Loading...
HINDU TEMPLE WOMEN OF THE CHOLA PERIOD IN SOUTH INDIA
This study examines the situation and activities of Hindu temple women (davadasls) in the 9th-13th centuries, as revealed in Tamil inscriptions. These temple women, unlike Lheir male counterparts or the devadasls of more recent times, were not primarily itiantified as tp.mple servants, with professi...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Printed Book |
| Published: |
Faculty of Religious Studies McGill University, Montreal
1993
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://10.26.1.76/ks/004927.pdf |
| Summary: | This study examines the situation and activities of Hindu
temple women (davadasls) in the 9th-13th centuries, as
revealed in Tamil inscriptions. These temple women, unlike
Lheir male counterparts or the devadasls of more recent
times, were not primarily itiantified as tp.mple servants,
with professional expertise or ritual responsibilities, but
were instead defined with reference to a particular status,
predicated on relationship with a temple. This relationship
was secured through the donations that temple women made to
temples. In the course of the Chola period, the status of
"temple woman" became increasingly well-defined and the num-
bers of temple women increased, while other types of women
disappeared from public view. Temple women's strengthening
links with--but marginal positions in--the temple are ana-
lyzed in this study with reference to the changes that
occurred during this period in the structure of the temple
and in the temple's position within the social environment . |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy |