|
Part 1 |
A Vita16 is a man who has enjoyed the pleasures of fortune, who is a compatriot of the citizens
with whom he associates, who is possessed of the qualities of a houseliolder, who has his wife with
him, and who is honoured in the assembly of citizens and in the abodes of public women, and lives
on their means and on them. A Vidushaka17 (also called a Vaihasaka, i.e. one who provokes
laughter) is a person only acquainted with some of the arts, who is a jester, and who is trusted by
all.
These persons are employed in matters of quarrels and reconciliations between citizens and public
women.
This remark applies also to female beggars, to women with their heads shaved, to adulterous
women, and to public women skilled in all the various arts.
Thus a citizen living in his town or village, respected by all, should call on the persons of his own
caste who may be worth knowing. He should converse in company and gratify his friends by his
society, and obliging others by his assistance in various matters, he should cause them to assist one
another in the same way.
There are some verses on this subject as follows:
`A citizen discoursing, not entirely in the Sanscrit language, 18 nor wholly in the dialects of the
country, on various topics in society, obtains great respect. The wise should not resort to a society
disliked by the public, governed by no rules, and intent on the destruction of others. But a learned
man living in a society which acts according to the wishes of the people, and which has pleasure for
its only object is highly respected in this world.'
Footnotes
1
Gift is peculiar to a Brahman, conquest to a Kshatrya, while purchase, deposit, and other
means of acquiring wealth belongs to the Vaishya.
|
 |
