Women In Indian history: A Few Vignettes From Epigraphy

Indian civilization and culture, many-faceted and infinitely involved by nature, lend themselves to the most contrary interpretations, which more often than not reflect the scholar’s predetermined interpretive model, bias, ideology, or sometimes personal insecurities. Whatever the motive, a frequent result has been the creation of entrenched stereotypes. A case in point is the treatment of woman.

A case in point is the treatment of woman in ancient India; nothing is easier than to quote from smritis, find a few references praising sati, and portray the “repressed Hindu woman” in a manner that will arouse indignation in our era of human rights. But one can just as well find injunctions against sati, or quote from Varahamihira’s chapter on “the praise of women” in which he asks, “What great fault is there in women that has not been already committed by men? Men have outstripped women in impudence. Women are indeed superior to men in respect of merits. … Being uniquely pure, women are never defiled.”

Read More