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===The Epics=== ===The Epics===
] asks ] (above) to marry him for love, in ]-style marriage, without the consent of their parents.<ref name=mndutt105> 1.LXXIII.6 - 1.LXXIII.14, ''Mahabharata'', Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt, page 105</ref> The texts also describes seven other forms of marriage, and when they were appropriate or inappropriate.<ref name=mndutt105/>]] ] asks ] (above) to marry him for love, in ]-style marriage, without the consent of their parents.<ref name=mndutt105> 1.LXXIII.6 - 1.LXXIII.14, ''Mahabharata'', Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt, page 105</ref> The texts also describes seven other forms of marriage, and when they were appropriate or inappropriate.<ref name=mndutt105/>]]
In the two Hindu epics, '']'' and '']'', the role of women is mixed. The main female character in the Mahabharata, ] is married to all the five Pandavas, thus has five husbands. She is insulted by Duryodhana, one of the triggers for the great war. In the Ramayana composed in the second half of 1st millennium BCE, Sita is respected, honored and seen as inseparable beloved but presented as a homemaker, the ideal wife and partner to Rama. In the Hindu tradition, a majority of women's oral retellings of the ''Ramayana'' depict autonomy as the rule rather than the exception, but states Sugirtharajah , these versions are of recent origins.<ref name="Sugirtharajah, Sharada 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Sugirtharajah|first1=Sharada|title=Hinduism and Feminism|journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion|date=2002|volume=18|issue=2|pages=97–104}}</ref> In the two Hindu epics, '']'' and '']'', the role of women is mixed. The main female character in the Mahabharata, ] is married to all the five Pandavas, thus has five husbands. She is insulted by Duryodhana, one of the triggers for the great war. In the Ramayana composed in the second half of 1st millennium BCE, Sita is respected, honored and seen as inseparable beloved but presented as a homemaker, the ideal wife and partner to Rama. In the Hindu tradition, a majority of women's oral retellings of the ''Ramayana'' depict autonomy as the rule rather than the exception, but states Sugirtharajah , these versions are of recent origins.<ref name="Sugirtharajah, Sharada 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Sugirtharajah|first1=Sharada|title=Hinduism and Feminism|journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion|date=2002|volume=18|issue=2|pages=97–104}}</ref>


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In other verses, Manusmriti respects and safeguards women rights. Manusmriti in verses 3.55-3.56, for example, declares that "women must be honored and adorned", and "where women are revered, there the gods rejoice; but where they are not, no sacred rite bears any fruit".<ref name="Patrick Olivelle 2005 page 111"/><ref>Mācave P. 1979. ISBN 978-0-7069-0805-3. "Yatra ... Where women are worshipped, there the Gods are delighted. But where they are not worshipped, all religious ceremonies become futile." ''Mahabharata'' 13 - 45.5 and ''Manu Smriti]] 3 - 56.</ref> Elsewhere, in verses 5.147-5.148, states Olivelle, the text declares, "a woman must never seek to live independently".<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, page 146</ref> In other verses, Manusmriti respects and safeguards women rights. Manusmriti in verses 3.55-3.56, for example, declares that "women must be honored and adorned", and "where women are revered, there the gods rejoice; but where they are not, no sacred rite bears any fruit".<ref name="Patrick Olivelle 2005 page 111"/><ref>Mācave P. 1979. ISBN 978-0-7069-0805-3. "Yatra ... Where women are worshipped, there the Gods are delighted. But where they are not worshipped, all religious ceremonies become futile." ''Mahabharata'' 13 - 45.5 and ''Manu Smriti]] 3 - 56.</ref> Elsewhere, in verses 5.147-5.148, states Olivelle, the text declares, "a woman must never seek to live independently".<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, page 146</ref>


====Divorce====
The text declares that a marriage cannot be dissolved by a woman or a man, in verse 8.101-8.102.<ref>Robert Lingat (1973), The Classical Law of India, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520018983, page 84</ref> Yet, the text, in other sections, allows either to dissolve the marriage. For example, verses 9.72-9.81 allow the man or the woman to get out of a fraudulent marriage or an abusive marriage, and remarry; the text also provides legal means for a woman to remarry when her husband has been missing or has abandoned her.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 190-207, 746-809</ref> The text declares that a marriage cannot be dissolved by a woman or a man, in verse 8.101-8.102.<ref>Robert Lingat (1973), The Classical Law of India, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520018983, page 84</ref> Yet, the text, in other sections, allows either to dissolve the marriage. For example, verses 9.72-9.81 allow the man or the woman to get out of a fraudulent marriage or an abusive marriage, and remarry; the text also provides legal means for a woman to remarry when her husband has been missing or has abandoned her.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 190-207, 746-809</ref>


====Varna====
The text in one section opposes a woman marrying someone outside her own social class (]) as in verses 3.13-3.14.<ref name=olivelle31108/> Simultaneously, states Olivelle, the text presupposes numerous practices such a marriages outside varna, such as between a Brahmin man and a Shudra woman in verses 9.149-9.157, a widow getting pregnant with a child of a man she is not married to in verses 9.57-9.62, marriage where a woman in love elopes with her man, and then grants legal rights in these cases such as property inheritance rights in verses 9.143-9.157, and the legal rights of the children so born.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 31-32, 194-207, 755-809</ref> The text also presumes that a married woman may get pregnant by a man other than her husband, and dedicates verses 8.31-8.56 to conclude that the child's custody belongs to the woman and her legal husband, and not to the man she got pregnant with.<ref>Robert Lingat (1973), The Classical Law of India, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520018983, pages 83-84</ref><ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 182-193, 659-706</ref> The text in one section opposes a woman marrying someone outside her own social class (]) as in verses 3.13-3.14.<ref name=olivelle31108/> Simultaneously, states Olivelle, the text presupposes numerous practices such a marriages outside varna, such as between a Brahmin man and a Shudra woman in verses 9.149-9.157, a widow getting pregnant with a child of a man she is not married to in verses 9.57-9.62, marriage where a woman in love elopes with her man, and then grants legal rights in these cases such as property inheritance rights in verses 9.143-9.157, and the legal rights of the children so born.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 31-32, 194-207, 755-809</ref> The text also presumes that a married woman may get pregnant by a man other than her husband, and dedicates verses 8.31-8.56 to conclude that the child's custody belongs to the woman and her legal husband, and not to the man she got pregnant with.<ref>Robert Lingat (1973), The Classical Law of India, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520018983, pages 83-84</ref><ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 182-193, 659-706</ref>


====Property rights====
Manusmriti provides a woman with property rights to six types of property in verses 9.192-9.200. These include those she received at her marriage, or as gift when she eloped or when she was taken away, or as token of love before marriage, or as gifts from her biological family, or as received from her husband subsequent to marriage, and also from inheritance from deceased relatives.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 200-201, 746-809</ref> Manusmriti provides a woman with property rights to six types of property in verses 9.192-9.200. These include those she received at her marriage, or as gift when she eloped or when she was taken away, or as token of love before marriage, or as gifts from her biological family, or as received from her husband subsequent to marriage, and also from inheritance from deceased relatives.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 200-201, 746-809</ref>


⚫ ]
] states that Manusmriti is a complex commentary from women's rights perspective, and the British colonial era codification of women's rights based on it for Hindus, and from Islamic texts for Muslims, picked and emphasized certain aspects while it ignored other sections.<ref name=flavia>Flavia Agnes (2001), Law and Gender Inequality: The Politics of Women's Rights in India, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195655247, pages 41-45</ref> This construction of personal law during the colonial era created a legal fiction around Manusmriti's historic role as a scripture in matters relating to women in South Asia.<ref name=flavia/><ref>] (2010), Islam and the Secular State, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0674034563, pages 149, 289</ref> ] states that Manusmriti is a complex commentary from women's rights perspective, and the British colonial era codification of women's rights based on it for Hindus, and from Islamic texts for Muslims, picked and emphasized certain aspects while it ignored other sections.<ref name=flavia>Flavia Agnes (2001), Law and Gender Inequality: The Politics of Women's Rights in India, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195655247, pages 41-45</ref> This construction of personal law during the colonial era created a legal fiction around Manusmriti's historic role as a scripture in matters relating to women in South Asia.<ref name=flavia/><ref>] (2010), Islam and the Secular State, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0674034563, pages 149, 289</ref>


====Inconsistency and authenticity issues====
Scholars state that less than half, or only 1,214 of the 2,685 verses in Manusmriti, may be authentic.<ref name=sinha/> Further, the verses are internally inconsistent.<ref>Arun Kumbhare (2009), Women of India: Their Status Since the Vedic Times, ISBN 978-1440156007, page 56</ref> Verses such as 3.55-3.62 of Manusmriti, for example, glorify the position of women, while verse such as 9.3 and 9.17 do the opposite.<ref name=sinha>J Sinha (2014), Psycho-Social Analysis of the Indian Mindset, Springer Academic, ISBN 978-8132218036, page 5</ref> ], when asked about his view about the Smriti, stated, that "there are so many contradictions in the printed volume that, if you accept one part, you are bound to reject those parts that are wholly inconsistent with it. (...) Nobody is in possession of the original text .<ref>Mahatma Gandhi, Hinduism According to Gandhi, Orient Paperbacks (2013 Reprint Edition), ISBN 978-8122205589, page 129</ref> Scholars state that less than half, or only 1,214 of the 2,685 verses in Manusmriti, may be authentic.<ref name=sinha/> Further, the verses are internally inconsistent.<ref>Arun Kumbhare (2009), Women of India: Their Status Since the Vedic Times, ISBN 978-1440156007, page 56</ref> Verses such as 3.55-3.62 of Manusmriti, for example, glorify the position of women, while verse such as 9.3 and 9.17 do the opposite.<ref name=sinha>J Sinha (2014), Psycho-Social Analysis of the Indian Mindset, Springer Academic, ISBN 978-8132218036, page 5</ref> ], when asked about his view about the Smriti, stated, that "there are so many contradictions in the printed volume that, if you accept one part, you are bound to reject those parts that are wholly inconsistent with it. (...) Nobody is in possession of the original text .<ref>Mahatma Gandhi, Hinduism According to Gandhi, Orient Paperbacks (2013 Reprint Edition), ISBN 978-8122205589, page 129</ref>

⚫ The ''Harita Dharmasutra'' states there are two kind of women: ''sadhyavadhu'' who marry, and the ''brahmavaadini'' who are religious, wear the sacred thread, perform rituals like the '']'' and read the '']''. Women may graduate from the schools for Vedic priests.<ref>Narayanan V. ''Women of power in the Hindu tradition.''</ref> The Hindu ''Sastras'' and ''Smritis'' describe varying number of ]. Upanayana rite of passage symbolized the start of education process, and the term Upanayana means the leading or drawing towards the self of a child, in a school, by a teacher. The ancient Sanskrit texts extended education right to women, and the girls who underwent this rite of passage then pursued studies were called ''Brahmavadini''.<ref name=pvkaneyajnow/><ref>Ram Chandra Prasad (1997), The Upanayana: The Hindu Ceremonies of the Sacred Thread, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812406, pages 119-131</ref> Those who didn't, performed upanayana ceremony at the time of their wedding. Instead of sacred thread, girls would wear their robe (now called sari or saree) in the manner of the sacred thread, that is over her left shoulder during this rite of passage.<ref name=pvkaneyajnow>PV Kane, Volume 2.1, 1st Edition, pages 293-295</ref><ref> Verse 2.1.19, Herman Oldenberg & Max Muller (Translator), The ], Vol. 30, Part 2, Oxford University Press, page 44</ref>


=== Puranas === === Puranas ===
{{expand section|date=November 2015}} {{expand section|date=November 2015}}
⚫ ]
The Puranas, particularly the ] found in ] Maha-Purana, and the ] have some of most dedicated discussion of ] and sacred feminine in late ancient and early medieval era of Hinduism.{{Sfn| McDaniel |2004|pp=90-92}}<ref name=brown77/><ref name=coburn303/> However, the discussion is not limited to these two major Hindu Goddess religion-related texts. Women are found in philosophical discussions across numerous other Puranas and extant era texts. For example, ] in a discussion with her husband ], remarks: The Puranas, particularly the ] found in ] Maha-Purana, and the ] have some of most dedicated discussion of ] and sacred feminine in late ancient and early medieval era of Hinduism.{{Sfn| McDaniel |2004|pp=90-92}}<ref name=brown77/><ref name=coburn303/> However, the discussion is not limited to these two major Hindu Goddess religion-related texts. Women are found in philosophical discussions across numerous other Puranas and extant era texts. For example, ] in a discussion with her husband ], remarks:


