Women in Vedas Part2 contd Rishikas KR IRS 28824 29824
1. Introduction to Women in Vedas
In the early Vedic age women enjoyed an honored place in the society. The
wife was the mistress of the household and authority over the slaves. There
are numerous hymns in the Rig-Veda indicating, women were assigned a high
place in the Vedic society. In many aspects the present-day Indian woman
had to wait a long time to regain some of the rights the Vedic women
enjoyed. Further, they enjoyed a kind of liberty that actually had societal
sanctions, on certain issues, which are not available to today’s Indian
women.
In all religious ceremonies she participated with her husband. Prada
system was not prevalent in the society. Sati system was also not prevalent
in the Vedic society. The education of girls was not neglected. The
Rig-Veda mentions the names of some learned ladies like Viswavara, Apala
and Ghosa who composed mantras and attained the rank of Rishis. The girls
were married after attaining puberty. The practice of ‘Swayamvara’ was also
prevalent in the society. Monogamy was the general Practice. Polygamy was,
of course, practiced and it was confined only to Rings and chiefs.
Remarriage of widows was permitted. The women were not independent persons
in the eye of the law. They had to remain under the protecting care of
their male relations.
The Vedic times were free from many of the social evils that harmed
the Indian society in the later eras. Child marriage and a harsh dowry did
not then exist. Widows were free to marry. They inherited rights to the
dead husbands’ properties. Seclusion of women or Sati was not practiced;
nor was untouchability. No man or woman was locked into a trade by birth.
Members of the same family took to different crafts and trades. The Rig
Veda (IX, 112) says: “A bard I am, my father a leech / And my mother is a
grinder of corn / Diverse in means, but all wishing wealth/ Equally we
strive for cattle.”
कारुः । अहम् । ततः । भिषक् । उपलप्रक्षिणी । नना । नानाधियः ।
वसुयवः । अनु । गाःइव । तस्थिम । इन्द्राय । इन्दो इति । परि । स्रव ॥
kāruḥ (singer) | aham | tataḥ (father) | bhiṣak (Doctor) | upala-prakṣiṇī
(corn grinder) | nanā (mother) | nānādhiyaḥ | vasu-yavaḥ | anu | gāḥ-iva |
tasthima | indrāya | indo iti | pari | srava RV 9 112 3
“I am the singer; papa is the physician, mamma throws the corn upon the
grinding stones; having various occupations, desiring riches we remain (in
the world) like cattle (in the stall); flow, Indu, for Indra.”
Women were generally not discriminated against merely on grounds of
gender. Men and women had equal status in matters of education, marriage,
Re-marriage, in managing the household, right to property, intellectual
pursuit, participation in public debate and some women even participated in
battles along with their men folk. There is a mention of a certain warrior
Queen Vishpla who lost her leg in battle and was fitted with a metallic
prosthesis; she returned to battle and continued to fight.
Women shared an equal standing with their men. There were women
teachers, scholars, Brahmavadins and highly respected rishis. There were
women warriors with bows. There were also the prostitutes who made a living
and followed certain regulations.
They inherited and possessed property; they took share in scarifies
and religious ceremonies; they attended the assemblies and state occasions;
they also distinguished themselves as intellectual companions of their
husbands, as friends and partners in their religious duties
No male was considered complete without his spouse, she was his ardangini.
No auspicious ritual could be conducted or a submission made to family
deities without accompanied by the wife. Why! The dead body of the husband
could not be taken out for cremation without the permission of wife.
2. Women in Vedic Society
"The home has, verily, its foundation in the wife"-
उत । घ । नेमः । अस्तुतः । पुमान् । इति । ब्रुवे । पणिः । सः । वैरदेये । इत्
। समः ॥RV 5 61 8
uta | gha | nemaḥ | astutaḥ | pumān | iti | bruve | paṇiḥ | saḥ |
vaira-deye | it | samaḥ
Commentary by Sāyaṇa: Ṛgveda-bhāṣya
Her other half: nemaḥ is the term of the text; liṭ, half as it is said in
the Sṃṛti, ardham śarīrasya bhāryā, wife is the half of the body (of the
husband)
And, eulogizing (him), I proclaim that the man, her (other) half is, (as it
were),.half the body and gift to husband and make a home”
The Rig Veda During the Vedic age, more than 3,000 years ago, women were
assigned a high place in society. They shared an equal standing with their
men folk and enjoyed a kind of liberty that actually had societal
sanctions. The ancient Hindu philosophical concept of 'shakti', the
feminine principle of energy, was also a product of this age. This took the
form of worship of the female idols or goddesses.
3. Birth of the Goddess
The feminine forms of the Absolute and the popular Hindu goddesses are
believed to have taken shape in the Vedic era. These female forms came to
represent different feminine qualities and energies of the Brahman. Goddess
Kali portrays the destructive energy, Durga the protective, Lakshmi the
nourishing, and Saraswati the creative. Here it's notable that Hinduism
recognizes both the masculine and feminine attributes of the Divine, and
that without honoring the feminine aspects, one cannot claim to know God in
his entirety. So we also have many male-female divine-duos like
Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama, Uma-Mahesh and Lakshmi-Narayan, where the female
form is usually addressed first.
4. Position of Women
Firstly, girls could be educated, by means of Brahmacharya or Upanayana,
which suggests a sense of equality. Not only are there mentions of women
sages that contributed to the composition of the Vedas, but also of
goddesses and their worship and women taking part in sacrifices and
rituals. Hymns of the Rig Veda speak of the honour and love a man must have
for his wife, while comparing the purity of the relationship to that of
God. In addition, widow remarriage was not uncommon and according the
system of Gandharva vivaha, a man and a woman may both choose their own
spouses, revealing a rather reasonable amount of equality between the two
sexes. However, it is also important to take into considerations, the
limitations of these aforementioned ‘liberties’ that women enjoyed as well
as certain other factors that may undermine the position of women. {rights
and duties} Moreover, matrimonial ties symbolize ties between two families
and not the two individuals. A woman is bound by obligations and duties
towards her husband’s family while he is told his duties to parent and
parent-in-law. Although a woman has several roles in society, she has few
liberties appeared as her duty to that family and the society. Without
Patni, yajaman has no value to perform Yagnas. Modern women consider that
begetting children alone is the womanhood whereas, in vedic times, there
were many Rishis and Rishikas without children also. As a matter of fact R
V 1 179 ,6 verses by Lopamudra questioned the impact of it; but our great
west misinterpreted it (cannot blame them alone as even Sayana fell into
that trap) as Lopamudra seeking sex from Agastya in a low esteem of the
sanatana dharma veda itself. (I shall discuss this later in another episode
where some might feel it as hot topic}
As developments with technology and implements came through the later
periods, {all within 200 years} the man was favored since they occurred to
benefit his position. The plough made a woman’s role less significant in
the farm and ownership of property allowed a man to possess land, surplus
production and wealth, of which the woman gets a share, but has no right to
possess. Men also brought female dasyus to treat them as slaves and
concubines. Such developments further limited the position and power of
women in society, leading to a drastic downfall of the status of women in
the Aryan Society. It can hence be concluded, that although some claimed
that the early Vedic age was a ‘Golden Age’ for women, they could have been
trying to portray that ancient Indian civilizations were indeed more civil
than western ones. However, most evidence mentioned above suggests that
women were certainly considered inferior to men and were more or less
slaves to society’s protocol. In the last 200 years; it means the women who
were held in esteem for 3,300 years to roughly 9000 to 10,000 years, in the
sanataba dharma, as evident from the literatures, except on afew occassions
, villainy do exist then also, generally there were equality prevailed
,between men and women, with the enforced conditional duties to perform
also.
