Wives of the God-King: The Rituals of the Devadasis of PuriAmong the 1,500 devotees of the Hindu temple and cult of Jagannatha at Puri are a handful of women known as "devadasis" or, literally, "female servants of the deity," who are associated with both chastity and concubinage and prostitution. This book focuses on the tension between the purity and impurity of the devadasis, and examines ideas about kingship, power, sexual purity, the role and status of women, and other central concerns of Hindu religious and cultural life that are associated with such rituals. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
CHAPTER | 25 |
Married Women and Devadasis | 46 |
Copyright | |
11 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
Amrapalli ancestor worship associated auspicious songs auspiciousness and inauspiciousness Balabhadra bath body brahmin brahmin temple servants bride brother Brundabati called car festival caste ceremony Chapter chariots churning clan cooked courtesan daitās dance dāsīs daughter death deities demons devadasis dharmaśāstra Durgā flowers fly-whisk food offering front Gajapati girl Gita Govinda goddess gods gopis groom hand hierarchy Hindu husband images impurity Indian inner sanctum interpretation Jagannatha jāti Kālī kāma king king's kingship Krishna Kulke Lakṣmi Lord Mahābhārata Mahāpātra main temple mantra marriage married meaning morning mother myth Odissi Orissa Oriya palace paṇḍās Pātra performed persons pilgrims platform pollution priests prostitute puberty pūjā Puri purity Purusottama queen Radha rājagurus Ratha realm reciting relationship representative rice rites ritual royal Sahasrakhyi śakti Sanskrit sari sexual sing Śiva Śrī status takes place term told tradition Trinayana Vaishnavite Veena Das Viṣṇu wedding widows wife wine wives woman women word