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=== Education === === Education ===
The Vedas and Upanishads mention girls could be a ''Brahmacharini'', that is get an education.<ref name=sjain/> Atharva Veda, for example, states<ref name=sjain>S Jain (2003), The Right to Family Planning, in Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in World Religions (Editor: Daniel C. Maguire), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195160017, page 134, Quote - "The Atharva Veda confirms... a brahmacharini has better prospects of marriage than a girl who is uneducated"; "The Vedic period.... girls, like boys, are also expected to go through the brahmacharya..."</ref><ref name=atharvaveda2/>
Early Upanishads actually recommended rituals for a home-maker to ensure that a scholarly daughter was born. Hinduism defines the process of educating a child as one of the essential duties of parenting. Altekar explains that orthodox Hindu daughters were traditionally supposed to go through a series of Vedic education up until 300b.c. That date served as a turning point and downfall of women’s education due to the practice of child marriage.{{cn|date=November 2015}} However, more well to do families were able to provide their daughters with a fine arts education in music, dancing, and literature.{{cn|date=November 2015}} Some warrior classes also educated their daughters in military training. Altekar suggests that over the past 700 years,{{which|date=November 2015}} there have been several transitions in women’s education. There was such a strong stigma associated with education of women that literacy rates dramatically dropped in the Orthodox Hindu community (Altekar). Beginning in the early 1900s, initially under British rule, India’s female education system began to improve again.{{cn|date=November 2015}} The number of women going through the education system and even attaining higher degrees has dramatically increased. Altekar's foresight suggests that there is still much progress to be made, but policies are headed in the right direction<ref>{{cite book|last1=Altekar|first1=Anant|title=The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day|date=1956|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishing}}</ref>.{{pn|date=November 2015}}

{{quote|
<nowiki>ब्रह्मचर्येण कन्या युवानं विन्दते पतिम् |</nowiki>

A youthful ''Kanya'' (कन्या, girl) who graduates from ], obtains a suitable husband.|]|11.5.18<ref name=atharvaveda2>For source in Sanskrit: Wikisource, Hymns 11.5.1 - 11.5.26;<br> For English translation: Stephen N Hay and William Theodore De Bary (1988), Sources of Indian Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120804678, pages 18-19</ref>}}

⚫ The ''Harita Dharmasutra'', a later era Hindu text states there are two kind of women: ''sadhyavadhu'' who marry without going to school, and the ''brahmavadini'' who go to school first to study the '']'' and speak of Brahman. The Hindu ''Sastras'' and ''Smritis'' describe varying number of ]. Upanayana rite of passage symbolized the start of education process. Like the Vedas, the ancient ''Sutras'' and ''Shastra'' Sanskrit texts extended education right to women, and the girls who underwent this rite of passage then pursued studies were called ''Brahmavadini''.<ref name=pvkaneyajnow/><ref>Ram Chandra Prasad (1997), The Upanayana: The Hindu Ceremonies of the Sacred Thread, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812406, pages 119-131</ref> Those who didn't, performed ''Upanayana'' ceremony at the time of their wedding. Instead of sacred thread, girls would wear their robe (now called sari or saree) in the manner of the sacred thread, that is over her left shoulder during this rite of passage.<ref name=pvkaneyajnow>PV Kane, Volume 2.1, 1st Edition, pages 293-295</ref><ref> Verse 2.1.19, Herman Oldenberg & Max Muller (Translator), The ], Vol. 30, Part 2, Oxford University Press, page 44</ref>


===Dress=== ===Dress===

Revision as of 01:12, 3 November 2015

This article is about the position of women as advocated in the religious texts of Hinduism. For the position of women in India, see Women in India.
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Hindu texts present diverse and conflicting views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess to limiting her role to an obedient daughter, housewife and mother. The Devi Sukta hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, declares the feminine energy as the essence of the universe, the one who creates all matter and consciousness, the eternal and infinite, the metaphysical and empirical reality (Brahman), the soul (supreme self) of everything. The woman is celebrated as the most powerful and the empowering force in some Hindu Upanishads, Sastras and Puranas, particularly the Devi Upanishad, Devi Mahatmya and Devi-Bhagavata Purana.

In Smritis, such as the Manusmriti, the position of women in Hinduism is mixed and contradictory. Manusmriti asserts that "as a girl, she should obey and seek protection of her father, as a young woman her husband, and as a widow her son". In other sections, the same text asserts that "women must be honored and adorned", and "where women are revered, there the gods rejoice; but where they are not, no sacred rite bears any fruit". However, scholars have questioned the authenticity and corruption of the text over time, given the numerous inconsistent version of the Smriti manuscripts that have been discovered.

Ancient and medieval era Hindu texts present a diverse picture of duties and rights of women in Hinduism. The texts recognize eight kinds of marriage, ranging from father finding a marriage partner for his daughter and seeking her consent (Brahma marriage), to the bride and groom finding each other without parental participation (Gandharva marriage). Scholars state that Vedic era Hindu texts, and records left by travelers to ancient and medieval India, suggest ancient and early medieval Hindu society did not practice Dowry or Sati. These practices likely became widespread sometime in the 2nd millennium CE from socio-political developments in the Indian subcontinent.

Hinduism, states Bryant, has the strongest presence of the divine feminine among major world religions, from ancient times to the present. The goddess is viewed as central in Shakti and Saiva Hindu traditions.

Ancient texts

Vedic literature

Ancient texts of Hinduism expound a reverence for the feminine. The 10th chapter of the Rigveda, for example, asserts the feminine to be the supreme principle behind all of cosmos, in the following hymn called as Devi Sukta,

I am the Queen, the gatherer-up of treasures, most thoughtful, first of those who merit worship.
     Thus Gods have established me in many places with many homes to enter and abide in.
Through me alone all eat the food that feeds them,-each man who sees, breathes, hears the word outspoken
     They know it not, yet I reside in the essence of the Universe. Hear, one and all, the truth as I declare it.

I, verily, myself announce and utter the word that gods and men alike shall welcome.
     I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him nourished, a sage, and one who knows Brahman.
I bend the bow for Rudra that his arrow may strike and slay the hater of devotion.
     I rouse and order battle for the people, I created Earth and Heaven and reside as their inner controller.

On the world's summit I bring forth the Father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean.
     Thence I prevade all existing creatures, as their Inner Supreme Self, and manifest them with my body.
I created all worlds at my will, without any higher being, and permeate and dwell within them.
     The eternal and infinite consciousness is I, it is my greatness dwelling in everything.

— Rigveda 10.125.3 - 10.125.8,

There were instances in which vedic interpretation lead to issues of daughters not being as highly valued as sons (Altekar). This resulted in social ills such as female infanticide, however no such practice ever existed in the scriptures.

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Upanishads

The Devi Sukta ideas of the Rigveda are further developed in the more modern Shakta Upanishads, states McDaniel, where the Devi asserts that she is Brahman, from her arise Prakṛti (matter) and Purusha (consciousness), she is bliss and non-bliss, the Vedas and what is different from it, the born and the unborn, and the feminine is thus all of the universe. She is presented as all the five elements, as well as all that is different from these elements, what is above, what is below, what is around, and thus the universe in its entirety. This philosophy is also found in the Tripura Tapani Upanishad, Bharicha Upanishad, and Guhyakalo Upanishad.

The early Upanishads are, however, generally silent about women and men, and focus predominantly about gender-less Brahman and its relation to Atman (Soul, Self). There are occasional exceptions. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, composed about 800 BCE, for example, in the last chapter detailing the education of a student, include lessons for his Grihastha stage of life. There, the student is taught, that as a husband, he should cook rice for the wife, and they together eat the food in certain way depending on whether they wish for the birth of a daughter or a son, as follows,

And if a man wishes that a learned daughter should be born to him, and that she should live to her full age, then after having prepared boiled rice with sesamum and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.

