The Issue of a Womens’ Past in India: an archaeo-historical perspective
In this chapter I would like to focus on one specific aspect of women’s studies that appeals to me as a historian, the issue of a long-term past for women in India. In my view, at the very least, this endeavour, would involve a discussion of the following issues. First of all there is a good case that it is now opportune that we started writing a long-term history of women in India and the archaeological enterprise to the extent it may contribute toward such a worthwhile goal already stand defended as properly historical[ Hodder. I 1987. Introduction. Archaeology as Long-Term History. New Directions in Archaeology Series. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.]. The simple reason for this is that Gender Archaeology has already come of age elsewhere in the world however; its ripples to the shores of Indian archaeology are still distant and quite feeble as yet. Although we may not overlook the works of Deeksha Bhardwaj (2004), and Himashu Prabha Ray (2004) the very significant contributions of these two scholars are indeed just a beginning of a much larger enterprise.
The rationale for this is not too far to find. Numerous excavations around the world, as in India, reveal that archaeologists today are able to locate artefacts in archaeological context that give us direct information about gender in the past. Such artefacts may range from hearths, food grains, specialized tools like awls, needles, pestles and querns and indeed very recently a new body of very exciting data, which is rock art, has been argued (Hays-Gilpin 2004?) as teeming in content with material related to gender in past societies. Do we then have the barest of evidence with which we may approach the archaeology of gender in the Indian context? I feel that the firm answer to this question is yes!
The issue that women constitute an important segment of society, and that they have been marginalized is incontestable. However, it is here important to raise the question why after-all of a 150 years of Indian archaeology are we discussing an issue as important as that of gender archaeology so late. Is the answer that all Indian archaeology is andocentric? Is the question that throughout the phases of Indology and other types of colonial archaeology in India, people talked of society, an amorphous entity, in which women were present by implication, but not directly, as an especial category of agency? My view of this vexing problem and no doubt a real one at that is that we have to admit that a certain degree of andocentric did prevail as despite the presence of such artefacts, as mentioned above; we did not venture to reconstruct the roles and status of women in prehistoric communities of India. In such a circumstance history comes to play an important role for setting the course of women’s studies in the long-term. Today there are several examples of engagements in women’s history – we have already seen and heard of examples of such as the studies by Kumkum Roy and Uma Chakrabarti - the issue of women in epic literature, the Vedas, the Dharmasastras, and the Smritis. How about a longer-term past?
What did women do before circa 3,000 B.C in the Indian context? This is the issue that archaeologists such as Spector (?), Conkey (?), Meskell (?), Gilchrist (?), and Gero (?), have already addressed, and as stated before in this chapter, in the Indian context, Ray, Bharadwaj, Misra have also written about. However, as at present these are but scanty efforts in what is apparently a much larger project, thus I too although differently from these authors, would in the Indian context like to address this subject. I am aware that some research has been carried out in India (Ray and Sinopoli 2004[ See Ray, H.P.2004. Gender and archaeology: an introduction. Pp. 464-480. In Ray, H.P. and Sinopoli, C. (Eds.) Archaeology as history in early South Asia. ICHR and Aryan.], Bharadwaj 2004, Misra 2005) studies that have engaged in finding women’s role in prehistory by engagement with archaeological sources. However, by far, till date, the expansion of knowledge in this field and constructive debates are of foreign origin. The work of Margaret Conkey, Janet Spector, Henrietta Moore, Joan Gero, Lynn Meskell, and others have broken new ground in trying to engage with the long-term human past and Womens’ past within it. This whole enterprise of constructing a long-term Womens’ past has been labelled gendering the human past. A good case in the point is also the Harvard-Kalahari project where anthropologists studied Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari desert of Southern Africa, and studied the per man/ woman hour inputs to domestic food-supply, among other aspects regarding the place and role of women in a Hunting –Gathering Society.
To their surprise (see Lee and Irven De Vore 1968) they found that even in archetypical hunting-gathering groups, by far the largest contribution of food-supply came from gathering of seasonal fruits, nuts and other forest produce, than from the periodic large-game-hunting by the men. While hunting brought in high-proteins such a stock lasts usually for a few days, and for the rest of the time the society, that is men, women and children, depend largely on the food brought in by women.
The least this find did was to have shaken the foundations of anthropological thought that man the hunter existed as the main food-supplier for thousands of years when human society was evolving through its first and elementary stages. It was an important break-through for women’s studies to know that it was woman the gatherer, instead, who was and has been the main mover.
The other main study in this regard, in which ample evidence exists in India. To that within all forms of elementary production, hunting-gathering, pastoralism and shifting cultivation – and add to that small-time crafts production groups, indulging in pottery, metal-work and other activities that women have always also here been prime movers. The excavated remains from Chirand in Bihar are a good example. A large number of bone and antler awls (see photograph etc.) have been found, in conjunction with grains (wheat, barley, rice) along with hearths that all together form an important body of evidence for the significant role of women in early society.
I have here cited just a few examples of contribution of women as may be gleaned from excavated archaeological data. The country over during the Mesolithic, Neolithic and later ages there is ample data to interpret and find the evidence for the great deal of burden of day to day living that was carried by women. Accordingly their status in those societies may be expected to be high (as is found in modern ethnographic situations). But how is that to be measured? It is common knowledge that matriarchal systems exist even today in the regions of the north-east of India where shifting cultivation is the mainstay of subsistence.
Another breakthrough, although in the realm of ethnography, properly speaking, so far as Womens’ studies are concerned, is the work of Marjorie Shostak, and lately Sita Venkateswar, both working in relatively different domains. Marjorie Shostak wrote the book! Nisa: A Kung Woman’s story, in which for the first time the style of polyphony was used in the history of ethnographic studies. That is to say, that instead of, as is usual of ethnographers, by providing a meta-narrative of the lifestyle of women, among the Kung, Shostak, juxtaposed her observations in the text, with real-time reproduction of the narrative of !Nisa….thus bringing to the reader a first hand account of the life of Nisa.
This style became very popular and is used by ethnographers of all calling today as this mode of narration is considered more real for purposes of reportage on ethnographic groups. The work of Sita Venkateswar Development and ethnocide: colonial practices in the Andaman Islands, uses Shostak’s technique of narratives of informants quite effectively, and she also succeeds in bringing to us a real-time understanding of the problems faced by the Onge, Jarawa and Sentinelise women.
By way of introduction, we may say, that the consideration of gender in archaeology today occupies an important place in archaeological studies and the field, although, very new, is consistently growing. As Conkey has aptly put it the effort is to “ use gender as a conceptual platform for re-imagining analytical frame-works for specific archaeological materials and technologies, or for reconsidering major cultural transitions of the human past” (pp. 17). Yet it is also important to assess how this view of the archaeological past of women may inform us about their role and status in the historical period.
2 Assessing the significance of women in Ancient India: a textual analysis of P.V. Kane’s A History of the Dharmasatras
It may not be denied that there are several passages in the Dharmasastras (See Kane, 1992, Vol. 1-5) where there are explicit references to women that lead us to some knowledge of that their role and status in ancient Indian society was regarded as significant, broadly speaking. But, most familiar with this text would know that the allusions to women, in this text, are such that they must be assessed at several levels of sociological analysis. The age of the Dharmasastras, unfold largely a rural society, such that the prescriptions given in the corpus, it would seem, are befitting - for women, in the folds of rural life. It is another matter, why for feminist interpretation, the prescriptions of the Dharmasastras have been regarded as eternal (as in irrevocable), and male-biased, at that. Recent workers in feminist studies argue that we must study these texts with the aim to understand the actual status accorded to women as enshrined in these texts and not on a part or partial reading of the texts (Chandrakala Padia Pers. Comm.)[ Here I am referring to the gist of a Lecture delivered by Professor Chandrakala. Padia, Director, Centre for women’s studies and development, BHU, (now Head of Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Banaras Hindu University), entitled Challenges for feminist theory, in which she took pains to outline that Indian feminism should root itself in the Indian milieu, for which it would be essential for us to study our ancient texts from an Indian perspective. What does this mean? Simply put, any westerner looking at some of the passages of the Dharmasastras, read from a dry text-is-fact sort of point of view; would need no great effort to say that there was male-bias in ancient Indian society. However it would need an Indian reading (how so ever we may define the latter!) to contextualise what has been said in these texts. This paper approaches the issue of significance of women in ancient India as discussed in the Dharmasatra corpus.]. It, is therefore, important, to assess what the Dharmasastras say about women in this light.
We take the position that a proper reading of the corpus enjoins us not assess what has been said some two thousand years ago, by the yardstick of what we consider as andocentric today. In any case, from a historian’s point of view there are several preliminary tests a historical text or corpus must pass before we may assess it for any significance. With citations from the concerned volumes (1-5)[ We also intend to use secondary analyses like A.S. Alterkar's The Status of Women in Ancient India.] of the monumental work A History of the Dharmasatras, this paper dwells on how to utilize this text for understanding the status of women in ancient India. In a text that purports to discuss the mores of ancient Indian society from 4th century B.C. towards the Christian era, this feature should also be seen at a level that is commonsensical. How can a text of a period be written without any reference to women? The purpose of my paper, is to examine first of all how may we see Dharmasastras as a source? Whether, as it is, we may see ancient writing as modern writing? If so, then, how so? And if not, then why not? And, in general, how should we see ancient texts?
I have elsewhere (see Pratap 2003), commented upon the nature of the corpus of our ancient Indian historical texts at length. In this paper, I shall only summarize some of the points made therein; that I hope should enlighten the endeavour of looking at ancient Indian texts with a view to see whether or not positive mention of women has been made therein. However, before that a short consideration of the question what is P.V. Kane’s History of the Dharmasastras? - is therefore in order.
3 What is P.V. Kane’s History of the Dharmasastras?
P.V. Kane, we understand was an Orientalist who took pains to study more than 100 of our ancient texts like Manusmriti, Yajnavalkya Smriti, Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana[ A list of such sources of ancient Indian law (or Dharma) are - Dharmasutras, Gautamadhrmasutra, Baudhyana Dharmasutra, Apastamba Dharmasutra, Hiranyakeshu Dharmasutra, Vashishtha Dharmasutra, Vishnu Dharmasutra, Harita Dharmasutra, Shankha-Likhita Dharmasutra, Manav Dharmasutra, Kautilya Arthasastra, Vaikhanasa Dharma-Prashna, Other Sutra Granthas related with Dharma are – Atri, Ushna, Kanva and Kaanva, Kashyapa and Kashyaapa, Gargi, Chyavana, Jatukarnya, Deval, Paithinasi, Buddha, Brihaspati, Bharadwaj and Bharadwaaj, Manu, Yajnavalkya, Parashara, Narada, Brihaspati, Katyayana, Harit and Madhavacharya. There are a total of 109 texts that Kane considers related with Dharma.] to cull from them the prescriptions with regard to accepted/acceptable social norms and customs, as prevailing in ancient India. In the introduction to each of his five volumes the following text is given as definitional of the term Dharma:
“Dharma is that all encompassing term (word) which one is confronted with and seems to denote the social history aspects of any Jati-Caste and helps in providing the preamble to the life-history of that Jati or society” (Bhramar, 1976).
The Dharmasastras by themselves take into account the development of religion and social behaviour/rituals position of individuals in reality and as reflected in symmetries or asymmetries of the pantheons of numerous gods and goddesses, their characteristics and philosophies and ideologies, methods of worship – as developed since the early Vedic period to the contemporary times.
“The five volumes of P.V. Kane’s history of the Dharmasatras presents for us the rituals governing Indian social life from the earliest of Vedic times (c. 1500 B.C.) to the contemporary times” (Suman, 1976).
At one level then P.V. Kane’s monumental work, in five volumes, addresses different aspects of acceptable social behaviour, and tries to cast light on what the Hindu Shastras say about norms of behaviour governing issues like marriage, descent, property, rites and rituals, and jurisprudence, as enshrined in these primary historical texts.
Patak in Sanskrit means sin. Kane’s Dharmasastras starts with a definition of Satya (Truth) and Rta (the movement of nature or being). He suggests that Satya derives from Rta. He also suggests that these principles both occur together in the Rg Veda in one mantra. Accordingly and from these sources Kane identifies the five or Pachmahapatak. These, according to the Shastras are: Brahmahatya (the murder of a Brahmin), Surapan (drinking alcohol), Steya (theft or thievery), Guruanganagaman (to dirty the seat of the guru) and, finally, Mahapatakisansarg (associating with a wrongdoer). These are followed by a number of Upapatak’s or lighter-sins. These include having sex with a drunk woman even if it is one’s wife, learning Vedas from a teacher who charges money, an elder brother remaining unmarried after this younger brother has married, killing a woman not of the Aatreyi type, killing Sudras, killing Kshatriyas or Vaishyas, making a type of living which is scoffed at by Samaj (society), non-believing (in god), not performing rituals, stealing animals, expelling father, mother or son, from home for no reason at all, not supporting relatives economically, and having sex with a low-caste woman.
5. The Female Principle
However, while the text discusses women and issues pertaining to them directly, it has also, in its own context, tried to put-forth rites and rituals that are in the Indian context clearly related with women and therefore there is (in Volume 5, pp.9) rather a detailed discussion of the Shakt principle, broadly translated as The Feminine Principle. P.V. Kane provides such indirect references by stating that (translation mine) “the word Shakt means Shakti or power (world-power) or as having influence over the whole cosmos. The devotees of Shakti are thus called Shakt (the followers of and this includes men). It seems that around 8th century A.D. Shaktism in India developed and spread mainly in Bengal and Assam. The goddess of Shakts, known variously as Tripura, Lohita, Shadashika and Kameshwari, were recognized as bearing the seeds of the universe and were therefore worshipped.
One of the main texts of the Shakts is called Devimahatmiya (The Mahatmya or greatness or significance of the Devi). The main features of the Shakt Sampradaya (fraternity, School etc.) is that the supreme deity is one and one only; She is known as mother; and She is seen as the supremely destructive force. Here P.V. Kane observes that “as destruction is a feature associated with the Devi”, therefore “worship related (ritual) procedure is sometime nauseous” (pp.9) referring no doubt to the practice of blood-letting sacrifices (of goat, chicken, buffaloes etc.) that are continue in some parts of India today as a contemporary practice in worship. The Devi has also been called Mahamahishamardini (the destroyer of the Maha or Great Mahish the Bull), Anahata, Kundalini, Durga, Katyayani, Chandi, Bhadrakali etc. It is said the goddess becomes happy if she is worshipped with alcohol, meat (usually goat or chicken) and with other foods and she grants the wishes of the devotee.
6. Rituals associated with the Shakt or Female Principle
Navratra or Durgotsav: P.V. Kane’s volumes contain rather a lot of information on Durgotsav. As sources for tracking the development of this ritual P.V. Kane cites Kalikapurana where it is said that those who do not perform this Vrata, have all their sensibilities destroyed by Durga. Whereas, those who do are rewarded with Dharma Ritual Sanctity), Artha (Money), Kama (Worldy Benefits) and Moksha (Enlightenment). Again, (according to Kane) the Devipurana mentions that this is a great and very pure Vrata (worship, ritual) that gives great benefits; in that it helps destroy all enemies, it helps all peoples; it helps the Brahmins in performing all their Yajnas (worship, rituals); it helps Kshatriyas maintain their lands; Vaishyas or Merchants to preserve their cattle; The Sudras their sons, and luxuries, good luck for women, more wealth to the rich.
These texts further state that Durgotsav is performed nine days and nights and therefore they are called Navratras or nine-nights (of worship). With reference to animal sacrifices prescribed for this occasion P.V. Kane states that according to the Kalikapurana among the animals that may be sacrificed on this occasion are: Birds, Tortoises, Graha, Fish, Nine Types of Deer, Buffaloes, