BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, March 26, 2015 (First Post): The death of Sashimani Devi, the last in a long line of devadasis at the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri, marks the end of an era. Since Sashimani chose not to groom anybody as a future devadasi in her lifetime, as required under the temple rules, an 800-year-old tradition has now well and truly come to an end. While Sashimani might have been persuaded to relent and take someone under her wings, it was the vociferous protests by human and women’s rights activists and the media which ensured that the efforts to find a devadasi were abandoned midway.
While liberals, rationalists and sundry right activists are exulting at the end of what they call an “obnoxious” tradition that exploited women in the name of religion, there are others – believers, servitors and even some researchers – who are sad at the end of a system that was such an integral part of the tradition for centuries.
Ironically, the death of Sashimani Devi has ensured that the service of the Lord will now be an all-male affair. Of the 120-odd sevas (services) performed in the temple, the Mahari Seva, consisting of dancing and singing the Gita Gobinda, on special occasions is the only one performed by women, the devadasis.
More at source.