WOMEN IN HINDU SOCIETY THROUGH THE AGES

(DISCOURSE BY N.R. SRINIVASAN—2009)

 

 

In ancient India, Vedic people established a social system in which father, instead of mother became the head of the family. Throughout ancient history, women were obliged to abide by the laws made by men. However, it is also true that Vedic society had a number of women in key positions and that certain austerities could not be performed without their wives even in the early ritualistic period. In fact according to legends Lord Brahma was forced to take up a girl named Gayatri as his consort for Yajna (sacrifice), in the absence of his wife Saraswati who delayed her arrival after taking a bath to come as Savitri and marry him.

The ritualistic Vedic culture was indeed male dominated. Women folk only helped in the preparation of things for the rituals and fire sacrifices and did not conduct rituals themselves. Intellectual Revolution followed as the fire sacrifices of the Vedic culture was challenged by thinkers including women, who speculated on the nature of religion. In search of salvation, they confronted the profound mystery of death. Their quest predicted on two principles—Renunciation and Karma, the individual's position in samsara (worldly life) determined by one's past actions. During this period woman scholars took active part in spiritual discussions and were also much venerated as seen in Upanishads. Some of the women scholars were more knowledgeable, dominated the scene and were highly respected. Buddhism and Jainism which had limited but enduring appeal were the two major developments of this Intellectual Revolution. Many of its first converts were Vaisyas (merchant class), affluent urban group, upwardly mobile, and, women, both of whom wanted to overcome the low ritual status in the dominating ritualistic Hindu society.

 

During Vedic age, women gained a high place in the society through their own efforts. There was a period in which great many changes were taking place in Sanatana Dharma itself, which absorbed the alien spiritual practices and customs from pre-Vedic cultures. Sankara, founder of Advaita philosophy (non-dualism) noticing the danger of mass exodus from Sanatana Dharma to Jainism and Buddhism established six traditional forms of worship in which Devi (Goddess) worship was given equal importance along with Vedic and non-Vedic forms of worship like the worship of Ganesha and Kumara. He composed several hymns in praise of Devi—Soundarya Lahari, Kanakadhara stotra, Annapoorneshwari stotra etc.

Vedas are also full of prayers for the birth of son. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad elaborates ceremonies for the birth of a son. Some of the wedding blessings start with "Be the mother of the males". Side by side Vedic society encouraged Devi worship, recognized and acknowledged superior intelligence wherever existed as in Kenopanishad glorifying Uma. Vedic society then did not disturb that part of the society that gave prominence to female supremacy under its fold. Their policy had been live and let live within the fold of Sanatana Dharma.

 

The mention of Women sages like Vaac, Ambhrini, Romasa, Maitreyi and Gargi in Vedic lore confirms this view. Mythology talks only with high respect about the three consorts of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and countless ladies like Ahalya, Anusuya, Arundhati, Savitri, Lopamudra, Sakuntala, Damayanti etc. Hinduism had several mystics like Andal and Avvai of Tamilnadu, Mahadevi of Karnataka, Lalla of Kashmir, Chellachi of Srilanka, Janabai and Muktabai of Maharashtra and Mirabai of Rajasthan. At present Amritanadamayi of Kerala is well known in the USA.

 

Women could undergo the Upanayana samskara (ritual) and pursue Vedic studies. They were known as "Brahmavadins". Those who did not pursue the path of the brahmavadins were called "Sadyovadhoos". Co-education existed in the earlier period. Ladies of Kshatriya Dharma got training in the use of arms and other martial arts. Both Kanya-vivaha (marriage of pre-puberty girl arranged by parents) and "Praudha -vivaha" (marriage after puberty) were prevalent. Under certain circumstances the girl had the freedom to choose her husband. The wife known as "grihini" was considered as "half" of the husband and constituted the real "griha" or home. She was called "saamraajini", the queen or mistress of the home and had an equal share in the performance of religious rites. Saastras prescribed sacraments exclusive to woman to honor the coming of puberty and motherhood like Pumsavanam, Seemantonnayanam etc. Divorce and remarriage of woman were allowed under special conditions. Vesyas (prostitutes) were allowed to make a living in the society, but were regulated by a code of conduct specially made for them.

 

Mythology shows that women were allowed to have more than one husband. One of our much respected mythological women Paanchaali was married to five Pandava brothers. The Atharvaveda says that a woman can marry after having ten husbands. Another respected woman of India, the mythological Tara, who came out of the Ocean of Milk, married Vali, the monkey king and after his death married his brother Sugreeva. The fisher woman Satyavati had a son by Saint Parasara and later married King Santanu and had two more sons.

 

For a fairly long period women dominated the social scene and were the virtual head of the family while men were busy with their nomadic life and hunting pursuits. Due to constant threat from foreign invaders and also the draught situation of the Saraswati-Sindh belt the population moved to the East Gangetic plains where agriculture was vigorously followed to a large extent giving up nomadic life of early population. Some anthropologists think that rule by women preceded rule by men and that the patriarchal system developed only when men settled down to agricultural life so as to leave women free to bring up family. As the Great Goddess rules the heavens, her earthly counterpart, the woman, settled down to rule the home. It is no wonder, Manu, the law giver said, "The gods are satisfied wherever women are honored, but where they are not respected, rites and prayers are ineffectual" (Manusmriti 3.62).

 

Hinduism believes even today that a woman who devotes her entire life to the well-being of her husband is a "Pativrata" and is endowed with numerous powers usually attained by sages and it is said that even Gods can't match their power. In the Tantra philosophy the female aspirant is looked upon as an embodiment of Shakti and is worshipped through rituals like Kumari puja (virgin worship) and Shakti Upasana (Goddess worship). Among Shaktiates women are always treated with great respect. Kumari puja is mostly conducted in Bengal. In this ceremony, a twelve year old girl from a Brahmin family is installed on a pita (a stool), dressed up like the image of Shakti and worshipped accordingly.

