GENDER IN
ANCIENT
INDIAN
LITERATURE
Presentation by
RANI TIWARY,
SEC- B
Gender : general understanding
• Social construct
• Categories
• Attributes to different gender
• How concept evolved?
• Why we need to understand concept of
gender?
INDIAN SCRIPTURES
Brahmana
Rig
vedas
Yajur
Sama
Atharva
s
Aranyakas
Upanishads Purana Itihas
Ramayana
Mahabharata
Dharma
Darshan Upvedas shastras
VEDAS and GENDER
(Brahmanas and Aranyakas included)
BIRTH:
• Society was patriarchal , birth of daughter was not
generally welcomed.
• Still a daughter born was not neglected but some
instances in vedas show discrimination on
celebration of their birth.
• After birth sanskaras were performed for both but
PUMSAVAN which was performed for birth of a
boy.
Education :
• Vedic parents educated their children for a settled life
• Atharva veda observes a maiden could success in her
marriage only when she is educated during
brahmacharya
• Ashramas were opened for both girls and boys
• Theology, philosophy, medicine had mostly male
teachers
• Upnayan sanskara was recommended for both before
entering to gurukulas
• Equality in education
Marriage:
• Was necessary for both to perform some sacrifices
• Girls married when they reached adulthood
• Swayamwara was conducted
• Vijamatur- useless son in law one who accepted bride price
Married life
• Rigvedic aryans were patriarchal, therefore they
assumed absolute power on their wife
• Household was solely woaman’s duty
• Concept of evil eyed bride
Widow remarriage:
• It was allowed but with husband’s brother
• Sati pratha wasn’t prevalent
Right of inheritence
• Wife: no independent legal right over property
• Brotherless daughter: could not offer funeral obligations
to her father.
Sole heir of the property
Father had strong prejudice against adopting a son
Remained a spinster often
• Right of daughter with brother: for un married
daughters only some provision was made
• Right of widow: no right to inherit husband’s property
EPICS and GENDER
(RAMAYANA AND MAHABHARATA)
• Ramayana and Mahabharata were two
important epics in ancient times, which have
great effect in today’s life too.
• RAMAYANA
– Women were cause of dharma
– Who were good women?
– Example sita
– Education
• Women of kshatriya varna and also brahmin women were
allowed to study
• Adultry
– If women were caught involved in it it was a sin and
hence they were cursed
Ex Ahilya
• Marriage
– Pativrata naari
– Swayamvara
– Polygamy
Basically ramayana has patronising tone towards
women
• MAHABHARAT
– The female characters are in extreme abundance
in the Mahabharata.
– Education
• Women of royal families were educated
– Marriage
• First instance of polyandry
• Swayamvara
• Women rejected were not supposed to marry again
• The female characters have a distinct and unabashed
personality
• Women appear more sexually liberated in the
Mahabharata
• Obedient and self-sacrificing wives, however, are
lauded in this text too
• If the woman’s honour is threatened it is taken as a
threat to the masculinity of her husband
• The women, Draupadi in particular, are often seen
questioning the decisions of their husbands.
WOMEN IN PURANA
• The position of women was very respectable
• The Indian Puranas had networks of vratas in
which some were meant for women only
• Husband should be the whole and sole for her
and she should be faithful and dutiful to him
• Her main ideal duty is to give birth to the baby
and embrace motherhood
DHARMASHASTRAS
• Also known as smritis
• Dharmashastras are Brahmanical collection of
rules of life and family laws of Hindus
• MANUSMRITI is a well know dharmashastras
and very frequently quoted in many contexts
• Manusmriti or Manava Dharmashastra, were
ancient legal text
• Patriarchy at its full dominance
• Gender discrimination prevailed largely
• Women were kept under control men were
supposed to supervise them
• “Woman cannot live independently because of
her weaknesses for worldly things”
• Husband is God and he has every right to have
another wife
• Husband could leave his wife if she is barren
• An young unmarried menstruating women was a
threat to the society
• Marriage was compulsory for all women and she
was bound to be faithful to her husband
• Women lost their right to read Vedas
• Manu banned Upanayana or sacred thread
ceremony for the women
• Manusmriti promoted child marriage and dowry
system too including gender and caste
discrimination in the society
CONCLUSION
• The Vedic texts are comparatively liberal in their
presentation and portrayal of women
• In the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Manusmriti
women suddenly begin to be regarded as the upholders
of the male honour and the reason behind sexual
crimes
• Normative approach of these texts towards trying to
describe the ideal woman, who is submissive, meek,
self-sacrificing and obedient, thus, hints at the
possibility that perhaps women at the time of the
composition of these texts were probably the opposite
THANK YOU
