"before the british came." More accurately - before Islamic conquerors came. The Vijayanagara empire was utterly destroyed by the Sultanates. Devadasi as an in

"before the british came." More accurately - before Islamic conquerors came. The Vijayanagara empire was utterly destroyed by the Sultanates. Devadasi as an institution was shattered first by Islamic invaders - who even record this in their journals. In-fact most Islamic historians explicitly declaim this as liberation of women in India and how Islamic conquest uplifted backward society in that era.