 

Agricultural pursuit changed the society again in which the father, instead of the mother assumed the role of the head of the family. Western historians over emphasized this fact of the period and wrote that women were obliged to abide by the rules of men. This shift could have taken place when the population got settled giving up their nomadic pursuits, to work on farms and agricultural lands while the women managed the household with many children. In their previous nomadic life, families were small with limited number of children and women had sole control of the family.

 

Lot of research has gone into the status of ancient and medieval arts like temple sculptures, cave paintings, fine arts and ancient tradition, in which status of women indicates occupying a prestigious position. Hindu aesthetic tradition in the ancient and medieval times regarded women as an aspect of the Great Mother of all life, a vessel of fertility and life in full sap. The ideas of Indian art viewed every woman, a Goddess. This has a parallel to the Great Greek Goddess of Fertility Gaia, the Earth, with mountains, caves and earth's waters considered as a woman and a Mother. Ancient art in many forms and old traditions reveal the true history on the Status of Women in ancient and medieval India.

 

The ancient traditions of India have always identified the female of the species with all that is sacred in nature. It is not always the warrior woman who is identified with the Goddess, but also a woman as playful, lovable, and of course as the mother. A kick of a woman was sufficient and necessary for blossoms of spring time from the sacred Ashoka tree. An entire ceremony has developed around this theme. Women dance around this tree and gently kick to bring it to bloom. By her mere touch the fertilizing power of woman is supposed to be transferred to the tree, which then bursts into flowers. All things that arise from the earth in the form of vegetative life mirror the great generative function of the Goddess. The female figure is an obvious emblem of fertility because of its association with growth, abundance and prosperity. A tree that has come to flower or fruit will not be cut down; it is treated as mother, a woman who has given birth. The metaphoric connections between a tree and woman are many and varied. A relevant one here is that the word for flowering and menstruation is the same in Samskrit. In Samskrit a menstruating woman is called "Pushpavati", "a woman in flower". It is interesting to note that the decoctions made from the bark of the same Ashoka tree, are used to soothe menstrual cramps and excessive blood loss during menstruation as recommended in Ayurveda. The bark decoction relieves the pain and tension related to menopause.

Vedas consider river as the primordial womb. Any kind of creativity of bestowing of life seems to evoke a symbolism of motherhood. This explains the common practice of calling the rivers "mother" a custom which is most noticed in the case of river Ganges but common to many other rivers as well. This correlation explains the common practice of calling rivers as Mother Goddess. This shows the high respect given to motherhood and woman in Hindu practice.

 

 Ancient art texts known as Silpa Shastras confirm that the potency of woman's fertility and its equation with growth, abundance and prosperity led to women becoming a sign of the auspicious. In fact, women served as apotropaic (a ritual to ward off evil) function whereby their auspiciousness was magically transferred to the monument upon which they were sculpted and painted. A royal palace, a Buddhist Stupa, Hindu shrine gained auspiciousness and fortune when adorned with the figure of a woman. A text of the tenth century, the Shilpa Prakasaha, that provides guidelines for practicing temple architects and sculptures categorically states that figures of women are a pre-requisite on the walls of temples. Its choice of phrase underscores the significance of the theme—"as a house without a wife, as a frolic without a woman the monument will be inferior quality will bear no fruit". Thus by the mere addition of feminine images it was believed that the whole complex could become sacred and auspicious. In fact the same text lists the different types who best sanctify a monument and instructs the sculptor on how to exactly carve the figures. The most important of these feminine images are: a) a woman dancing; b) a woman adjusting her anklets; c) a woman drummer; d) a mother with her infant in her arms; e) a woman smelling a lotus; f) a woman playing with a parrot.

 

In ancient times, a woman dancer was considered an inseparable part of any ritual worship in temples. Every temple of consequence had attached to it one or more dancers. Such women were known as Devadasis. The sacred dancers were symbolically married off to the presiding deity of the temple. Thus an "ordinary" woman was found holy enough to be married off to God, the lord of the temple. The transformation of the ordinary girl into Devadasi was marked by important rituals, after the completion of which the woman was considered "an ever auspicious woman" (nityasumangali). The traditional view holds that all women, by their very nature, share the power of the goddess. The devadasi initiation rites celebrate the merger of her individual female power with those of Goddess. It is this quality of 'eternal auspiciousness' in a woman that brought into existence this tradition since ancient times.

 

The importance of devadasis can be gauged from the fact that their presence was deemed necessary at the slightest event in the temple, for example bathing the deity in the morning or waving the sacred fire lamp in front of him. An important ritual was the participation in the twilight worship held at sunset. The junction of twilight, when the day slips into night, is considered extremely dangerous, and so the gods need all the support and attendance they can get. The ritual of waving the lighted lamp by a devadasi was considered the most effective method of warding off inauspicious state for the divine. Dance of course remained their most accomplished contribution; indeed the life of a devadasi required a strict adherence to dancing schedule and practice. Dance is potentially both sensual and hypnotic. Its passion performance helped to evoke the atmosphere of temple as a place removed from the mundane world, the temple as a celestial abode of the deity. Even mythology does not look down upon celestial dancing girls like Urvasi, Menaka and Rambha who got into all sorts of problems time and again.

 

The relationship of the body, senses, mind, intellect and soul is articulated in the Upanishads and is seminal to the world view where body is regarded as the abode of the divine and the divine descends in the body. Logically, the beautiful body, is the temple of God and dance is a medium of invoking the divine within. Each form of dance—the stance, the movement and the context—is imbued with deep spiritual and symbolic significance. Dance reflects a state of being at the highest order of spiritual discipline (saadhana) and is hence considered yoga. Its performance is a higher transcendental order. It is the medium which evokes the supreme state of bliss (aananda) and also the vehicle of release (Moksha). Through the medium of dance, a woman embodies the pro -genitive powers of cosmic energy, through which, according to ancient dance treatise (Natya sastra) 'the entire phenomenal world is kindled to life'.