And if a man wishes that a learned son should be born to him, and that he should live his full age, then after having prepared boiled rice with meat and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.17 - 6.4.18, Translated by Max Muller

Several female sages and seers are mentioned in the Upanishads, the philosophical part of the Vedas. Among them are Gargi and Maitreyi. In Sanskrit, the word acharyā means a "female teacher" (versus acharya meaning "teacher") and an acharyini is a teacher's wife, indicating that some women were known as gurus.

Female characters appear in plays and epic poems. The 8th century poet, Bhavabhuti describes in his play, Uttararamacharita (verse 2 - 3), how the character, Atreyi, travelled to southern India where she studied the Vedas and Indian philosophy. In Madhava's Shankaradigvijaya, Shankara debates with the female philosopher, Ubhaya Bharati and in verses 9 - 63 it is mentioned that she was well versed in the Vedas. Tirukkoneri Dasyai, a 15th-century scholar, wrote a commentary on Nammalvar's Tiruvaayamoli, with reference to Vedic texts such as the Taittiriya Yajurveda.

The Epics

The Mahabharata is a legendary Hindu epic reflecting the social beliefs and culture in ancient India. In its first book, Dushmanta asks Sakuntala (above) to marry him for love, in Gandharva-style marriage, without the consent of their parents. The texts also describes seven other forms of marriage, and when they were appropriate or inappropriate.

In the two Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, the role of women is mixed. The main female character in the Mahabharata, Draupadi is married to all the five Pandavas, thus has five husbands. She is insulted by Duryodhana, one of the triggers for the great war. In the Ramayana composed in the second half of 1st millennium BCE, Sita is respected, honored and seen as inseparable beloved but presented as a homemaker, the ideal wife and partner to Rama. In the Hindu tradition, a majority of women's oral retellings of the Ramayana depict autonomy as the rule rather than the exception, but states Sugirtharajah , these versions are of recent origins.

The Epics are stories, but carry precepts of dharma embedded them, suggesting perceived notions about women in Hinduism at the time the Epics were composed. The Mahabharata, in Book 1, for example, states,

No man, even in anger, should ever do anything that is disagreeable to his wife; for happiness, joy, virtue and everything depend on the wife. Wife is the sacred soil in which the husband is born again, even the Rishis cannot create men without women.

— Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book, 1.74.50-51

The Anushasana Parva of the Hindu epic Mahabharata has several chapters dedicated to the discussion about duties and right of women. It gives a mixed picture. In chapter 11, the goddess of wealth and prosperity Lakshmi asserts, that she lives in those women who are truthful, sincere, modest, organized, devoted to their husband and children, health conscious, patient and kind to guests. The goddess asserts she does not reside in woman who is sinful, unclean, always disagreeing with her husband, has no patience or fortitude, is lazy, quarrelsome with her neighbors and relatives.

In chapter 47, as Yudhishthira seeks guidance on Dharma from Bhisma, the Anushasana Parva compares the value of daughter to a son, as follows,

The daughter, O king, has been ordained in the scriptures to be equal to the son.

— Bhisma, Anushasana Parva, Mahabharata 13.47.26

The duties of women are again recited in Chapter 146, as a conversation between god Shiva and his wife goddess Uma, where Shiva asks what are the duties of women. Uma (Parvati) proceeds to meet all the rivers, who are all goddesses that nourish and create fertile valleys. Uma suggests that the duties of women include being of a good disposition, endued with sweet speech, sweet conduct, and sweet features. For a woman, claims Uma, her husband is her god, her husband is her friend, and her husband is her high refuge. A woman's duties include physical and emotional nourishment, reverence and fulfillment of her husband and her children. Their happiness is her happiness, she observes the same vows as those that are observed by her husband, her duty is to be cheerful even when her husband or her children are angry, be there for them in adversity or sickness, is regarded as truly righteous in her conduct. Beyond her husband and family, her duty is to be cheerful of heart and humble with friends and relatives, do the best she can for friends and guests. Her family life and her home is her heaven, tells goddess Parvati to Shiva.

Anushasana Parva has served as a source for modern era texts on women in Hinduism. For example, Tryambakayajvan of Thanjavur, in the 18th-century CE, published Strīdharmapaddhati (sometimes referred to as Stri Dharma Paddhati, or "Guide for a Dharmic Woman"). Tryambaka, according to Julia Leslie, selectively extracts verses from many chapters of Anushasana parva. He selectively extracts verses from other books of the Mahabharata as well, and other ancient Indian texts, for Strīdharmapaddhati, choosing those he preferred, omitting verses from the Mahabharata that represent it characteristic style of presenting many voices and counter-arguments.

Shastras and Smritis

Main articles: Smriti, Dharmaśāstra, and Manusmriti

The characterization and treatment of women is mixed in Smriti texts of Hinduism. However, scholars have questioned the authenticity of the texts, as dozens of significantly different versions of the Smriti texts have been found. Patrick Olivelle for example, who is credited with a 2005 translation of Manusmriti published by the Oxford University Press, states the concerns in postmodern scholarship about the presumed authenticity and reliability of Manusmriti manuscripts. He writes (abridged),

The MDh was the first Indian legal text introduced to the western world through the translation of Sir William Jones in 1794. (...) All the editions of the MDh, except for Jolly's, reproduce the text as found in the manuscript containing the commentary of Kulluka. I have called this as the "vulgate version". It was Kulluka's version that has been translated repeatedly: Jones (1794), Burnell (1884), Buhler (1886) and Doniger (1991). (...)

The belief in the authenticity of Kulluka's text was openly articulated by Burnell (1884, xxix): "There is then no doubt that the textus receptus, viz., that of Kulluka Bhatta, as adopted in India and by European scholars, is very near on the whole to the original text." This is far from the truth. Indeed, one of the great surprises of my editorial work has been to discover how few of the over fifty manuscripts that I collated actually follow the vulgate in key readings.

— Patrick Olivelle, Manu's Code of Law (2005)

One of the most studied about the position of women in medieval Hindu society has been a now contested Calcutta manuscript of Manusmriti. The text preaches chastity to widows such as in verses 5.158-5.160. In verses 2.67-2.69 and 5.148-5.155, Manusmriti preaches that as a girl, she should obey and seek protection of her father, as a young woman her husband, and as a widow her son; and that a woman should always worship her husband as a god.

In other verses, Manusmriti respects and safeguards women rights. Manusmriti in verses 3.55-3.56, for example, declares that "women must be honored and adorned", and "where women are revered, there the gods rejoice; but where they are not, no sacred rite bears any fruit". Elsewhere, in verses 5.147-5.148, states Olivelle, the text declares, "a woman must never seek to live independently".