4. Education of the Girl Child Vedic literature praises the birth of a
scholarly daughter in these words: "A girl also should be brought up and
educated with great effort and care." (Mahanirvana Tantra); and "All forms
of knowledge are aspects of Thee; and all women throughout the world are
Thy forms." (Devi Mahatmiyam). Women, who so desired, could undergo the
sacred thread ceremony or 'Upanayana' (a sacrament to pursue Vedic
studies), which is only meant for males even to this day. The mention of
female scholars and sages of the Vedic age like Vac, Ambhrni, Romasa,
Gargi, Khoha in the Vedic lore corroborates this view. These highly
intelligent and greatly learned women, who chose the path of Vedic studies,
were called 'brahmavadinis', and women who opted out of education for
married life were called 'sadyo-vadhus'. Co-education seems to have existed
in this period and both the sexes got equal attention from the teacher.
Moreover, ladies from the Kshatriya caste received martial arts courses and
arms training.
5. Women & Marriage
Eight types of marriage were prevalent in the Vedic age, of which four were
more prominent. The first was 'brahma', where the daughter was given as
gift to a good man learned in the Vedas; the second was 'Daiva', where the
daughter was given as a gift to the presiding priest of a Vedic sacrifice.
'Arsa' was the third kind where the groom had to pay to get the lady, and
'prajapatya', the fourth kind, where the father gave his daughter to a man
who promised monogamy and faithfulness. In the Vedic age there was both the
custom of 'Kanyavivaha' where the marriage of a pre-puberty girl was
arranged by her parents and 'praudhavivaha' where the girls were married
off after attaining puberty. Then there was also the custom of 'Swayamvara'
where girls, usually of royal families, had the freedom to choose her
husband from among the eligible bachelors invited to her house for the
occasion.
6. Wifehood in the Vedic Era
As in present, after marriage, the girl became a 'Grihini' (wife) and was
considered 'ardhangini' or one half of her husband's being. Both of them
constituted the 'griha' or home, and she was considered its 'samrajni'
(queen or mistress) and had an equal share in the performance of religious
rites. The following sloka highlights the roles of women in a family as a
wife, as an advisor, as an assistant etc
Karyeshu dasi, Karaneshu Mantri! Bhojyeshu Mata, Shayaneshu Rambha!!
Rupeshu Lakshmi, Khsamaya Dharitri! Satkarma Naari, Kuladharma patni!!
7. Divorce, Remarriage & Widowhood
Divorce and remarriage of women were allowed under very special conditions.
If a woman lost her husband, she was not forced to undergo the merciless
practices that cropped up in last 200 years. She was not compelled to
tonsure her head, nor was she forced to wear red sari and commit
'sahagamana' or dying on the funeral pyre of the dead husband. If they
chose to, they could live a life of a 'sanyasin' or hermit, after the
husband passed away. (Mahabharatham after the war chapters)
8. Prostitution in the Later Vedic Age
Prostitutes were very much a part of the Later Vedic society. They were
allowed to make a living, but their lives were regulated by a code of
conduct. They were known as “Devadasis” and they were married to God of the
village Temple. They are expected to spend the rest of the life as his
maid serving the men in the society.
9. Women Rishis
The Rig Veda mentions Romasa, Lopamudra, Apala, Kadru, Visvavara, Ghosha,
Juhu, Vagambhrini, Paulomi, Yami, Indrani, Savitri, and Devajami. The Sama
Veda adds Nodha, Akrishtabhasha, Sikatanivavari and Gaupayana. When it
comes to talking about significant female figures of the Vedic period
Ghosha, Lopamudra, Sulabha Maitreyi, and Gargi Kakshivati, Dakshina
Prajapathya, Vishvavar, Atreyi,, Godha,, Apala, Yami Vivasvathi, Lopamudra,
Romasha Svanya,, Aditi Dakshayeni,, Ratri Bharadwaja, Vasukra Pathni, Surya
Savitri, Indrani, Sarma Devasuni, Urvashi, Shashwati, Angirasi, Sri Laksha
10. Women Rishish
Female Rishis (Rishikas) of about 30 of them are named in the Rig Veda.
