Deva-dāsī

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Deva-dāsī. ‘Slaves of the deva’, women in Hindu temples devoted to the God or gods, especially Śiva, the lord of the dance, hence temple-dancers. But their dedication was also understood as a marriage to the God, the sexual realization of which was enacted by brahmans and by other devotees, until eventually they were liable to become temple prostitutes.

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