Divorce

The text declares that a marriage cannot be dissolved by a woman or a man, in verse 8.101-8.102. Yet, the text, in other sections, allows either to dissolve the marriage. For example, verses 9.72-9.81 allow the man or the woman to get out of a fraudulent marriage or an abusive marriage, and remarry; the text also provides legal means for a woman to remarry when her husband has been missing or has abandoned her.

Varna

The text in one section opposes a woman marrying someone outside her own social class (varna) as in verses 3.13-3.14. Simultaneously, states Olivelle, the text presupposes numerous practices such a marriages outside varna, such as between a Brahmin man and a Shudra woman in verses 9.149-9.157, a widow getting pregnant with a child of a man she is not married to in verses 9.57-9.62, marriage where a woman in love elopes with her man, and then grants legal rights in these cases such as property inheritance rights in verses 9.143-9.157, and the legal rights of the children so born. The text also presumes that a married woman may get pregnant by a man other than her husband, and dedicates verses 8.31-8.56 to conclude that the child's custody belongs to the woman and her legal husband, and not to the man she got pregnant with.

Property rights

Manusmriti provides a woman with property rights to six types of property in verses 9.192-9.200. These include those she received at her marriage, or as gift when she eloped or when she was taken away, or as token of love before marriage, or as gifts from her biological family, or as received from her husband subsequent to marriage, and also from inheritance from deceased relatives.

Flavia Agnes states that Manusmriti is a complex commentary from women's rights perspective, and the British colonial era codification of women's rights based on it for Hindus, and from Islamic texts for Muslims, picked and emphasized certain aspects while it ignored other sections. This construction of personal law during the colonial era created a legal fiction around Manusmriti's historic role as a scripture in matters relating to women in South Asia.

Inconsistency and authenticity issues

Scholars state that less than half, or only 1,214 of the 2,685 verses in Manusmriti, may be authentic. Further, the verses are internally inconsistent. Verses such as 3.55-3.62 of Manusmriti, for example, glorify the position of women, while verse such as 9.3 and 9.17 do the opposite. Mahatma Gandhi, when asked about his view about the Smriti, stated, that "there are so many contradictions in the printed volume that, if you accept one part, you are bound to reject those parts that are wholly inconsistent with it. (...) Nobody is in possession of the original text .

Puranas

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2015)
Devi Mahatmya, a Hindu Sanskrit manuscript from Nepal 11th-century (above), helped crystallize the goddess tradition where the creator God is a female, but neither feminine nor masculine, rather spiritual and a force of good.

The Puranas, particularly the Devi Mahatmya found in Markandeya Maha-Purana, and the Devi-Bhagavata Purana have some of most dedicated discussion of Devi and sacred feminine in late ancient and early medieval era of Hinduism. However, the discussion is not limited to these two major Hindu Goddess religion-related texts. Women are found in philosophical discussions across numerous other Puranas and extant era texts. For example, Parvati in a discussion with her husband Shiva, remarks:

You should consider who you are, and who nature is.... how could you transcend nature? What you hear, what you eat, what you see – it is all Nature. How could you be beyond Nature? You are enveloped in Nature, even though you don't know it.

— Skanda Purana 1.1.21.22, Translated by Nicholas Gier

Gender of God

Main articles: Devi, God and gender in Hinduism, and Hindu deities Goddesses in Hinduism are very common. Other ideas found include androgynous concept such as Ardhanarishvara (a composite god that is half Shiva-male and Parvati-female), or as formless and genderless Brahman (Universal Absolute, Supreme Self as Oneness in everyone).

In Hinduism, the impersonal Absolute (Brahman) is genderless. Both male gods (Deva) and female gods (Devi) are found in Hinduism. Some Hindu traditions conceive God as androgynous (both female and male), or as either male or female, while cherishing gender henotheism, that is without denying the existence of other Gods in either gender.

Bhakti traditions of Hinduism have both gods and goddesses. In ancient and medieval Indian mythology, each masculine deva of the Hindu pantheon is partnered with a feminine devi. Followers of Shaktism, worship the goddess Devi as the embodiment of Shakti (feminine strength or power).

There is a popular perception that there exist millions of Hindu deities. However, most, by far, are goddesses, state Foulston and Abbott, suggesting "how important and popular goddesses are" in Hindu culture. No one has a list of the millions of goddesses and gods, but all deities, state scholars, are typically viewed in Hinduism as "emanations or manifestation of gender-less principle called Brahman, representing the many facets of Ultimate Reality". In Hinduism, "God, the universe, all beings and all else is essentially one thing" and everything is connected oneness, the same god is in every being as Atman, the eternal Self.

Ancient and medieval Hindu literature, state scholars, is richly endowed with gods, goddesses and androgynous representations of God. This, states Gross, is in contrast with several monotheistic religions, where God is often synonymous with "He" and theism is replete with male anthropomorphisms. In Hinduism, goddess-imagery does not mean loss of male-god, rather the ancient literature presents the two genders as balancing each other and complementary. The Goddesses in Hinduism, states Gross, are strong, beautiful and confident, symbolizing their vitality in cycle of life. While masculine Gods are symbolically represented as those who act, the feminine Goddesses are symbolically portrayed as those who inspire action. Goddesses in Hinduism are envisioned as the patrons of arts, culture, nurture, learning, arts, joys, spirituality and liberation.

Practices

Marriage

Main article: Hindu wedding A wedding is one of the most significant personal ritual a Hindu woman undertakes in her life. The details and dress vary regionally among Hindu women, but share common ritual grammar. A Meitei Hindu bride in Manipur (left), an Amla Hindu bride in Madhya Pradesh (middle) and a Himalayan Hindu bride in Nepal (right).

The Asvalayana Grhyasutra text of Hinduism identifies eight forms of marriages. Of these first four – Brahma, Daiva, Arsha and Prajapatya – are declared appropriate and recommended by the text, next two – Gandharva and Asura – are declared inappropriate but acceptable, and the last two – Rakshasa and Paishacha – are declared evil and unacceptable (but any children resulting were granted legal rights).