Lopamudra was the wife of Agasthya , known for his command over Sanskrit
and Tamil. The meaning of the word "Lopamudhra " is one , who is totaly
absorbed in herself (i-e)., she is one of the Brahmavadhini Rshi-patnis.Two
manthras of the Rg Vedam ( Canto I.179.1-2) are attributed to her
There were women scholars like Visvavara,Ghosha, Sikata, Nivavari and
Apala. Roamasa the wife of Svanya Visvavara belonging to the Athri family
AangirasI Sarasvathi of Angirasa family Apala of the Athri family Yami
Vaivasvathi , Sraddha , Vasukra pathni , Ghosha , Soorya , Indrani , Urvasi
, Sarama , Joohu , Vagambhruni and Poulomi Sachi are well known women, who
are revered and are associated with individual Rig Veda Manthras. The seers
of Rigveda’s suktas 10-134, 10-39,10-40, 10-91, 10-95,10-107,10-109,10
154,10-159,10-189. etc. are women. Gargi was one of the learned persons
summoned by king Janaka .
The Upanishads refer to the conversation between Maitreyi and her husband
Yajnavalkaya. Brahma Jnana can be attained in any stage: Gargi got it in
the BRAHMACHARYA stage. Choodaala attained it while a GRIHASTHA. Maitreyi
attained it while in the VANAPRASTHA stage of life. Sulabhayogini won it
while a SANYASINI.
Ghosha Vedic wisdom is encapsulated in myriad hymns and 27 women-seers
emerge from them. But most of them are mere abstractions except for a few,
such as Ghosha, who has a definite human form. Granddaughter of Dirghatamas
and daughter of Kakshivat, both composers of hymns in praise of Ashwins,
Ghosha has two entire hymns of the tenth book, each containing 14 verses,
assigned to her name. The first eulogizes the Ashwins, the heavenly twins
who are also physicians; the second is a personal wish expressing her
intimate feelings and desires for married life. Ghosha suffered from an
incurable disfiguring disease, probably leprosy, and remained a spinster at
her father's house. Her implorations with the Ashwins, and the devotion of
her forefathers towards them made them cure her disease and allow her to
experience wedded bliss.
Lopamudra The Rig Veda ('Royal Knowledge') has long conversations between
the sage Agasthya and his wife Lopamudra that testifies to the great
intelligence and goodness of the latter. As the legend goes, Lopamudra was
created by sage Agasthya and was given as a daughter to the King of
Vidarbha. The royal couple gave her the best possible education and brought
her up amidst luxury. When she attained a marriageable age, Agasthya, the
sage who was under vows of celibacy and poverty, wanted to own her. Lopa
agreed to marry him, and left her palace for Agasthya's hermitage. After
serving her husband faithfully for a long period, Lopa grew tired of his
austere practices. She wrote a hymn of two stanzas making an impassioned
plea for his attention and love. Soon afterwards, the sage realized his
duties towards his wife and performed both his domestic and ascetic life
with equal zeal, reaching a wholeness of spiritual and physical powers. A
son was born to them. He was named Dridhasyu, who later became a great
poet. Maitreyi The Rig Veda contains about one thousand hymns, of which
about 10 are accredited to Maitreyi, the woman seer and philosopher. She
contributed towards the enhancement of her sage-husband Yajnavalkya's
personality and the flowering of his spiritual thoughts.
Yajnavalkya had two wives Maitreyi and Katyayani. While Maitreyi was well
versed in the Hindu scriptures and was a 'brahmavadini', Katyayani was an
ordinary woman. One day the sage decided to make a settlement of his
worldly possessions between his two wives and renounce the world by taking
up ascetic vows. He asked his wives their wishes. The learned Maitreyi
asked her husband if all the wealth in the world would make her immortal.
