Women and Work in Precolonial India: A Reader

Cover page
Half title page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Marketing page
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Section I: Women and the Household: Canonical Prescriptions and Their Feminist Critique
	Chapter 1: The Daily Duties of Women
	Chapter 2: Position and Status of Women in the Upaniṣads
	Chapter 3: Woman in the Household
	Chapter 4: Economic Rights of Ancient Indian Women
	Chapter 5: Dynamics of Women’s Work in the Śāstric Sources: Household and Beyond
	Chapter 6: Tracking Economic Transitions: Tamil Women from Tribe to Caste and Changing Production Roles
	Chapter 7: The Question of Women’s ‘Agency’: Women, Work and Domesticity in Early Textual Traditions
Section II: Women and Work in Early Textual Traditions
	Chapter 8: The Woman Worker
	Chapter 9: Of Dasas and Karmakaras: Servile Labour in Ancient India
	Chapter 10: Women and Work in Kautilīya’s Arthaśāstra
Section III: Women and Economic Resources: Women’s Property Rights
	Chapter 11: Proprietary Rights during Coverture
	Chapter 12: Proprietary Rights: Inheritance and Partition
	Chapter 13: The Legal Status of Women: Their Right of Inheritance
	Chapter 14: Property Rights of Women in Ancient India
	Chapter 15: Turmeric Land: Women’s Property Rights in Tamil Society since Early Medieval Times
	Chapter 16: Property Rights of Women in Medieval Andhra
Section IV: Contextualising Women’s Work in the Public Domain
	Chapter 17: State of the Field: Perspectives on Women and Work in Early South India
	Chapter 18: Women’s Profession in Medieval Andhra
	Chapter 19: Temple Women and Work in Medieval Kēraḷam
	Chapter 20: Gender, Caste and Labour: Ideological and Material Structure of Widowhood
	Chapter 21: Work and Gender in Mughal India
Section V: Devaradiya: Hand-maidens of God or Sex-workers?
	Chapter 22: Courtesans
	Chapter 23: Temple Women as Temple Servants
	Chapter 24 In the Business of Kama: Prostitution in the Classical Sanskrit Literature from the Seventh to the Thirteenth Centuries
Prostitution in Ancient India
About the Editor and Contributors