The Present Book Is A Study Of The Socio-Political History Of Medieval Andhra From A Woman`S Perspective. The Traditional Historiography Has Either Ignored The Positive Role Of Women Or Portrayed It As Insignificant. The Fundamental Contributions Of Women To Socio-Economic Life Have Not Been Fully Brought About. The Study, It Is Hoped, Will Make A Useful Contribution To Women`S History As We May Note That In Several Aspects The Status Of Women Today Does Not Seem To Have Changed Much From The Study Period; Particularly The Importance Of Gender Roles, Status Of Widows And The Victimization Of Women.

This book examines women and society in India during 600–1200 CE through epigraphs. It offers an analysis of inscriptional data at the pan-India level to explore key themes, including early marriage, deprivation of girls from education, property rights, widowhood and satī, as well as women in administration and positions of power. The volume also traces gender roles and agency across religions such as Hinduism and Jainism, the major religions of the times, and sheds light on a range of political, social, economic and religious dimensions. A panoramic critique of contradictions and conformity between inscriptional and literary sources, including pieces of archaeological evidence against traditional views on patriarchal stereotypes, as also regional parities and disparities, the book presents an original understanding of women’s status in early medieval South Asian society. Rich in archival material, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of ancient and medieval Indian history, social history, archaeology, epigraphy, sociology, cultural studies, gender studies and South Asian studies.

Recent years have seen a sea change in the way history is written and also in the way our conceptions of the past are being rewritten. In traditional historiography, women’s articulation is often marginalized and dominated by male voices. Through centuries of patriarchal control, women negotiated many layers and levels of existence working out different forms of resistance which have often gone unnoticed. Bhakti was one such medium. Religion provided the space in the medieval period and women saints embraced bhakti to define their own truths in voices that question society, family and relationships. For all these women bhaktas, the rejection of the male power that they were tied to in subordinate relationship became the terrain for struggle, self assertion and alternative seeking. Most of these women lived during the period from 12th to 17th Century. While the dominant mode of worship in bhakti was prostration to a deity like a feudal lord, the women bhaktas’ idea of God as a lover, a husband and a friend came as a breath of fresh air. The individual outpourings and the voices of these women, who had the courage to sing unfettered in their own voices, refused to melt in the din of the feudal scene which was largely patriarchal. This book will be useful to scholars interested in Feminist History, Comparative Religion and Asian Studies. The sensitive and rigorous research will be of great help to young scholars interested in embarking on a journey to discover religious history, especially with regards to women’s history in the South Asian context.

Articles on the cultural history of Andhra Pradesh.

This book speaks of the contribution of Andhras to the development of its culture cevering different aspects of medieval Andhra history. The three section in this book embodies the subjects on women and society Economy and Trade Art and Culture. The 20 essays included in this book provide glimpses of the contribution of Andhras to the development of religious ideas, customs, beliefs and practies which are subjected to critical analysis with the tools of new methodologies like psycho-historical approach and sociobilogical approach besides re-examinig the historical data with a new and fresh outlook. The book based on original sources such as inscriptions, art form and contemporary literature is codified to suit the research scholars.

A Significant Feature Of This Volume Is The Critical Analysis Of Archaeological And Historical Sources Relating To The Specific Issues Of Cultural History With Special Reference To Andhra Region. Besides The Historical Sources, The Oral Traditions And Folkloristic Materials Provide Substantial Materials For The Better Understanding Of The Culture Of The People On Which Certain Historical Generalisation Can Be Made. Further, It Allows For A Range Of Historical Interpretations Especially Regarding The Legitimization Of Kingship And The Relationship Between Royalty, Rituals And Religion. This Volume Deals With The Different Aspects Of The Cultural History And Some Of The Topics Included Have Long Been The Subject Of Interest, Debate And Importance. It Throws A Fresh Light On The Tantric Goddesses, The Temples Constructed On The Essentials Of Tantrism And Tantric Practices In Every Day Life. The Religious Meanings And Symbolism Of The Iconographical Forms Of Ganesa And Vishnu In The Forms Of Panchanana Ganesa And Adivaraha Are Analysed. The Book Speaks Of The Seamy Side Of The Socio-Cultural Life Of The People Of Medieval Andhra, Throwing A New Light On Robbery And Alcoholism, Which Are Studied In Detail For The First Time. Contents Section I: Folklore And Psychohistory; Chapter 1: Psychohistorical Approach To Popular Child Rearing Practices In Andhra; Chapter 2: Beliefs, Attitudes And Values In Medieval Andhra: Gleanings Through Epigraphs; Chapter 3: Riddles And Proverbs As Sources Of The Social History Of Andhradesa; Chapter 4: Psychohistorical Analysis Of Curses And Folklore Traditions Of Medieval Andhradesa; Chapter 5: Psychoanalytical And Iconographical Perceptions Of Mother And Child; Section Ii: Tantrism-Tantra In Art, Architecture And Culture; Chapter 6: Iconography Of The Tantric Goddess Chinnamasta And Human Sacrifices; Chapter 7: Tantric Temples Of Sakti Deities In Modern Times; Chapter 8: Fresh Light On Certain Obscure Tantric Practices In Daily Life; Section Iii: Art And Iconography; Chapter 9: Panchanana Ganesa From British Museum: An Iconographical Study; Chapter 10: An Image Of Adi Varaha In The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Chapter 11: Some Aspects Of Inscribed Jaina Images; Section Iv: Royalty, Women And Society; Chapter 12: Divine Kings And The Concept Of Kingship In Medieval South India; Chapter 13: Kings, Temples And Famines In Medieval Andhra; Chapter 14: Royality, Women, And Vratams In Medieval Andhra; Chapter 15: Robbery And Royalty In Medieval Andhra: Some Historical Insights; Chapter 16: Alcoholic Drinks In Medieval Andhra: Gleanings Through Literature; Chapter 17: Historical Insights Into Vegetation And Wildlife: Reconstruction Through Inscritions And Literature (17Th & 18Th Century Ad).

At publication date, a free ebook version of this title will be available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Impersonations: The Artifice of Brahmin Masculinity in South Indian Dance centers on an insular community of Smarta Brahmin men from the Kuchipudi village in Telugu-speaking South India who are required to don stri-vesam (woman’s guise) and impersonate female characters from Hindu religious narratives. Impersonation is not simply a gender performance circumscribed to the Kuchipudi stage, but a practice of power that enables the construction of hegemonic Brahmin masculinity in everyday village life. However, the power of the Brahmin male body in stri-vesam is highly contingent, particularly on account of the expansion of Kuchipudi in the latter half of the twentieth century from a localized village performance to a transnational Indian dance form. This book analyzes the practice of impersonation across a series of boundaries—village to urban, Brahmin to non-Brahmin, hegemonic to non-normative—to explore the artifice of Brahmin masculinity in contemporary South Indian dance.