Devadasis are often called “the sacred prostitutes of India.” While revered as mediums of the gods, they are also reviled as impure. Poverty is the main reason for dedication and they are drawn from the lowest castes. For over a thousand years, devadasis performed devotional dances and dance-dramas inside the temple, but reformers eventually forced them out. Ancient beliefs and economic necessity, however, keep the system alive.
In servants of the goddess, Kermorgant examines the historical and philosophical roots of the devadasi tradition which stretch back to the Vedas, Sangam Poetry and culminate in the Bhakti movement.
