Are women the authority on Dharma?: A study on Ūñcal in the marriage ceremony of Tamil Brahmins

The women has been naturally a parallel section of the society since its inception but the society and its institutions have molded these natural provisions in to create an unnatural imbalance. The foundations of such imbalance theory has took its root from the post-Vedic period onwards in the form of various vices such as gender biases in social, cultural, religious and economic and political arena. The present article aims to discuss such aspects in the light of the available sources and reach some important conclusions. Looking into the different traditional sources and texts of legal character, we would come across many remarks complimentary or derogatory about woman in the society and as an individual. In reality a woman's role has been described differently by Śastrakaras, the epic writers and other jurists. The most ancient history known to us is an undying witness of the fact that women has always been kept in subordination and has always been treated as inferior to man in rights and privileges.

SSRN Electronic Journal

Religions of South Asia 17.1, 2023

Traditionally considered timeless and static, dharma is necessarily rooted in the customs of people and, therefore, a function of changing times and beliefs. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how medieval Brahmanical scholars understood, justified, and interpreted dharma within the scholastic tradition and whether it was possible to reinterpret various prescriptive rules to suit the social milieu of their times. These reinterpretations, if they can be sufficiently attested through scholarship, must have their roots in historical realities. Whether the tradition wishes to accommodate change or resist it, scholarly readings and commentaries provide a valuable insight into how law was read and interpreted by the Brahmanical scholastic tradition. This paper studies the dharmic norms relating to the dependence (asvātantrya) of women as interpreted by the tenth-century commentator Medhātithi, writing on the Mānavadharmaśāstra. Medhātithi's lengthy commentary on controversial points suggests a vibrant scholastic debate in which interpretations varied and certain historical realities had been taken into account.

Gender & History, 2013

Religion Compass, 2007

Static models of Hindu women as marginalized and muted subjects have in recent years been enlivened by a body of work that investigates the ways in which women both subtly and overtly resist, contest, and re-imagine these roles. This article presents a thematic survey of this field of study, drawing from a selection of recent ethnographic work that has contributed to our deepened understanding of the manifold ways – both positive and negative – that Hindu women experience their tradition. It serves as a beginner's guide to the literature tracing the multiplicity of meaningful engagements with Hindu belief and practice that mark the rhythms of women's daily lives, and points to new areas for research.

This article provides a series of analytical reflections on the women’s status and their position in social life through time in multidimensional aspects during the Vedic period. Efforts have been made to understand the dynamics of women’s status across the transformation of society and the rise and fall of the culture and adaptability with the civilization. It is observed through Vedic literature that at one time in India - in the ancient Vedic period – they enjoyed equal rights. They were given their all due respects and they played a very active and important role in running the family to manage and maintain the social order. Education was from top to bottom for all women was equally required irrespective to any kind of discrimination as during the instruction for women in Veda no evidence found which indicate for any particular Varna or class. Women Law makers like Gargi and Maitreyi not only contributed in law making but they also interpreted the law. In the paper evidences from the Veda, Mahabharata and Manusmriti have been taken to analyze the situation. Also it is found that because of their individual freedom they had their social position as high as men, and this was all through equally at all levels.