Prostitute, was awarded 3000 panas. 9 Chanakya mentions a
rival prostitute (pratiganika) as well as private prostitutes who are paid 500 panas per year.
Pratiganika was created to act as a spy among her acquaintances because it appears that these
promiscuous ladies were not always faithful to the government. 10 Without fear of
confrontation, these pratiganikas were integral to state prostitution and investigation.9

FINES AND PUNISHMENTS

It is obvious from a thorough examination of the institution of prostitution as described in

Arthasastra that the prostitute was a highly esteemed government servant during the Mauryan
period. The severity of the punishment was determined by the frequency with which the
crime was committed.

Cheating was forbidden, and the harlot was penalised in accordance with the paramour's
judgment. However, if the paramour was unsociable owing to an internal illness or personal
flaws, the prostitute had complete authority to check him out. It is clear from this that in the
Mauryan state, both prostitutes and their paramours had to undergo periodic medical
examinations.

The usual monthly tax paid by prostitutes to the government was double their daily earnings
(bhoga - dvigunam), while the rupajiva who were not government officials had to pay 1/15th
(6.6%) of their income as tax to the state.

Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the establishment of such a facility was politically
motivated in order to gather information about hostile neighbors, their plans, and so on.
Second, the state gained 30% of its revenue from the establishment of such a facility.

9
G. Kuppuram, Chanakya on Prostituion, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , 1979, Vol. 40 (1979),
Indian History Congress. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141963

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REFERENCES

https://www.jstor.org/stable/44140189?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/44140189.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Adf3532233bf748748ae
98668be1af79e

https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/what-made-hindu-and-muslim-women-take-up-
prostitution-the-british-really-wanted-to-know/581922/

https://ia801301.us.archive.org/23/items/ManuSmriti_201601/Manu-Smriti.pdf

http://nirmukta.com/2011/08/27/the-status-of-women-as-depicted-by-manu-in-the-
manusmriti/

http://agniveer.com/manu-smriti-and-women/

https://realityofhinduism.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/adultery-and-prostitution-in-veda/

https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-
medhatithi/d/doc201296.html

https://bloggerbunny.com/comparison-between-arthashastra-and-manusmriti/