The sage replied that wealth could only make one rich, nothing else. She
then asked for the wealth of immortality. Yajnavalkya was happy to hear
this, and imparted Maitreyi the doctrine of the soul and his knowledge of
attaining immortality. Gargi Gargi, the Vedic prophetess and daughter of
sage Vachaknu, composed several hymns that questioned the origin of all
existence. When King Janak of Videha organized a 'brahmayajna', a
philosophic congress centered around the fire sacrament, Gargi was one of
the eminent participants. She challenged the sage Yajnavalkya with a volley
of perturbing questions on the soul or 'atman' that confounded the learned
man who had till then silenced many an eminent scholar. Her question - "The
layer that is above the sky and below the earth, which is described as
being situated between the earth and the sky and which is indicated as the
symbol of the past, present and future, where is that situated?" -
flattened even the great Vedic men of letters.
11 Girl child
Many hymns in Rig Veda do express the desire to beget heroic sons. There
are no similar prayers wishing for a girl child. This perhaps reflected the
anxiety of a society that needed a larger number of male warriors to ensure
its survival. Sons were preferred to daughters; yet, once a daughter was
born, she was raised with tender care, affection and love.
In the Rig-Veda, there is no instance where the birth of a girl was
considered inauspicious. The celebrations and others samskaras were
conducted with enthusiasm. In a particular case, the twin daughters were
compared to heaven and earth. The daughters were not unpopular. They were
allowed Vedic studies; and, were entitled to offer sacrifice to gods. The
son was not absolutely necessary for this purpose.
There is a reference to the birth of an only daughter, who was assigned the
legal position of a son; she could perform funeral rites of her father;
and, she could also inherit the property. It indicates that the position of
a girl in Rig Vedic times was not as low as it was to become in medieval
times. (Shakuntala Rao Shastri, Women in the Vedic Age– : Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, 1954).
Kerry Brown in her book ‘Essential Teachings of Hinduism’ explains: “In
ancient India a woman was looked after not because she is inferior or
incapable; but, on the contrary, because she is treasured. She is the pride
and power of the society. Just as the crown jewels should not be left
unguarded, neither should a woman be left unprotected. If there are costly
jewels, we do not throw them here and there like brass vessels. Costly
material is protected”.
12 Education
Education was an important feature in the upbringing of a girl child.
Education was considered essential for girls and was therefore customary
for girls to receive education. The girls with education were regarded
highly.
The Vedic literature praises a scholarly daughter and says: “A girl also
should be brought up and educated with great effort and care” (Mahanirvana
Tantra). The importance of a girl’s education is stressed in the Atharva
Veda which states,” The success of woman in her married life depends upon
her proper training during the BrahmaCharya (student period)”
According to Prof. A.S. Altekar (Education in Ancient India; Published by
Nand Kishor & Brothers, Benaras — 1944), since the Upanayana ceremony was
linked to the commencement of education, the Upanayana of girls was as
common as that of boys. The girls were entitled to Upanayana (to receive
sacred thread); and, to the privilege of studying Vedas, just as the boys.
The Atharvaveda (XI. 5. 18) expressly refers to maidens undergoing the
Brahmacharya discipline; and, the Sutra works of the 5th century B. C.
supply interesting details in its connection. Even Manu includes Upanayana
among the sanskaras (rituals) obligatory for girls (II. 66).
brahmacaryeṇa kanyā yuvānaṃ vindate patim | anaḍvān brahmacaryeṇāśvo ghāsaṃ
jigīṣati ||Atharva Veda Śamhita_11,5[7].18||
amantrikā tu kāryeyaṃ strīṇām āvṛd aśeṣataḥ / saṃskārārthaṃ śarīrasya
yathākālaṃ yathākramam // Manu smrithi_2.66 //
Women performed religious rites after completing their education under a
Guru. They were entitled to offer sacrifices to gods. The son was not
absolutely necessary for this purpose.