  1. Brahma marriage - considered the religiously most appropriate marriage, where the father finds an educated man, proposes the marriage of his daughter to him. The groom, bride and families willingly concur with the proposal. The two families and relatives meet, the girl is ceremoniously decorated, the father gifts away his daughter in betrothal, and a vedic marriage ceremony is conducted. This type of wedding is now most prevalent among Hindus in modern India.
  2. Daiva marriage - in this type of marriage, the father gives away his daughter along with ornaments to a priest.
  3. Arsha marriage - in this type of marriage, the groom gives a cow and a bull to the father of the bride and the father exchanges his daughter in marriage. The groom took a vow to fulfill his obligations to the bride and family life (Grihasthashram).
  4. Prajapatya marriage - in this type of marriage, a couple agree to get married by exchanging some Sanskrit mantras (vows to each other). This form of marriage was akin to a civil ceremony.
  5. Gandharva marriage - in this type of marriage, the couple simply live together out of love, by mutual consent, consensually consummating their relationship. This marriage is entered into without religious ceremonies, and was akin to the Western concept of Common-law marriage. Kama Sutra, as well as Rishi Kanva - the foster-father of Shakuntala - in the Mahabharata, claimed this kind of marriage to be an ideal one.
  6. Asura marriage - in this type of marriage, the groom offered a dowry to the father of the bride and the bride, both accepted the dowry out of free will, and he received the bride in exchange. This was akin to marrying off a daughter for money. This marriage was considered inappropriate by Hindu Smriti-writers because greed, not what is best for the girl, can corrupt the selection process. Manusmriti verses 3.51 and 3.52, for example, states that a father or relatives must never accept any brideprice because that amounts to trafficking of the daughter.
  7. Rakshasa marriage - where the groom forcibly abducted the girl against her and her family's will. The word Rakshasa means devil.
  8. Paishacha marriage - where the man forces himself on a woman when she is insentient, that is drugged or drunken or unconscious.

James Lochtefeld finds that the last two forms of marriage were forbidden yet recognized in ancient Hindu societies, not to encourage these acts, but to provide the woman and any children with legal protection in the society.

"A woman can choose her own husband after attaining maturity. If her parents are unable to choose a deserving groom, she can herself choose her husband." (Manu Smriti IX 90 - 91)

Dowry

The concept and practice of dowry in ancient and medieval Hindu society is unclear. Some scholars believe dowry was practiced in historic Hindu society, but some do not. Historical eyewitness reports (discussed below), suggest dowry in pre-11th century CE Hindu society was insignificant, and daughters had inheritance rights, which by custom were exercised at the time of her marriage.

Stanley J. Tambiah states the ancient Code of Manu sanctioned dowry and bridewealth in ancient India, but dowry was the more prestigious form and associated with the Brahmanic (priestly) caste. Bridewealth was restricted to the lower castes, who were not allowed to give dowry. He cites two studies from the early 20th century with data to suggest that this pattern of dowry in upper castes and bridewealth in lower castes has persisted through the first half of the 20th century.

Michael Witzel, in contrast, states the ancient Indian literature suggests dowry practices were not significant during the Vedic period. Witzel also notes that women in ancient India had property inheritance rights either by appointment or when they had no brothers. Kane states ancient literature suggests bridewealth was paid only in the asura-type of marriage that was considered reprehensible and forbidden by Manu and other ancient Indian scribes. Lochtefeld suggests that religious duties listed by Manu and others, such as 'the bride be richly adorned to celebrate marriage' were ceremonial dress and jewelry along with gifts that were her property, not property demanded by or meant for the groom; Lochtefeld further notes that bridal adornment is not currently considered as dowry in most people's mind.

Historical and epigraphical evidence from ancient India suggests dowry was not the standard practice in ancient Hindu society. Arrian of Alexander the Great's conquest era, in his first book mentions a lack of dowry, or infrequent enough to be noticed by Arrian.

They (these ancient Indian people) make their marriages accordance with this principle, for in selecting a bride they care nothing whether she has a dowry and a handsome fortune, but look only to her beauty and other advantages of the outward person.

— Arrian, The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great, 3rd Century BC

Arrian's second book similarly notes,

They (Indians) marry without either giving or taking dowries, but the women as soon as they are marriageable are brought forward by their fathers in public, to be selected by the victor in wrestling or boxing or running or someone who excels in any other manly exercise.

— Arrian, Indika, Megasthenes and Arrian, 3rd Century BC

About 1200 years after Arrian's visit, Al-Biruni a Persian scholar who went and lived in India for 16 years in 11th century CE, wrote,

The implements of the wedding rejoicings are brought forward. No gift (dower or dowry) is settled between them. The man gives only a present to the wife, as he thinks fit, and a marriage gift in advance, which he has no right to claim back, but the (proposed) wife may give it back to him of her own will (if she does not want to marry).

— Al-Biruni, Chapter on Matrimony in India, about 1035 AD

Widowhood and remarriage

Widows were traditionally expected to pursue a spiritual, ascetic life, particularly the higher castes such as Brahmins. There were restrictions on remarriage as well. Such restrictions are now strictly observed only by a small minority of widows, yet the belief continues that "a good wife predeceases her husband".

During the debate before the passage of the Hindu Widow’s Remarriage act of 1856, some communities asserted that it was their ancient custom that prohibited widow remarriage. Hindu scholars and colonial British authorities rejected this argument, states Lucy Carroll, because the alleged custom prohibiting widow remarriage was "far from ancient", and was already is practice among the Hindu communities such as the Rajbansi whose members had petitioned for prohibition of widow remarriage. Thus, it failed the "customary law" protections under the British colonial era laws. However, this issue lingered in colonial courts for decades, because of the related issue of property left by the deceased husband, and whether the widow keeps or forfeits all rights to deceased Hindu husband's estate and thereby transfers the property from the deceased husband to her new husband. While Hindu community did not object to widow remarriage, it contested the property rights and transfer of property from her earlier husband's family to the later husband's family, particularly after the death of the remarried widow, in the 20th-century.

Sati

Main article: Sati (practice)
Sati where a Hindu woman committed suicide by burning herself with the corpse of her husband.

Sati is an obsolete Indian funeral custom where a widow immolated herself on her husband's pyre, or committed suicide in another fashion shortly after her husband's death. Michael Witzel states there is no evidence of Sati practice in ancient Indian literature during the Vedic period.

David Brick, in his 2010 review of ancient Indian literature, states

There is no mention of Sahagamana (Sati) whatsoever in either Vedic literature or any of the early Dharmasutras or Dharmasastras. By "early Dharmasutras or Dharmasastras", I refer specifically to both the early Dharmasutras of Apastamba, Hiranyakesin, Gautama, Baudhayana and Vasistha, and the later Dharmasastras of Manu, Narada, and Yajnavalkya.

— David Brick, Yale University

The earliest scholarly discussion of Sati, whether it is right or wrong, is found in the Sanskrit literature dated to 10th- to 12th-century. The earliest known commentary on Sati by Medhatithi of Kashmir argues that Sati is a form of suicide, which is prohibited by the Vedic tradition. Vijnanesvara, of the 12th-century Chalukya court, and the 13th century Madhvacharya, argue that sati should not to be considered suicide, which was otherwise variously banned or discouraged in the scriptures. They offer a combination of reasons, both in favor and against sati.

