Women in Hinduism Flashcards
What was the role of women in early writings?
We don’t often hear the voices of women in the early writings - produced by men.
How were women included/ viewed in early vedic religion?
- Wives played important role in Vedic rituals – expected to participate with husbands.
- Some Vedic hymns are attributed to women
- Ṛg Veda mentions some women engaged in warfare
- Vedic pantheon did include some goddesses
How do the Upanisads present women?
Upaniṣads present some females who are seeking self-realization/liberation.
How do the Epics present women?
- The Epics tell of some women lighting sacrificial fire - make offerings to the gods.
- They also referred to female ascetics.
When did the status women begin to decline within orthodox hinduism?
- Around the beginning of the CE, status of women declined within orthodox Hinduism.
- No longer viewed as capable of attaining liberation.
- Prohibited from learning the Vedas
- Increasing restrictions of their independence.
What do some dharmasastras contain regarding women?
Some DharmaŚāstras contain specific sections on strīdharma (dharma of woman).
How is the view of women expressed in scriptures contradictory?
- Sometimes viewed as a servant, other times a goddess.
- A protected daughter, powerful matriarch, shunned widow, worshipped wife.
- Laws manu provide examples of these contradictions
What is the Pativrata ideal?
- Marriage constituted her ongoing education in strīdharma.
- Ideal for a wife was to be a pativrata – a wife entirely devoted to her husband.
- -Wifely devotion prevalent in many Hindu scriptures.
Who is held up as an example of pativrata?
Sītā, from the Rāmāyaṇa, is held up as an example.
What is the myth of Savitri?
- Myth of Sāvitrī demonstrates the power of a devoted wife – she was able to restore her husband to life through her devotion and intelligence.
- The Mahabharata recounts how Savitri used the power of her dedication to her husband Satyavan to prevent Yama, the god of the dead, from taking him when he was fated to die. She became the epitome of the faithful wife.
What is Sati?
- Satī (“ wife who is faithful”) but also refers to the act of a woman joining her deceased husband on his cremation pyre.
- Joining her husband in death was viewed as the supreme proof of this faithfulness.
When was the practice of sati introduced to the Indian cultural scene?
- Introduced to the Indian cultural scene late (only after 500 CE did the practice appear with any regularity).
- Ṛgveda reference? Tenuous
- No references to it in the early DharmaŚāstras.
- Earliest concrete reference to the practice found in the Mahābhārata (400 BCE-400 CE) but here is it the exception rather than the rule.
When did sati begin to be extolled and justified in the dharmasastras?
- It was only after second half of first millennium that sati began to be extolled and justifications began to appear in late DharmaŚāstras.
- Presented as a meritorius alternative to widowhood.
- Leads her husband to heaven where they dwell for many years
- Some opposition to it in commentary dated from (825-1000 CE) while others support it.
- it was always more of an extreme ideal than the normal fate of Hindu widows.
How was widowhood (the alternative to sati) viewed by orthodox sastric texts?
- widowhood – was viewed as highly inauspicious by orthodox Śāstric texts.
- Widows were not allowed to remarry
- Sometimes viewed as a financial burden.
- Expected to dress in white and spend most of her time in meditation and religious pursuits.
Were dictates in the laws of manu followed?
Dictates of the Laws of Manu were not necessarily followed.
