Literally 'servant of God': a woman dedicated to temple service, trained in music and dance. In the Chola period the devadasis were a respected, land-endowed institution central to temple ritual and the arts; the system decayed in later centuries, was condemned in the colonial era, and was formally abolished around the time of independence.

Where this term appears

• The Chola Age and the Temple as Institution History →

  Its inscriptions record around four hundred devadasis , temple dancers, together with their teachers and orchestras, brought from across the kingdom and settled in streets around the temple — and beyond them th…

← All terms · Search the site