Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protection in Contemporary Narratives

In the present work, the authoress explores the relationship between caste and gender in the narratives of Rajput women. For a year and a half the authoress lived in Rajasthan, India, and did fieldwork among the Rajputs (literally "sons of princes"), whose traditional caste duty was to serve as soldiers and protect their realms. Authoress examines the inherent contradiction between the caste-affiliated duty to protect a husband by exploring three types of women’s narratives: those related to kuldevis (family goddesses), satimatas (women who have immolated themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre), and heroines. In this manner, she gives the reader an in-depth view of the lives of Rajput women while exploring the commonly told stories that provide paradigms for moral action.