Women held very important position in ancient Indian society. It was a position superior to men. There are literary evidences to suggest that woman power destroyed kingdoms and mighty rulers.Elango Adigal's Sillapathigaram mentioned that Madurai the capital of Pandyas was burnt when Pandyan ruler Nedunchezhiyan killed a woman's husband by mistake. Veda Vyasa's Mahabharata tells the story of fall of Kauravas because they humiliated queen Draupadi.Valmiki's Ramyana is also about the wiping away of Ravana when he abducted and tried to marry Sita forcibly. The plethora of Goddesses in ancient period was created to instill respect for women. Ardhanareeshwar, where God is half-man and half-woman was highly worshipped. Women were allowed to have multiple husbands.
Widows could remarry. They could leave their husbands. In the Vedic society women participated in religious ceremonies and tribal assemblies (sabha and vidata).There is no evidence of seclusion of women from domestic and social affairs but they were dependent on their male relations throughout their lives. The system of Sati existed among the Aryans in the earlier period .By the time they entered India it had however gone out of vogue but it might have survived in the shape of a formal custom. Though it is not referred to in the hymns of the Rig-Veda, the Artharva Veda shows that it was still customary for the widow to lay symbolically by the side of her husband's corpse on the funeral pyre. Monogamy was very common. Polygamy though common was not common. Child marriages were unknown. Women could choose their husbands through a type of marriage called Swayamvara. In this type of marriage, potential grooms assembled at the bride's house and the bride selected her spouse. Instances of Swayamvara ceremony can be found in epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. This continued even in the later period in high class families.
As the time passed the position of women underwent changes in all spheres of life. In the later Vedic period, women lost their political rights of attending assemblies. Child marriages also came into existence. According to the Aitareya Brahmana a daughter has been described as a source of misery. The Atharva Veda also deplores the birth of daughters. Yet certain matrilineal elements are discernible in this period also. The importance assigned to the wives of the rajan in the rajasuya has been regarded as an indication of matrilineal influence and the Vamsavalis or genealogies of teachers attached to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in which many seers bear metronymics, would also possibly indicate a similar development. There are references to women seers like Gargi and Maitreyi .However this period clears see the growing tendency to stratify society along gender lines.The position of women gradually deteriorated as the golden Vedic ideals of unity and equality began to fade off through the passage of time. During the period of smritis women were bracketed with the sudras and were denied the right to study the Vedas to utter Vedic mantras and to perform Vedic rites. Marriage or domestic life became compulsory for women and unquestioning devotion to husband their only duty.
In Mauryan period brahamanical literature was particularly severe in the treatment of women and assigned them a very low status in the society. Buddhist texts on the other hand were much more considerate in treating them.Megasthenes testifies to the growing practice of polygamy; employment of women as palace guards, bodyguards to the kings, spies etc; permission of widow remarriage and divorce. Thus the position of women though inferior was not as bad as it came to be in the later periods such as the Gupta period. Owing to the suppressed condition of women in the society of his time it is possible that Ashoka may have felt the need to appoint a special group of mahamattas who would be concerned mainly with the welfare of women.
Since women and property are bracketed together in several references in the epics, Smritis and Puranas, women came to be regarded as a sort of property. She could be given away or loaned as any item of property. This was like the attitude of a typical patriarchal society based on private property. Because of this the Brahmanical law did not allow any proprietary rights to women; the provision for stridhana is of a very limited character and does not extend beyond the wife's rights to jewels, ornaments and presents made to her. This took strong roots in Gupta and Post Gupta periods. The practice of using veils by women particularly in high caste families was in vogue. In Kadambari Patralekha is described as wearing a veil of red cloth. This was however not the general custom.
In the south Indian empires also the position of women deteriorated .Remarriage of widows was generally not favoured.Their position was very bad as they had to cut off their hair, discard all their ornaments and eat only plain food. Some wives preferred to die with their husbands. The tonsure of widows like the tying of the tali at the marriage ceremony was obviously a pre-Aryan Tamil custom taken over and perpetuated into later times.
Widows could remarry. They could leave their husbands. In the Vedic society women participated in religious ceremonies and tribal assemblies (sabha and vidata).There is no evidence of seclusion of women from domestic and social affairs but they were dependent on their male relations throughout their lives. The system of Sati existed among the Aryans in the earlier period .By the time they entered India it had however gone out of vogue but it might have survived in the shape of a formal custom. Though it is not referred to in the hymns of the Rig-Veda, the Artharva Veda shows that it was still customary for the widow to lay symbolically by the side of her husband's corpse on the funeral pyre. Monogamy was very common. Polygamy though common was not common. Child marriages were unknown. Women could choose their husbands through a type of marriage called Swayamvara. In this type of marriage, potential grooms assembled at the bride's house and the bride selected her spouse. Instances of Swayamvara ceremony can be found in epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. This continued even in the later period in high class families.
As the time passed the position of women underwent changes in all spheres of life. In the later Vedic period, women lost their political rights of attending assemblies. Child marriages also came into existence. According to the Aitareya Brahmana a daughter has been described as a source of misery. The Atharva Veda also deplores the birth of daughters. Yet certain matrilineal elements are discernible in this period also. The importance assigned to the wives of the rajan in the rajasuya has been regarded as an indication of matrilineal influence and the Vamsavalis or genealogies of teachers attached to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in which many seers bear metronymics, would also possibly indicate a similar development. There are references to women seers like Gargi and Maitreyi .However this period clears see the growing tendency to stratify society along gender lines.The position of women gradually deteriorated as the golden Vedic ideals of unity and equality began to fade off through the passage of time. During the period of smritis women were bracketed with the sudras and were denied the right to study the Vedas to utter Vedic mantras and to perform Vedic rites. Marriage or domestic life became compulsory for women and unquestioning devotion to husband their only duty.
In Mauryan period brahamanical literature was particularly severe in the treatment of women and assigned them a very low status in the society. Buddhist texts on the other hand were much more considerate in treating them.Megasthenes testifies to the growing practice of polygamy; employment of women as palace guards, bodyguards to the kings, spies etc; permission of widow remarriage and divorce. Thus the position of women though inferior was not as bad as it came to be in the later periods such as the Gupta period. Owing to the suppressed condition of women in the society of his time it is possible that Ashoka may have felt the need to appoint a special group of mahamattas who would be concerned mainly with the welfare of women.
Since women and property are bracketed together in several references in the epics, Smritis and Puranas, women came to be regarded as a sort of property. She could be given away or loaned as any item of property. This was like the attitude of a typical patriarchal society based on private property. Because of this the Brahmanical law did not allow any proprietary rights to women; the provision for stridhana is of a very limited character and does not extend beyond the wife's rights to jewels, ornaments and presents made to her. This took strong roots in Gupta and Post Gupta periods. The practice of using veils by women particularly in high caste families was in vogue. In Kadambari Patralekha is described as wearing a veil of red cloth. This was however not the general custom.
In the south Indian empires also the position of women deteriorated .Remarriage of widows was generally not favoured.Their position was very bad as they had to cut off their hair, discard all their ornaments and eat only plain food. Some wives preferred to die with their husbands. The tonsure of widows like the tying of the tali at the marriage ceremony was obviously a pre-Aryan Tamil custom taken over and perpetuated into later times.
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