by Police - Bureau of Police Research and Development

Prostitution in Early TimesThe Indian Police JournalProstitution was known in the pre-history Indus Valley cities also. The (pl. VIII. b.). Naked, but for a necklace and a series of bangles almostcovering one arm, her hair dressed in a complicated coiffure, standingin a provocative posture; with one arm on her hip and one lanklyleg half bent, these young women have an air of lively pertness quiteunlike anything in the work of other ancient civilizations. 41 Her thinincidentally, that the canons of female beauty among the Harappapeople were very different from those of later India and it has beensuggested that this “dancing girl” is a representative of a class of templedancers and prostitutes, such as existed in contemporary Middle EastCivilizations and were an important feature of later Hindu culture. 42But this view awaits more corroborative substantiation.The earliest inscriptional record of religious prostitution comes from acave at Ramgarh (Kaimur district Bihar) in the Vindhya hills, some 160Prakrit inscriptionsin a script, which shows that they were written not long after the days 43 In prose it says, “The excellentyoung man Devadinna, the painter loved Sutanuka, the slave-girl ofthe god.” 44It is presumed that Devadasisand growth of Hinduism vis-à-vis Jainism or Buddhism. In the south,as soon as Bhakti movement had spread in the early medieval periodthrough the media of songs, dance, and beauty, the Devadasis playedSundermurtti Nayanar was involved with a Devadasi. 45 CeramanPerumd Nayanar notes the reception given to Siva by Devadasis of allages, while he went out in procession around the streets in Kailasa 46 ,and Andal was herself a Devadasi, who lived and died in the SrinagarTemple. 47There is a tradition that Kulasekhara Alvar’s daughter, Nila, waspresented to Srirangam Temple as Devadasi. She is called CerakulaNacciyar, and a shrine dedicated to her is found in this temple. 48 Dueto progressive feudalization of the State structure, the temples’ rolewas legitimized and after the 8th century, a widespread structuralenterprise was undertaken in the 10 th and 11 th century in the south 49January - March, 2013189