Women Empowerment
Women in the Vedas and the Puranas:
Empowered or Not?
Dr. S.R.Ivaturi
Reader in Sanskrit
SRR & CVR Govt. College
Vijayawada
There has been a divided opinion regarding the position of women in the Vedic and Puranic ages. According to many scholars the Vedas accord a position of importance to women. There was considerable freedom enjoyed by them in matters of marriage, education etc. William Durant sums up the position of the Vedic woman thus:
"Women enjoyed far greater freedom in the Vedic period than in later India. She had more to say in the choice of her mate than the forms of marriage might suggest. She appeared freely at feasts and dances, and joined with men in religious sacrifice. She could study, and like Gargi, engage in philosophical disputation. If she was left a widow there were no restrictions upon her remarriage."1
Romesh C Dutt echoes the same opinion when he says:2
"Women were held in higher respect in India than in other ancient countries, and the Epics and old literature of India assign a higher position to them than the epics and literature of ancient Greece. Hindu women enjoyed some rights of property from the Vedic Age, took a share in social and religious rites, and were sometimes distinguished by their learning. The absolute seclusion of women in India was unknown in ancient times."
Even the Puranas also do not look down on women. Whereas the Devi Purana eulogises the Shakti aspect of women, the Brahmavaivarta Purana makes Radha the Conscious Magnetic Force of Krishna.
But there are other scholars such as Wheeler3, Prof. Indra4 etc., who opine that the Vedic woman was a slave, and the evils such as wife burning, child marriages, purdah system etc. had their seeds in the Vedic literature only. But when the texts are studied not partly, but in whole, one must accept that at least the early Vedic women enjoyed a position of dignity, honour and importance.
However, we must note that giving importance to women is not tantamount
Empowered or Not?
Dr. S.R.Ivaturi
Reader in Sanskrit
SRR & CVR Govt. College
Vijayawada
There has been a divided opinion regarding the position of women in the Vedic and Puranic ages. According to many scholars the Vedas accord a position of importance to women. There was considerable freedom enjoyed by them in matters of marriage, education etc. William Durant sums up the position of the Vedic woman thus:
"Women enjoyed far greater freedom in the Vedic period than in later India. She had more to say in the choice of her mate than the forms of marriage might suggest. She appeared freely at feasts and dances, and joined with men in religious sacrifice. She could study, and like Gargi, engage in philosophical disputation. If she was left a widow there were no restrictions upon her remarriage."1
Romesh C Dutt echoes the same opinion when he says:2
"Women were held in higher respect in India than in other ancient countries, and the Epics and old literature of India assign a higher position to them than the epics and literature of ancient Greece. Hindu women enjoyed some rights of property from the Vedic Age, took a share in social and religious rites, and were sometimes distinguished by their learning. The absolute seclusion of women in India was unknown in ancient times."
Even the Puranas also do not look down on women. Whereas the Devi Purana eulogises the Shakti aspect of women, the Brahmavaivarta Purana makes Radha the Conscious Magnetic Force of Krishna.
But there are other scholars such as Wheeler3, Prof. Indra4 etc., who opine that the Vedic woman was a slave, and the evils such as wife burning, child marriages, purdah system etc. had their seeds in the Vedic literature only. But when the texts are studied not partly, but in whole, one must accept that at least the early Vedic women enjoyed a position of dignity, honour and importance.
However, we must note that giving importance to women is not tantamount