devadasi

English

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devadasi

Wikipedia

Etymology

From the Sanskrit देवदासी (devá-dāsī, “female servant of a deity”), from देव (devá, “deity, god”) and दासी (dāsī, “a female servant or slave”).

Noun

devadasi (plural devadasis)

1. (Hinduism, historical) A girl who underwent the Hindu religious practice of being "married" to a deity. In addition to taking care of the temple, she learned and practiced Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian arts, enjoying high social status.

   Synonyms: temple dancer, temple girl

   • 2017, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, page 372:

     It would be a century before the daughter of another devadasi mesmerized audiences around the world.

Translations

devadasi

Malayalam: ദേവദാസി (ml) (dēvadāsi) Sanskrit: देवदासी (sa) (devadāsī) Tamil: தேவதாசி (ta) (tēvatāci), தேவடியாள் (ta) (tēvaṭiyāḷ) (historical, now a slur)

See also

• Nagarvadhu

Further reading

• devadasi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia