What is the place of WOMEN IN HINDU SOCIETY?  

The role of women in Hinduism is often disputed, and positions range from quite fair to intolerant. Hinduism is based on numerous texts, some of which date back to 2000 BCE or earlier. They are varied in authority, authenticity, content and theme, with the most authoritative being the Vedas. The position of women in Hinduism is widely dependent on the specific text and the context. Positive references are made to the ideal woman in texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, while some texts such as the Manu Smriti advocate a restriction of women's rights. In modern times the Hindu wife has traditionally been regarded as someone who must at all costs remain chaste or pure.[1] This is in contrast with the very different traditions that have prevailed at earlier times in 'Hindu' kingdoms, which included highly respected professional courtesans (such as Amrapali of Vesali) sacred devadasis, mathematicians and female magicians (the basavis, the Tantric kulikas). Some European scholars observed in the nineteenth century Hindu women were "naturally chaste" and "more virtuous" than other women, although what exactly they meant by that is open to dispute. In any case, as male foreigners they would have been denied access to the secret and sacred spaces that women often inhabited.

Answered by Chandra at 8:58 PM on August 17, 2008

very high esteem.

Answered by Ravichandran at 2:07 PM on August 12, 2008

EQUAL TO MEN IN EVERY RESPECT. as only along with them we are considered complete.

Answered by H.A at 5:38 PM on August 03, 2008

The position of women in society is always an index of the greatness of its religion and culture. A woman has always been given a much higher status and position in Hinduism than in any other religion.
Women so inclined could avail themselves of the highest learning and there were many female seers and philosophers. In the ancient times Gargi, wife of Mandanamishra, was appointed as judge because of her superior erudition and spiritual attainments. Warrior queens like Kaikeye helped their husbands on the battlefields.
Women were not married till they were in their late teens, sometimes even later. They could choose their own husbands and inter-marriages were common. Polygamy existed in some societies but mostly amongst princes who contracted several marriages with daughters of neighbouring rulers for political reasons.
A woman was supposed to be the manifestation of Goddess/Shakti and the male (Shaktiman) was supposed to be incomplete without the female (Shakti) with him, whether he was a god or a human being. Each male deity of the Divine Trinity has his female counterpart; Saraswati (learning), Lakshmi (wealth) and Parvati (power). The rituals especially auspicious ones, are incomplete when performed by a man without his wife co-participating. Dishonour to women was tantamount to dishonour of the Almighty. Wife or mother commanded more honour and reverence than husband or father.
With the onslaught of the foreign invasions and the subsequent rigidity of the caste system, Hindu women lost their independence and became objects requiring male protection. In the process they lost the opportunities they earlier had of acquiring knowledge and learning.
Starting from the early nineteenth century there arose a new upsurge of intellectual searching and re-evaluation of our ancient past with several reformers spreading the message of the need for purifying Hinduism of its excessive rites, rituals and orthodoxy ad the heaping of inequalities on women. Some of the reformers of the time were Ram-mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi.
Women in modern Indian society have full freedom and equality including the right of inheritance.

Answered by Anju Singh at 1:01 PM on August 03, 2008

WOMEN IN HINDU SCRIPTURES. Hinduism is a patriarchal religion ... contain prayers to defeat rival co-wives and place the ... custom, and this injunction had been followed by Hindu society ... Keeping quite and following the customs insured there place in society as honorable. Status of women in a Hindu society is directly dependent on her husband, son or father.

Answered by Bansi Thapar at 6:00 PM on August 02, 2008

She is Devata.

Answered by mkarprama at 10:41 PM on August 01, 2008

For centuries, the place of women in Hindu society has been a matter of discussion . Often the critics of Hinduism do not know the philosophical or historical place of women in our society and yet criticise us as if they are the only ones who know how a “civilised society” should be.

In Hinduism, a wife is considered to be “saha-dharma-charini” someone who has an equal share of the huband’s duties. She is also referred to as “ardhangini”, the other half of the husband. She is not a spare rib (Christian) and certainly not someone whom you simply partner with in life (Muslim). In Hindu ideology, a wife is an equal and is entrusted with the life and soul of her husband. He is not allowed to perform any religious activity without his wife ! A man had to marry before he was considered “complete”. Union of man and woman was considered to be central to maintaining the balance of family, community, state, universe and life itself !

Answered by SESHAN at 2:31 PM on August 01, 2008

Dear My creations !

This question is cofined to
"The place of Woman in HINDU -SOCIETY"
[ In Ancient & Modern INDIAN HINDU SOCIETY]


[1] "Yatra Naryasu-pujyante Ramante tatra DEVATA" unveils the place of Women in ancient time.
while, in the words of Rashtra-kavi Maithali Sharan Gupta:

" Abala jeevan hai tumahari yahi kahani,
Anchal me hai doodh aura ankho me hai pani "

unveils the place of women of pre Independant INDIA.

However,
THE MODERN INDIA is changing very fast and the womens are
resoring their place with dignity in various field of life -
"hath kangan ko aarasi kya ?"

However,
some orthodox people are still against with the concept to promote
women in various walks of life & society.

however,
21 century may play a significant role for women acquiring highest place
every where in the INDIAN SOCIETY.

With divine love and blessings..................... .............................. .........shiva.

Answered by SHIVA SHANKE at 10:47 PM on July 31, 2008

No bird can ever fly on only one of its wings. Women being the other-wing of the society it is but proper that their role be discussed here.
Ideals constitute the very heart and soul of a nation. Hence a real understanding of the Hindu nation and its womanhood would essentially depend on that of its ideals. An already stated, Hinduism considers Moksha or spiritual freedom as the summum bonum of life, whether for man or for woman. Consequently the disciplines described and the paths prescribed for the attainment of this Moksha are almost identical.
source; http://www.hindubooks.org

Answered by Tingtong at 7:29 PM on July 31, 2008

For centuries, the place of women in Hindu society has been a matter of discussion and often derision in the “western circles”. Often the critics of Hinduism do not know the philosophical or historical place of women in our society and yet criticise us as if they are the only ones who know how a “civilised society” should be.

In Hinduism, a wife is considered to be “saha-dharma-charini” someone who has an equal share of the huband’s duties. She is also referred to as “ardhangini”, the other half of the husband. She is not a spare rib (Christian) and certainly not someone whom you simply partner with in life (Muslim). In Hindu ideology, a wife is an equal and is entrusted with the life and soul of her husband. He is not allowed to perform any religious activity without his wife ! A man had to marry before he was considered “complete”. Union of man and woman was considered to be central to maintaining the balance of family, community, state, universe and life itself !

Well before there were any ideas of “equality amongst sexes” in the west, Vedic rishis of Hinduism decided that the ideal of GOD should not be singularly male or female. Each and every facet of the divine they worshiped was in unison – male and female, father and mother. Though GOD is one and has no gender, we, as humans, crave to understand GOD in human terms. How else can we understand GOD ? If you ask a scientist to explain something to you, he will undoubtedly take a scientific route. An artist will explain things in a way that will be full of art and colour. A politician will undoubtedly see plots and subterfuge even in a simple nursery rhyme, as a psychologist will invariably find some link to your subconscious in your very need to ask the question !

Each and every one of us sees the world in our own way. That is the only way we can make any sense of it. So, the ancient Rishis decided to understand the divine in a Human way – to make it open to all humans, regardless of who they were, which tribe they belonged to or which locality they came from.

The religion of the Vedas is very inclusive, very open and very welcoming to one and all. It sees the divine in all – male and female and indeed, the divine as male and female !

Just as in a fully functional society a man is considered to be incomplete without a woman and vice a versa, the “divine” is also seen as a couple, husband and wife, working in unison to achieve a fully functional universe. In the Vedic thought process, the two were considered to be equally important and equally essential component of the universal whole.

At a time when the position of women in the rest of world was restricted to being a mother, sister, wife or a slave, Hindus worshipped them as goddesses, honoured them as sages and saints, and respected them as rulers with brains aswell as brawn.

Sarasvati, the goddess of knowledge ; Gayatri, the goddess of the Vedas ; Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth ; Kali / Durga, goddess of war, Earth as a major mother goddess, Ganga and Yamuna as the main river goddesses, to name a few, were seen essential members of the divine pantheon.
for more information you visit this side.
www.geocities.com/Athen s/7830/woman.htm - 15k

Answered by Debashis at 6:19 PM on July 31, 2008