 

The system in course of time degenerated to sex exploitation. The temple priest or someone in royalty would make devadasi lose her virginity. In the crudest terms she was forced to lose her virginity and was trained in erratic dancing. When a devadasi girl became a woman, she was allowed to wander around the country leading a life of prostitute. This abused system is therefore completely abolished in India today.

 

Wearing jewelry and adoring themselves with ornaments was natural to women in ancient days, as is today. Ancient texts identify sixteen different embellishments (solah singaar) which acknowledge and celebrate the beauty and divinity of the female form. Sixteen, a significant number, corresponds to the sixteen phases of the Moon, which in turn is connected with women's menstrual cycle. A woman of sixteen is considered to be at the peak of physical perfection in her life. The image of woman adjusting her anklets in temple sculpture was considered sacred enough to be carved out in temple walls, though the Indian tradition thinks of feet as impure. A woman has no associated impurity, anything and everything connected with her acquired a status over and above its material existence. The anklet is mentioned as the last of these sixteen ornaments.

 

As mother, woman is divine and is worshipped. A mother with her infant in arms is found in all temple sculptural displays. A lady playing a drum is another common representation. A drum represents thunder and cosmic energy. Hide is a symbol of regeneration. Wood of the drum is symbolic of tree itself which expresses material nourishment and support. The hollowness of the drum inside is a symbol of the womb and therefore birth. The oval shape of the drum is a symbol of fertility, the feminine creative power.

 

The lotus is the symbol of absolute purity; it grows from the dirty watery mire but it is untainted or unstained by it. Indian literature classifies women into four types of which the highest is Padmini, the Lotus Lady. An early medieval text describes the goddess as being: "Slender as the lotus fiber; lotus eyed; in the lotus posture; pollen dusting her lotus feet. She dwells in the pendant of the lotus of the heart" The parrot is the vehicle of the God of Desire-- Kama, the impeller of Creation. Kama is the God of Beauty and Youth. Creation is always preceded by desire; there can be no creation without desire.

 

In Nepal, A small Himalayan Hindu kingdom, a little girl is chosen to embody the Goddess for a few years (until the puberty), as the living image of Durga, as per the ancient tradition. Each year, the Kumari puts a Tika, i.e., a red auspicious mark on the forehead of the king, a gesture which signifies that she, goddess protects his legitimacy over the kingdom.

 

Believe it or not, there have been communities in India, throughout its long turbulent history, where women have played important roles, in the society. For example, within the Nair community in Kerala, all property rites are only for women in the family, and they still follow the matriarchal system. In that system, the mother is always the head of the house.

 

Shaving of the hair, wearing the red or white sari by the widows or their committing Sahagamana (dieing on the funeral pyre of their husbands) was never compulsory. The sati custom seems to have been confined to a small section of the Hindu Society. The idea of shaving hair, perhaps was that their lives should be similar to that of Sanyasins, grihastasrama dharma having been snatched away suddenly from them. Sati according to leading Hindu theologizers had its roots in ancient Greece. Pyre sacrifices similar to Sati were prevalent among the Germans, Slavs and other races beside Greeks. Sati was never practiced in Southern parts of India. Even in North India it was practiced mostly among the warrior tribes called Rajputs who were descendents of Kushans, Saks and Partihans, who were constantly attacked by Muslim invaders. The rare incident of Sahagamana from scripture's quote is the suicide of all the wives of Lord Krishna when this Avatar of Vishnu left Earth; it was voluntary and desperate out of extreme pains of perennial separation from their beloved husband. The other act in the Mahabharata parallel to Sati is the act of Madri, wife of Pandu, who killed herself on the funeral pyre, out of frustration and contempt for herself as she was the cause for Pandu's death. There is nothing in Vedas to show that Vedic culture had sanctioned Sati. Sati has absolutely no Hindu scriptural backing.

 

India had her own tradition of feminine culture and women's participation in spiritual and public affairs. From Sita and Draupadi of the Epics the tale ran through Rajput heroines to princesses like Rupmati of Malwa and Ahalyabai of Indore. But by 1800 A.D. there was very little trace of feminine culture or public life; the less attractive aspects of the Hindu conception of the place of women in society portrayed predominantly by the Western historians and Hindu reformists were dominant. The new observers of Indian Society therefore found little to praise in the condition of women save their resignation and patient acceptance of suffering and much to criticize. The targets of disapproval, though not all brought forward at the same time, were sati, infanticide, child marriage, the plight of Hindu widows, temple prostitution and forced dowry system. Ram Mohan Roy took up the fight against sati and infanticide in both of which the government intervened on general moral grounds. Swami Dayananda championed female education on vedic principles. The Ramakrishna Mission with its missionary techniques encouraged women teachers and preachers. Pandit Vidyasagar secured the First Act for raising the age of consent in 1860 and the legalization of widow marriage. Child marriages were stopped in 1929 by Sarada Act under which no male is allowed to marry under 18 and no female is allowed to marry under 14.

 

Bankim Chandra Chattarjee mobilized women into the freedom movement, creating the character of Bharat Mata, Mother India, in his novel published in 1882, Anandmath. Bharatmata has much in common with Goddess Durga and is a favorite theme in Indian Nationalism. Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi were convinced that a New India could be born only with women's full contribution and both invented new political roles for them invoking the goddess as an example for Indian women. Bose also gave a prestigious position to woman in the army in the role of Captain Lakshmi Saigal, who he compared to 'Shakti' and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. Gandhi often drew explicit parallels, in his address to women, between Sita's legendary fight against the demon Ravana and Indian women's fight against British.

 

The earlier invaders, who came to India, looted, plundered and destroyed temples and marauding soldiers abducted young girls and women. As life, property and the chastity of women were at peril, each community built a fortress of social norms around itself to protect women. Caste system became rigid starting with the raids of Mahmud of Ghazni and Goris. Many later day social evils of the Hindus such as rigid caste system, guarding the sanctum sanctorum in temples from entry except by the few (to prevent looting and plunder) child marriage (before a girl could be of an age attractive enough to be abducted) the forceful shaving of the head of the widows in higher castes (to make them less attractive to foreign soldiers), the wide spread practice of forceful Sati amongst martial race, became the norms during this unsettled period of Indian history. Hindu women lost their independence and became objects requiring male protection. In the process they also lost the opportunities they had earlier of acquiring knowledge and learning in spite of the emerging philosophic schools of thought and reforms safeguarding interests of women, like Brahmosamaj, Veerasaiva Movement and Shakta Schools of Thought that still find place in Hinduism today. Veerasaiva cult flourished nearly 1000 years ago in the Karnataka region, stood for a casteless society, opposed child marriage, approved widow marriage and disapproved Sati. The Sovereign Democratic Secular Government of India is constantly struggling with its enacted laws, rules and regulations to safeguard women's interests.

 

In the face of economic constraints and rigidity of traditional customs and attitudes, the limits of political reformism are all too clearly revealed. There has been abundance of reformation legislations enacted and awareness of sex inequality seems to have grown at least within elite circles. The benefit which women as a group derive from the prominence of few women in leadership positions is insubstantial. The plethora of population, occupational, property and other legislations, has clearly upgraded the quality of many individual women's lives. But these changes are not indicative of any significant improvement in the status of women as a whole, which stands progressively degenerated to a large extent since the time of early invaders, especially among  the low caste, illiterate and poor female population who are in a majority.

It is worth recalling here timely Upanishadic advice calling for the need of women's education.  o You all know the struggle of a Muslim girl  Malal Yousafzai  fighting  for the cause of girl education which was appreciated by the Nobel Prize Committee and she was awarded  a Nobel  peace Prize  in 2014 sharing with an Indian Kailash Satyarthi. Upanishad prescribes a ritual for ensuring the birth of a daughter endowed with learning.  The Mantra hints at the need for learning for woman. The greatest tribute to womanhood in Vedic Culture comes from the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On September 2,  2014 Prime Minister Modi  while addressing a gathering in Japan said: If the Hindu female   pantheon was likened with a Ministry, then Education was with Goddess Saraswati, Finance with Lakshmi, Security with Mahaakaali, Defense with Durga and Food Security with the Goddess Annapoorna!

The slow progress in the improvement of the status of women after Independence due to social, political and economic impacts is being felt by the working middle class of the Indian community of which Hindu community is a majority. Right now in India, compared to even countries like USA, one can see women have better respect in social and political life as well as in professional life. In India women have equal wages with men in all types of profession. A lady doctor gets the same salary a male doctor gets, and a lady engineer gets the same salary as a male engineer gets. In a society where woman have been progressively subordinated over a long period due to changing situations beyond control, this progress and presence of a woman Prime Minister or female chief ministers has not made significant land mark among illiterates, lower castes and the poor who are in majority. Much has been done and much more needs to be done to improve the literacy, economic and social conditions of Hindu women to bring back the past glory of Hindu woman of ancient and medieval periods.

 

 

This lecture has been prepared by N.R. Srinivasan by extracting, abridging and editing from the following publications for the Vedanta Class at Sri Ganesha Temple of Nashville:

 

1. Swami Harshananda, An Introduction to Hindu Culture, Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore, India.
2. Vincent A Smith, The Oxford History of India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, India.
3. Sakunthala Jagannathan, Hinduism, Vakils Feffer and Simons Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai—400001, India.
4. Exotic India Art, Exotic India.com, Internet.
5. Ed Viswanathan, Am I A Hindu? Rupa & Co., New Delhi, India.
6. Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Towards Equality……Political Prominence of Women in India, Asian Survey, Vol. 18, No.5, Internet.
7. Viswam, Sanatana Dharma, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai—400007.
8. Swami Nityananda, Symbolism in Hinduism, Central Chinmaya Trust Mission. Mumbai—400072.

Stephanie Tawa Lama, The Hindu Goddess and Women's Political Representation in South Asia, Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi.

APPENDIX

WHERE WOMEN ARE RESPECTED, GODS REJOICE

(Through courtesy  P. Ramakrishna & Amit Kabra of L&T, India)

“O enlightening Mother! May you always shower your blessings in form of peace, happiness and success! May you always be pleased with us and may we never conduct any act that excludes us from your blessing gaze.”-- Atharvaveda 7.68.2

International Women’s Day in 2015 is the day to remember the importance and significance of the contribution of women to the humanity, the role they have played historically and are playing in the modern society, how they have preserve the family, the multiple roles they have played as reflected in the various scriptures, and how society will be enriched by their strength, patience, tolerance and endurance. The specific theme of the International Women's Day is "Inspiring Change". It aims to influence and strengthen the international community's commitment to put an end to violence against women. It intends to introduce a positive change to balance the status of women and men in an unequal world.

 The Indian philosophers have always argued that where women are respected, there Gods rejoiced. In that society, cultural values have blossomed to higher levels, the seeds of divinity sprouted, freedom blossomed and equal opportunities flourished. Recent days we witnessed, experienced, observed and read about the issues affecting women with respect to rape, violence, molestation, deterioration of morals, gender inequality, domestic violence, and so on.  Every Indian should look back at the history of their culture, learn from it, transmit them to the future generations, imbibe them, and enrich the lives of the humanity if we have to live in peace and harmony with clearly defined responsibilities for each individual.

If we have to restore the respect, reverence and regard women enjoyed over so many centuries, if we have to provide adequate safety and protection for women, and if we have to provide status and opportunity for women, every institution has to get involved to transmit the necessary values and morals in the society to instill the concept of dharma – the righteous principles. Societies are changing faster than anyone could have expected. Morals and responsibilities of the individuals are lagging unable to keep up with the changes. Traditionally respected values and morals are forgotten. Bharath is not practicing the very essence of the famous verse that declares, "may all be happy, may all be healthy, may all be noble, let nobody feel sad.”

 Education is the key for successfully instilling the abiding, enduring, and lasting values that preserve the noble and rewarding virtues that create harmony and peace in the society.

All the ills affecting the security of women have to be addressed by every institution, every organization and every concerned individual. There must be combined effort by all concerned agencies to impart the knowledge about the richness, beauty, and grandeur of the role of wife and mother played in various scriptures and how they were able to preserve the integrity, harmony, and peace of mind in the family, community and society. It is time for the family members, educational institutions, Hindu Temples, religious institutions and government to teach the relevance of the scriptures to the modern society and instill respect for both men and women.

The prosperity, well-being and success of any society depend on the respect women are accorded. Women are described to possess innate qualities that guide the society, unlimited patience to preserve the family, and endowed with compassion to shower blessings to the humanity.

 Let us remember the role women played over the centuries in various capacities across the globe, how they have preserved the indigenous cultures, how they maintained the family responsibilities, how they fought and protected their countries, how they are contributing to the economy and wellbeing of the societies, and how they can achieve the economic parity with men.

In Hindu religion, women have played significant role as wife and mother in preserving and protecting the family. Many scriptures have documented their unparalleled contribution in preserving the families. In fact she was so respected and revered in Hindu religion, she is equated with Goddess – Matru Devo Bhava.

 No country can come close to the status women have received in India. All the problems women are facing in India and all around today should be addressed by looking back at the roots that revered the position of women and chart out the future to provide the safety and security to women. All the families, educational institutions, religious institutions and political institutions must make every effort to instill, transmit and revitalize the traditional respect Hinduism has accorded to the women and inculcate the moral values found in ancient scriptures to redress the present day ills.  

WOMAN IN HINDU SOCIETY, MISUNDERSTOOD AND CRITICIZED BY THE WEST

 (E-Mail message sent by N. R. Srinivasan to Hindu Reflection Participants)

Motherhood is considered the greatest glory of Hindu women. The Taittareeya Upanishad teaches, “Matru devo bhava”—let your Mother be God to you. Hindu tradition recognizes mother and motherland as even superior to your own life—“jananee janmabhoomischa praanaadapi gareeyasi” (Ramayana)—Moher and Motherland are dearer than  even one’s life. The epic Mahabharata says; “While a father is superior to Brahmin priests well versed in the Vedas, a mother is superior to ten such fathers, or the entire world.

In ancient India Hindu woman did not veil their faces as is seen today mostly in the North that is being criticized today.  They enjoyed considerable amount of freedom in society. But repeated attacks on Hindu India by foreigners through centuries changed the situation. During such aggressions, and also when India was under foreign occupation the honor and chastity of women often became the casualties inflicted by the aggression.   There have been numerous cases when Hindu women killed themselves rather than yield to indignities.  As a result, Hindu society became more and more protective about its women. The freedom of women were curtailed. To protect themselves Hindu women started covering their faces with veils and legs with saris. They were no longer allowed to have their formal education away from home. Instead, they stayed at home, had whatever education was available there, or none at all. Their participation in social events was greatly restricted. All such past history is being highlighted by modern critics ignoring the fact that recently India was ruled for long by woman Prime Minister and a Hindu woman   was an astronaut.

In   the Vedic society,   not only   boys   but   girls also   were initiated to Brahmacharya through the Upanayana samskaaram. According to Haarita Samhita, girls studied the Vedas and were known as Brahmavadins, women well versed in Vedas. This is still practiced in Kerala by some Brahmin communities. All devatas sought the help of Brahmvadin Uma, daughter of Himavan to  know who  Brahman  was?

It is this Uma that Purans later glorified as Parvati.  Sayana's commentary in Anuvaka,   identifies Parvati in the Kena Upanishad, suggesting her to be the same as Uma and Ambika in the Upanishad, referring to Parvati is thus an embodiment of divine knowledge and the mother of the world.  

Sa tasaminneva avakaase streeyama-ajagaama | bahusobhamaanam-umaa(ga)m haimaavateem taagam hovaachakimetad yakshamiti  (KENA 3-12)

And in that very spot he beheld a woman Uma, the daughter of  Himavan (the snowy mountain Himalaya. He asked her who this Adorable Spirit (Brahman)could be?  

Brahmavadini Gargi Vachaknavi, daughter of Vachaknu, is honored as a great natural philosopher, renowned expounder of the Vedas.  She participates in the Brahma Yajna,   organized by Brahma Jnyani King Janaka of Videha and challenges even the Brahma Jnyani Sage Yajnavalkya. Brahmavadini Maitreyi was a venerated ancient Indian philosopher. Ten hymns in the Rigveda are attributed to Maitreyi, where she explored the concept of Atman in a dialogue with Brahma Jnyani Sage Yajnavalkya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Queen Chudala (mentioned in Yoga Vasistha) became Guru to her Husband, King Sikhidhwaj. She attained Brahma Jnyana soon after instructions from scholars. Her story is detailed in Yoga Vasistha.

Hindu temples in America will soon be observing Upakarma as special Religious Event Day and will be helping Brahmin community in replacing the worn out  sacred thread by a new one and conducting Kamakorshee/Manuurakarsheet  Japa  and   Homa. Orthodoxy in India dictates Upakarma should be only to Brahmin males   who have undergone Upanayana Samskara,    a Hindu woman should not study Vedas and not even pronounce sacred Om! Hence Tamil ladies avoid Vedas and study Thiruvoymozhi or Naalaayira Divya Prabhandam! You can judge for yourself how falsified we are? Kamokarsheet is an annual repentance day needed by all to atone for their desire and anger based actions knowingly or unknowingly done during the year and  Upanayanam is the starting ceremony to receive guru Upadesa and commence Vedic studies that is essential  for all  Hindu males and females. Here our attention is focused only on wearing the holy thread and  parading with the ego “I am a Brahmin” not knowing what Brahmin means. Its main purpose to study Vedas is ignored. Unfortunately this belief continues even among the educated elite Hindu Americans in US as demonstrated by Upakarma celebrations in Hindu American Temples.

Please go through the following message from Rohit Singh:  

Women Occupied Most Important Position in Ancient India

In ancient India, women occupied a very important position, in fact a superior position to, men. It is a culture whose only words for strength and power are feminine -"Shakti'' means "power'' and "strength.'' All male power comes from the feminine. Literary evidence suggests that kings and towns were destroyed because a single woman was wronged by the state. For example, Valmiki's Ramayana teaches us that Ravana and his entire clan was wiped out because he abducted Sita. Veda Vyasa's Mahabharatha teaches us that all the Kauravas were killed because they humiliated Draupadi in public. Elango Adigal's Sillapathigaram teaches us Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas was burnt because Pandyan Nedunchezhiyan mistakenly killed her husband on theft charges.

In Vedic times women and men were equal as far as education and religion was concerned. Women participated in the public sacrifices alongside men. One text mentions a female rishi Visvara. Some Vedic hymns, are attributed to women such as Apala, the daughter of Atri, Ghosa, the daughter of Kaksivant or Indrani, the wife of Indra. Apparently in early Vedic times women also received the sacred thread and could study the Vedas. The Haritasmrti mentions a class of women called brahmavadinis who remained unmarried and spent their lives in study and ritual. Panini's distinction between acharya (a lady teacher) and acaryani (a teacher's wife), and upadhyaya (a woman preceptor) and upadhyayani (a preceptor's wife) indicates that women at that time could not only be students but also teachers of sacred lore. He mentions the names of several noteworthy women scholars of the past such as Kathi, Kalapi, and Bahvici. The Upanishads refer to several women philosophers, who disputed with their male colleagues such as Vacaknavi, who challenged Yajnavalkya. The Rig Veda also refers to women engaged in warfare. One queen Bispala is mentioned, and even as late a witness as Megasthenes (fifth century B.C. E.) mentions heavily armed women guards protecting Chandragupta's palace.

Louis Jaccoliot, the celebrated French author of the Bible in India: Hindoo Origin of Hebrew and Christian Revelation said: "India of the Vedas entertained a respect for women amounting to worship; a fact which we seem little to suspect in Europe when we accuse the extreme East of having denied the dignity of woman, and of having only made her an instrument of pleasure and of passive obedience." He also said: "What! Here is a civilization, which you cannot deny to be older than your own, which places the woman on a level with the man and gives her an equal place in the family and in society."

रोहित सिंह

Women in Indian history: A Few Vignettes From Epigraphy

Michel Danino, Indology, IndiaFacts   

 
Indian civilization and culture, many-faceted and infinitely involved by nature, lend themselves to the most contrary interpretations, which more often than not reflect the scholar’s predetermined interpretive model, bias, ideology, or sometimes personal insecurities. Whatever the motive, a frequent result has been the creation of entrenched stereotypes. A case in point is the treatment of woman.

A case in point is the treatment of woman in ancient India; nothing is easier than to quote from smritis, find a few references praising sati, and portray the “repressed Hindu woman” in a manner that will arouse indignation in our era of human rights. But one can just as well find injunctions against sati, or quote from Varahamihira’s chapter on “the praise of women” in which he asks, “What great fault is there in women that has not been already committed by men? Men have outstripped women in impudence. Women are indeed superior to men in respect of merits. … Being uniquely pure, women are never defiled.”

an ideal for her to follow. Ignoring the enormous formative impact of those texts on the Indian mind, uncompromising critics of ancient Indian society are fond of arguing that being “mythological,” they have little, if anything, to do with ground realities.

If, then, we wish to study those “ground realities,” one of the most reliable sources will be epigraphy. Presented here are a few examples of what inscriptions tell us on the status of women. The subtitle makes it clear that I do not attempt to construct an elaborate model; I am content with a few highlights as a starting point.

Woman as Giver

In inscriptions, kings often boast of their generous gifts to this or that section of society; but women often also appear as givers. In fact, that is their most visible role in the epigraphic record. The oldest such inscription is on one of Ashoka’s pillar edicts; his second queen, Charuvaki, is on record for offering mango groves, gardens and almshouses for the destitute. In the first century BCE, an inscription in the Kanheri caves, not far from Mumbai, describes a Satavahana queen as making the “pious gift” of a water cistern. Quite practical offerings as we can see, with the common welfare in mind.

or religious purposes. Many stone inscriptions of Chola and Pandya times list names of women donating gold or money for the installation of perpetual lamps in temples. Others are on record for the creation of endowments for charitable purposes. The chief queen of Vijayanagara emperor Achyuta Raya, Varada Devi, also known as Varadambika, gifted six villages to Tirumala’s Srî Venkatesvara temple, among other offerings. And when she accompanied the emperor on his visit to the Varadarajaswami temple of Kanchipuram, they both offered their own weight in pearls!