There is ample and convincing evidence to show that women were regarded as
perfectly eligible for the privilege of studying the Vedic literature and
performing the sacrifices enjoined in it. The Rigveda contains hymns
composed by twenty different poetesses, such as: Visvavara, Sikata
Nivavarl, Ghosha, Romasa, Lopamudra, Apala and Urvasi.
For instance; Ghosa (Rv. 1–117; X-39–40); Lopamudra (Rv.1.179); Mamata (Rv.
VI-10–2); Apala (Rv. VIII-91); Surya (RV.X-85); Indrani (Rv. X-86); Saci
(Rv. X-24), Sarparajni (Rv. X-88) and Visvavara (Rv.V-28)
The woman seer Visvavara not only composed mantras, but also performed the
functions of a Rtvik (priest) at a sacrifice. Another seer Apala composed a
hymn in honor of Indra, and offered to him Soma-juice herself.
Even later in her life, a man could perform the Vedic sacrifices only if he
had his wife by his side. According to Shrauta and Grihya Sutras, women
chanted mantras along with their husbands while performing rituals. And,
the housewife was expected to offer oblations in the household (grihya)
fire unaided by the husband, normally in the evening and sometimes in the
morning also. In the Srattararohana ritual of the Agrahayaga ceremony, the
wife used to recite a number of Vedic hymns; and, the harvest sacrifices
could be performed by women alone, ‘because such was the long-standing
custom’.
Women sometimes used to accompany their husbands in the battles against
their rivals. the warrior queen Vispala, the wife of the king Khela, had
lost her leg in a war; and in which place an iron (ayasi) one was implanted
by the Asvins. And, thereafter, she continued to fight on.
yu̱vaṁ dhe̱nuṁ śa̱yave̍ nādhi̱tāyāpi̍nvatam aśvinā pū̱rvyāya̍ |
amu̍ñcata̱ṁ varti̍kā̱m aṁha̍so̱ niḥ prati̱ jaṅghā̍ṁ vi̱śpalā̍yā adhattam ||
R V_1,118.08
Mudgalani or Indrasena, wife of the sage Mudgala helped her husband in the
pursuit of robbers who had stolen their cows, drove the chariot for her
husband when he was put in a tight corner. Further, she taking up husband’s
bow and arrow, fought the robbers; defeated them; recovered and brought
home her herd of cows.
There were eminent women in the field of learning and scholarship. These
highly intelligent and greatly learned women, who chose the path of Vedic
studies and, lived the ideal life of spirituality were called
Brahmavadinis. And the women who opted out of education for married life
were called ‘Sadyovadhus’. Co-education seems to have existed in this
period; and, both the sexes got equal attention from the teacher.
As many as about thirty Brahmavadins of great intellect and spiritual
attainment are immortalized in the Rig Veda and are credited with hymns.
They participated in philosophical debates with men and were highly
respected. To name a few of those significant women rishis (rishikā) who
figure in the Rig Veda Samhitā: Goshā Kakshivati, Lopamudra, Romasha,
Sarama Devasuni , Yami Vaivasvathi , Rathir Bharadwaja , Apala, Paulomi and
others. Needless to say, they were held in high esteem for their work to be
included in the important religious text of the era.
Incidentally, let me mention that, later, the Shatapatha Brahmana lists
some 52 generations of teachers, of which some 42 are remembered through
their mothers. {Marumakkathayam is not new to Kerala only but ended or
continuing in minor percentage even today} The teachers were males. This
list acts like a bridge between the end of the Rig-Veda time and the
Shatapatha Braahmana time. It is remarkable that a patriarchal society
should remember its teachers through their mothers. The preference over the
names of their fathers indicates the important position of women as mothers
in Vedic society. Their mothers were considered that valuable, as their
sons were recognized through their names.
END of Part 2 29824 30824
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