Another historical practice observed among women in Hinduism, was the Rajput practice of Jauhar, particularly in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where they collectively committed suicide during war. They preferred death rather than being captured alive and dishonored by victorious Muslim soldiers in a war. According to Bose, jauhar practice grew in the 14th and 15th century with Hindu-Muslim wars of northwest India, where the Hindu women preferred death than slavery or rape they faced if captured. Sati-style jauhar custom among Hindu women was observed only during Hindu-Muslim wars in medieval India, but not during internecine Hindu-Hindu wars among the Rajputs.

The Sati practice is considered to have originated within the warrior aristocracy in the Hindu society, gradually gaining in popularity from the 10th century AD and spreading to other groups from the 12th through 18th century AD. The earliest Islamic invasions of South Asia, have been recorded from early 8th century CE such as with the raids of Muhammad bin Qasim, and major wars of Islamic expansion after the 10th century. This chronology has led to the theory that the increase in sati practice in India may be related to the centuries of Islamic invasion and its expansion in South Asia. Daniel Grey states that the understanding of origins and spread of sati were distorted in the colonial era because of a concerted effort to push "problem Hindu" theories in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Education

The Vedas and Upanishads mention girls could be a Brahmacharini, that is get an education. Atharva Veda, for example, states

ब्रह्मचर्येण कन्या युवानं विन्दते पतिम् |

A youthful Kanya (कन्या, girl) who graduates from Brahmacharya, obtains a suitable husband.

— Atharva Veda, 11.5.18

The Harita Dharmasutra, a later era Hindu text states there are two kind of women: sadhyavadhu who marry without going to school, and the brahmavadini who go to school first to study the Vedas and speak of Brahman. The Hindu Sastras and Smritis describe varying number of Sanskara (rite of passage). Upanayana rite of passage symbolized the start of education process. Like the Vedas, the ancient Sutras and Shastra Sanskrit texts extended education right to women, and the girls who underwent this rite of passage then pursued studies were called Brahmavadini. Those who didn't, performed Upanayana ceremony at the time of their wedding. Instead of sacred thread, girls would wear their robe (now called sari or saree) in the manner of the sacred thread, that is over her left shoulder during this rite of passage.

Dress

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Arts: dance, drama, music

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2015)

Context: historical and modern developments

The role of women in Hinduism dates back to 3000 years of history, states Pechelis, incorporating ideas of Hindu philosophy, that is Prakrti (matter, femaleness) and Purusha (consciousness, maleness), coming together to interact and produce the current state of the universe. Hinduism considers the connection, interdependence, and complementary nature of these two concepts – Prakriti and Purusha, female and male – as the basis of all existence, which is a starting point of the position of women in Hindu traditions.

Although these ancient texts are the foundation upon which the position of women in Hinduism is founded, Hindu women participated in and were affected by cultural traditions and celebrations such as festivals, dance, arts, music and other aspects of daily life. Despite these liberating undercurrents emerging in its historical context, Sugirtharajah states that there is some reluctance to use the term "feminism" to describe historical developments in Hinduism.

In the colonial era 1800s, Hindu women were described by European scholars as being "naturally chaste" and "more virtuous" than other women.

In 20th-century history context, the position of women in Hinduism and more generally India, has many contradictions. Regional Hindu traditions are organized as matriarchal societies (such as in south India and northeast India), where the woman is the head of the household and inherits the wealth; yet, other Hindu traditions are patriarchal. God as a woman, and mother goddess ideas are revered in Hinduism, yet there are rituals that treats the female in a subordinate role.

The women’s rights movement in India, states Sharma, have been driven by two foundational Hindu concepts – lokasangraha and satyagraha. Lokasangraha is defined as “acting for the welfare of the world” and satyagraha “insisting on the truth”. These ideals were used to justify and spur movements among women for women's rights and social change through a political and legal process. Fane remarks, in her article published in 1975, that it is the underlying Hindu beliefs of "women are honored, considered most capable of responsibility, strong" that made Indira Ghandi culturally acceptable as the prime minister of India, yet the country has in the recent centuries witnessed the development of diverse ideologies, both Hindu and non-Hindu, that has impacted the position of women in India. The women rights movement efforts, states Young, have been impeded by the "growing intensity of Muslim separatist politics", the divergent positions of Indian Hindu women seeking separation of religion and women's rights, secular universal laws (uniform civil code) applicable irrespective of religion, while Indian Muslim community seeking to preserve Sharia law in personal, family and other domains.