Queens are not the only ones to give; the generosity of women from ordinary classes of the society is also recorded–rarely, of course, as inscriptions were largely a royal activity, but that makes such records all the more notable and instructive. Thus we have, from Ramnagar (in U. P.), a statue of a Jina dated 10 Saka Era (AD 88) with, incised on its pedestal, a remarkable epigraph noting that the image was offered by ten women of the carpenter community. Historian Kirit Shah, commenting on this inscription, feels that those women were probably not mere wives of carpenters, but carpenters themselves. In any case, the women are all named, and the few identifications given appear to relate some of their mothers – their husbands’ names figure nowhere in the text. Moreover, the rules of iconography were broken to make a bas-relief of the ten women beneath the throne appear more prominent than a row of ten men, probably their husbands.

At Sanchi and Bharhut, inscriptions of first century AD record women making offerings by their names alone, without any reference to a husband, a father or a mother. That, again, is the exception rather than the rule, but it confirms that a woman was not a mere adjunct to be defined by her father or her husband.

Woman as Ruler

One eloquent clue to woman’s status is that a queen could become the actual ruler. That is fairly well known in the medieval era, but was also true of more ancient times. Thus in the fourth century AD, Prabhavatigupta, daughter of emperor Chandragupta II, is on record for ruling the Vakataka kingdom for thirteen years on behalf of her young son. Three centuries later, princess Vijayabhattarika acted as provincial governor under Vikramaditya I of the Chalukya dynasty.

In Gujarat, queen Naikidevi also acted as a regent on behalf of her young son. When, in 1178, Mohammad Ghuri attacked her kingdom, inscriptions record how she boldly took her son in her lap and led the Chalukya army against the Muslim invaders, defeating it near the foot of Mount Abu. In effect, Naikidevi initiated a tradition of heroic queens which was to include Rani Durgavati, Rani Avantibai, and Rani Lakshmibai.

Woman as Poet and Instructor

Particularly in the times of the Pallavas, the Pandyas and the Cholas, frequently mention women in various roles. In the estimate of historian and epigraphist Chithra Madhavan, royal ladies “are seen actively participating in the sphere of religion and culture. … It can be seen that many of them were extremely well-versed in the fine arts and also enjoyed an exalted position in their respective kingdoms as elsewhere in south India at that time.”

We just met Vijayanagara emperor Achyuta Raya and his chief wife; it appears that his second wife, Tirumala Devi (or Tirumalamba) was a gifted poetess who composed in Sanskrit a champu-kavya (an epic mixing prose and poetry); many of her verses on the emperor were engraved in temples, for instance at Srirangam or Kanchipuram.

In the Gupta era, there is evidence that a woman could be a teacher; as historian U. N. Ghoshal puts it, “Girls of high families, as also those living in hermitages, read works on ancient history and legend, and were educated sufficiently to understand and even compose verses. … The Amarakosa, a work of the Gupta Age, refers to words meaning female teachers (upadhyaya2 and upadhyayi) as well as female instructors of Vedic mantras (acharya*).”This is confirmed by inscriptions. As an example, at Margal, a village near Kolar in Karnataka, a beautiful stone sculpture depicts Savinirmadi, a woman scholar of the tenth century, in a teaching posture; above the sculpture, an inscription gives the names of her father and mother, and adds that Savinirmadi “was learned in all the shastras.” Adds historian Jyotsna Kamat, “In medieval Karnataka, examples of learned women were not rare though the details regarding mode of educating women are not forthcoming.

Woman as the Performer of Sacrifices

One of the Nanaghat (or Naneghat) Cave inscriptions, not far from Pune, dating from the first century BCE, posed a riddle to its first decipherers. It describes the Satavahana queen Nagamnika performing elaborate Vedic sacrifices: sixteen of which are recorded, including the Aghyadheya, Ashvamedha, Rajasuya, etc. Apparently, since her son is stated to be on the throne, her husband, the previous king, who receives a brief mention, had died years earlier. As eminent epigraphist S. Sankaranarayanan explains, the first editors of the inscription could not accept that a widowed queen performed such sacrifices on her own; in ancient times, both husband and wife were required for the purpose.

The editors therefore assumed that a few words were missing in the inscription. But Sankaranarayanan argues cogently that the inscription is complete, and that we have to accept its plain content. This is of great importance as it shows that Shastras and other codes were perhaps less normative than we might be tempted to think: in other words, they presented the theory, while the practice often differed.

Woman and Crime

An epigraph of AD 992, during the reign of the Western Chalukya king Ahavamalla, laid down a list of penalties for various offences; it specified that in the case of adultery, the adulterer is to be put to death, while the adulteress will have her nose amputated. The last sentence is no doubt unkind by our standards, but we should note that the utmost severity is reserved for the man, not the woman. This is consistent with various texts of law, custom or ethics, such as the Arthashastra, which spell out punishments for rape or for false promises made to a woman with a view to seducing her.

Shining Woman

Finally, the authors of inscriptions sometimes revel in poetic depictions of the high attainments of some women. In the ninth century AD, the copper plates of Bahur (a village south of Pondicherry) tell of a Rashtrakuta princess who became Pallava king Nandivarman III’s queen; Shankha was her name, and she was “full of patience like the earth,” endowed with “intelligence, beauty, arts,” “beloved by the people like a mother”—in a word, she “shone as if she were the embodied fortune of the king.”

An inscription of Kanchipuram’s Kailashnatha temple describes another Pallava lady as “one full of loveliness, softness, grace and cleanliness, charming through genuine sweetness”; indeed, she appeared to be “a masterpiece” of the Creator, a living proof that “his skill had attained perfection at last after he had created thousands of good-looking women”!

