NEW PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN'S ROLE 107
but also comments on the changing socio-political situation of the region. Ramaswamy's erudition with regard to the history of southern India and her ability to locate her study within the dynamism of that region lends to this book a remarkable appeal. One of the problems that has marked writings on southern Indian history is an imbalance between the 'social' and 'non-social' which may be as much due to the nature of the 'sources' for the study of the history of peninsular India, where the political formations are more clearly marked than the others. In these two books, Ramaswamy has successfully transcended this difficult problem. By taking into account the myriad social inequalities at work like the 'growing preponderance of brahmadeyas and military [land] tenures', she makes a convincing case in favour of the required 'space' for the rise and efflorescence of a socio-religious protest movement like Virasaivism, drawing upon a direct relation between 'economic exploitation and socio-ritual oppression by the ruling class-Brahmin coalition' (1996:4).
But that is not all. The author also takes up modern scholars -R.N. Nandi in this case-contesting his characterisation of twelfth century peninsular Indian society as 'feudal', stating that 'it would be more or less valid to look upon it as quasi-feudal'. She also disagrees with Nandi's hypothesis that the Virasaivite movement had an urban elitist background, which she believes is 'not borne out by evidence'. She clarifies that 'votaries of Virasaivism received patronage from the "urban moneyed classes", primarily merchants' (1996:5).
The remaining pages of Divinity and Deviance offer us a fantastic translation of the vachanas of a number of women Virasaivite saints - the Siva Saranas (Divine Seekers), as they were popularly known. Alphabetically arranged by the name of the women saints, Ramaswamy covers a vast corpus of Kannada vachanas in this book. What is remarkable is her ability to retain the free-flowing 'everyday' tone of the lyrics without diluting its high literary, metaphorical and spiritual content. The author deserves applause for making this extremely valuable archive available to the English-speaking readership. Read the wonderfully 'abandoned' vachana of Goggavve, so beautifully captured by the author in English:
To reach heights
One needs a raised stool
To know the nature of consciousness
Is impossible
Without daily conduct of worship and prayer