See also

References

  1. ^ McDaniel 2004, p. 90.
  2. ^ Brown 1998, p. 26.
  3. ^ McDaniel 2004, pp. 90–92.
  4. ^ C. Mackenzie Brown (1990), The Triumph of the Goddess, State University of New York Press, ISBN , page 77
  5. ^ Thomas Coburn (2002), Devī Māhātmya: The Crystallization of the Goddess Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120805576, pages 138, 303-309
  6. ^ Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 98, 146-147
  7. ^ Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, page 111
  8. ^ Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 353-354, 356-382
  9. Rajbali Pandey (1969), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 158-170 and Chapter VIII
  10. ^ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, James G. Lochtefeld (2001), ISBN 978-0823931798, Page 427
  11. ^ Michael Witzel (1996), "Little Dowry, No Sati: The Lot of Women in the Vedic Period." Journal of South Asia Women Studies 2, no. 4 (1996)
  12. ^ Brick, David (April–June 2010). "The Dharmasastric Debate on Widow Burning". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 130 (2): 203–223.
  13. ^ Yang, Anand A.; Sarkar, Sumit (ed.); Sarkar, Tanika (ed.) (2008). "Whose Sati?Widow-Burning in early Nineteenth Century India". Women and Social Reform in Modern India: A Reader. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 21–23. ISBN 9780253352699. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
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  26. ^ Anushasana Parva The Mahabharata, Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Chapter XI, pages 41-43
  27. Anushasana Parva The Mahabharata, Translated by KM Ganguli, page 264
  28. ^ Anushasana Parva The Mahabharata, Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Chapter CXLVI, pages 667-672
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  33. Mācave P. "Hinduism, its contribution to science and civilisation." 1979. ISBN 978-0-7069-0805-3. "Yatra ... Where women are worshipped, there the Gods are delighted. But where they are not worshipped, all religious ceremonies become futile." Mahabharata 13 - 45.5 and Manu Smriti]] 3 - 56.
  34. Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, page 146
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  41. ^ Flavia Agnes (2001), Law and Gender Inequality: The Politics of Women's Rights in India, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195655247, pages 41-45
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  48. ^ Lynn Foulston, Stuart Abbott (2009). Hindu goddesses: beliefs and practices. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 1–3, 40–41. ISBN 9781902210438.
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  51. What is Hinduism?, p. PR17, at Google Books, Hinduism Today, Hawaii
  52. The Concept of Shakti: Hinduism as a Liberating Force for Women
  53. Mukherjee, Prabhati (1983). "The Image of women in Hinduism". Women's Studies International Forum. 6 (4). {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  54. ^ David Lawrence (2012), The Routledge Companion to Theism (Editors: Charles Taliaferro, Victoria S. Harrison and Stewart Goetz), Routledge, ISBN 978-0415881647, pages 78-79
  55. ^ Jeffrey Brodd (2003), World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery, Saint Mary's Press, ISBN 978-0884897255, page 43
  56. Christopher John Fuller (2004), The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691120485, pages 30-31, Quote: "Crucial in Hindu polytheism is the relationship between the deities and humanity. Unlike Jewish, Christian and Islamic monotheism, predicated on the otherness of God and either his total separation from man and his singular incarnation, Hinduism postulates no absolute distinction between deities and human beings. The idea that all deities are truly one is, moreover, easily extended to proclaim that all human beings are in reality also forms of one supreme deity - Brahman, the Absolute of philosophical Hinduism. In practice, this abstract monist doctrine rarely belongs to an ordinary Hindu's statements, but examples of permeability between the divine and human can be easily found in popular Hinduism in many unremarkable contexts".
  57. ^ RM Gross (1978), Hindu Female Deities as a Resource for the Contemporary Rediscovery of the Goddess, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Sep., 1978), pages 269-291
  58. David R. Kinsley (1986), Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520053939
  59. ^ Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, Rajbali Pandey (1969), see Chapter VIII, ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 158-170
  60. Patrick Olivelle (2004), The Law Code of Manu, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0192802712, page 47
  61. Majumdar R. C. and Pusalker A. D. (ed.) "The History and Culture of the Indian People." Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay 1951. Volume 1 The Vedic age p394.
  62. ^ Tambiah, Stanley; Goody, Jack (1973). Bridewealth and Dowry. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 68–9.
  63. James G. Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 9780823931798; 203 ページ出版
  64. CV Vaidya, Epic India, Or, India as Described in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, ISBN 978-8120615649
  65. John Watson McCrindle (Translator), The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great as described by Arrian, Archibald Constable & Co. (Westminster, UK): 280
  66. JW McCrindle (Translator), Megasthenes and Arrian, Trubner & Co (London): 222
  67. Edward Sachau (Translator), Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, Alberuni's India (Vol. 2), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. (London, 1910.) Chapter LXIX: 154
  68. ^ Bowker J. H and Holm J. "Women in religion." Continuum, London 1994 p79 ISBN 0-8264-5304-X.
  69. ^ Fuller C. J. "The camphor flame: popular Hinduism and society in India." Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 2004 p.23 ISBN 0-691-12048-X
  70. Carroll, Lucy (1983). "Law, Custom, and Statutory Social Reform: The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856". Indian Economic and Social History Review. 20 (4): 363–388.
  71. Lucy Carroll (2008), Women and Social Reform in Modern India: A Reader, Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0253352699, pages 92-93
  72. Lucy Carroll (2008), Women and Social Reform in Modern India: A Reader, Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0253352699, pages 93-96
  73. ^ Wendy Doniger (2013), Suttee, Encyclopedia Britannica
  74. Arvind Sharma (2001), Sati: Historical and Phenomenological Essays, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120804647, pages 19-21
  75. On attested Rajput practice of sati during wars, see, for example Leslie, Julia; Arnold, David (ed.); Robb, Peter (ed.) (1993). "Suttee or Sati: Victim or Victor?". Institutions and Ideologies: A SOAS South Asia Reader. Vol. 10. London: Routledge. p. 46. ISBN 9780700702848. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  76. Brick, David (April–June 2010). "The Dharmasastric Debate on Widow Burning". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 130 (2): 206–211.
  77. Sharma, Arvind (1988). Sati: Historical and Phenomenological Essays. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 102, footnote 206. ISBN 9788120804647.
  78. Brick, David (April–June 2010). "The Dharmasastric Debate on Widow Burning". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 130 (2): 212–213.
  79. Arvind Sharma (1988), Sati: Historical and Phenomenological Essays, Motilal Banarsidass Publ, ISBN 9788120804647, page xi, 86
  80. Mandakranta Bose (2014), Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern India, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195352771, page 26
  81. Malise Ruthven (2007), Fundamentalism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199212705, page 63
  82. Kaushik Roy (2012), Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1107017368, pages 182-184
  83. John Stratton Hawley (1994), Sati, the Blessing and the Curse, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195077742, pages 51-53
  84. Andre Wink (1996), Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam: 7th-11th Centuries, Brill Academic Publishers, ISBN 978-9004092495
  85. Daniel Grey (2013), Creating the ‘Problem Hindu’: Sati, Thuggee and Female Infanticide in India: 1800–60, Gender & History, 25(3), pages 498-510, doi:10.1111/1468-0424.12035
  86. ^ S Jain (2003), The Right to Family Planning, in Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in World Religions (Editor: Daniel C. Maguire), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195160017, page 134, Quote - "The Atharva Veda confirms... a brahmacharini has better prospects of marriage than a girl who is uneducated"; "The Vedic period.... girls, like boys, are also expected to go through the brahmacharya..."
  87. ^ For source in Sanskrit: Atharva Veda Wikisource, Hymns 11.5.1 - 11.5.26;
    For English translation: Stephen N Hay and William Theodore De Bary (1988), Sources of Indian Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120804678, pages 18-19
  88. ^ PV Kane, History of Dharmasastra Volume 2.1, 1st Edition, pages 293-295
  89. Ram Chandra Prasad (1997), The Upanayana: The Hindu Ceremonies of the Sacred Thread, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812406, pages 119-131
  90. Grihya sutra of Gobhila Verse 2.1.19, Herman Oldenberg & Max Muller (Translator), The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 30, Part 2, Oxford University Press, page 44
  91. ^ Pechilis, Karen (2013). Women in Hinduism. Springer. pp. 1922–1925. ISBN 9781461460855. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |journal= ignored (help)
  92. Jean A. and Dubois A. Beauchamp H. K. (trans.) Hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies.] Clarendon Press, Oxford 1897.
  93. ^ Fane, Hannah (1975). "The Female Element in Indian Culture". Asian Folklore Studies: 51–112.
  94. Fane, Hannah (1975). "The Female Element in Indian Culture". Asian Folklore Studies: 57–60.
  95. Fane, Hannah (1975). "The Female Element in Indian Culture". Asian Folklore Studies: 74–83.
  96. ^ Young, Katherine (1994). Today's Women in World Religions (Editor: Arvind Sharma). State Univ of New York Press. pp. 77–92. ISBN 978-0791416877.
  97. Fane, Hannah (1975). "The Female Element in Indian Culture". Asian Folklore Studies: 60–73, 83–109.
  98. Young, Katherine (1994). Today's Women in World Religions (Editor: Arvind Sharma). State Univ of New York Press. pp. 83–86. ISBN 978-0791416877.

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