Back to the Gupta age, an inscription of the ancient city of Mandasor (Madhya Pradesh) describes the city’s parks as full of women moving freely in large numbers or singing perpetually. Clearly, there were no restrictions on their free movement, and we would not mind seeing such displays of merriment in cities of modern India.These few samples hardly skim the surface. I am not aware of any systematic study of the depiction of Indian women in epigraphy, even though we would plainly have a lot to learn from it, and probably more to unlearn.

GARGI VACHAKNAVI OF UPANISHADS

Did you know that in Vedic literature, Gargi Vachaknavi is honored as one of the great natural philosophers, renowned expounder of the Vedas, and a person with knowledge of Brahmavidya?

Gargi Vachaknavi (born in Treta Yuga) was an ancient Indian philosopher. In Vedic literature, she is honored as a great natural philosopher, renowned expounder of the Vedas, and known as Brahmavadini, a person with knowledge of Brahma Vidya.

Gargi, the daughter of sage Vachaknu in the lineage of sage Garga (c. 800-500 BCE) was named after her father as Gargi Vachaknavi. From a young age she evinced keen interest in Vedic scriptures and became very proficient in fields of philosophy. She became highly knowledgeable in the Vedas and Upanishads in the Vedic times and held intellectual debates with other philosophers.

Gargi, along with Vadava Pratitheyi and Sulabha Maitreyi are among the prominent females who figure in the Upanishads. She was as knowledgeable in Vedas and Upanishads as men of the Vedic times and could very well contest the male-philosophers in debates. Her name appears in the Grihya Sutras of Asvalayana. She was a leading scholar who also made rich contributions to propagate education.

Gargi came into prominence as the first lady and an honoured philosopher in ancient Sanskrit literature of her times, during her debates with great philosophers, particularly Yagnayavalkya. Her achievements are glorified in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which states that King Janaka of Videha Kingdom held a Rajasuya Yagna and invited all the learned sages, kings and princess of India to participate. Janaka thought of selecting a scholar from the assembled group of elite scholars, the most accomplished of them all who had maximum knowledge about Brahman. For this purpose, he evolved a plan and offered a prize of 1,000 cows with each cow dangled with 10 grams of gold on its horns. The galaxy of scholars, apart from others, included the renowned sage Yagnavalkya and Gargi Vachaknavi. But Yagnavalkya who was aware that he was the most spiritually knowledgeable among the assembled gathering, as he had mastered the art of Kundalini Yoga, ordered his disciple Samsrava to drive away the cow herd to his house. Though assembled scholars were infuriated by this development, but most scholars were fearful of challenging the indomitable sage Yagnavalkya.

Sages like Asvala, the priest in Janaka's court, Artabhaga, Bhujyu, Ushasta, and Uddalaka debated with him and asked questions on philosophical subjects to which Yajnavalkya provided convincing replies and they lost the debate. It was then the turn of Gargi to take up the challenge. Gargi, as one of the disputants in the debate, questioned Yajnavalkya on his claim of superiority among the scholars. She held repeated arguments with him. Gargi and Yajnavalkya's exchange centered on the ultimate "warp" of reality ("warp" means "the basic foundation or material of a structure or entity). Her initial dialogue with Yajnavalkya tended to be too metaphysical, such as unending status of the soul, away from practical situations. She then changed her approach and asked him pointed questions related to the environment existing in the world, the question of the very origin of all existence. Her question was specific when she asked him "since this whole world is woven back and forth on water, on what then is it woven back and forth", a question that related to the commonly known cosmological metaphor that expressed the unity of the world, its essential interconnectedness. She continued with an array of questions such as what was the universe of the suns, what were the moon, the stars, the gods, Indra, and Prajapati. Gargi then pressed on with two more questions. Gargi urged Yajnavalkya to enlighten her on the weave of reality. Gargi was not satisfied and then posed the next question:

"Across what then pray, is space woven, warp and woof?"

Yajnavalkya answered: " Verily, O Gargi, if one performs sacrifices and worship and undergoes austerity in this world for many thousands of years, but without knowing that Imperishable, limited indeed is that [work] of his. Across this Imperishable is the unseen, O Gargi, is space woven, warp and woof."

Then she asked a final question, on what was Brahman (world of the imperishable)? Yagnavalakya, stumped and irritated by this question, put an end to the debate by telling Gargi not to proceed further as other wise she would lose her mental balance. This riposte ended their further dialogue at the conference of the learned. However, at the end of the debate she conceded to the superior knowledge of Yajnavalkya by saying: "venerable Brahmins, you may consider it a great thing if you get off bowing before him. No one, I believe, will defeat him in any argument concerning Brahman.

Gargi's philosophical views also find mention in the Chandogya Upanishad. Gargi, as Brahmavadini, composed several hymns in Rigveda (in X 39. V.28) that questioned the origin of all existence. The Yoga Yajnavalkya, a classical text on Yoga is a dialogue between Gargi and sage Yajnavalkya.

Gargi was honored as one of the Navaratnas (nine gems) in the court of King Janaka of Mithila. She, as Rishika Gargi, is hailed as the "World’s Oldest Icon Of Feminism.

She remained a celibate all her life and was held in veneration by the conventional Hindus. It is also said that Sulabha Maitreyi, an equally famous woman philosopher who had married sag, e Yagnavalkya as his second wife following a philosophical with him, was Gargi's niece.

Gargi is cited as an example of the educational opportunities available to women in Vedic India, and their philosophical achievements. She is considered a symbol of Indian intellectual women, and an institution (Gargi College for women) is named in her honor in New Delhi. It is also said that she was the teacher of Sita, daughter of King Janaka.

Source: Extracts from Good Article edited in Wikipedia, posted by me on 11 March 2015.

--Achar Narasipur