310 BOOKS INCULCATING DEBAUCHERY
the violent remedies which they employ to get rid of their shame. But should these remedies fail in having the
desired effect, and the women be no longer able to conceal their condition, they give out that they are going to make a pilgrimage to Benares, which is a very favourite form of devotion amongst Brahmins of both sexes. Then having chosen a discreet companion in whom they can confide, they start on their journey; but the supposed pilgrimage comes to an end in a neighbouring village, at the house of some relative or friend, who helps them to live in seclusion until such time as the child shall be born.
They then hand over the result of their misconduct to any one who will take charge of it, and return to the bosom of their family.
Besides these sources of depravity which are common
to all castes, there are a great many others peculiar to the Brahmins. Many of them possess abominable books in which the most filthy and disgusting forms of debauchery are systematically described and taught. These books also treat of such matters as the art of giving variety to sensual pleasures, the decoction of beverages calculated to excite the passions, or renew them when exhausted. They also contain recipes for philtres, which are supposed to have the property of inspiring unholy love. The courtesans of the country often have recourse to these potions in the hope of retaining the affections of those whom they have enslaved, mixing them secretly in the food of their victims. I am told that the ingredients of which these potions are composed would inspire the greatest libertine with disgust and horror for his mistress if it ever came to his knowledge.
To have any connexion with a courtesan, or with an unmarried person, is not considered a form of wickedness in the eyes of the Brahmins. These men, who look upon the violation of any trivial custom as a heinous sin, see no harm in the most outrageous and licentious excesses. It
was principally for their use that the dancers and prostitutes who are attached to the service of the temples were
originally entertained, and they may often be heard to intone the following scandalous line:
Vesya darisanam punyam fxxpa namnam!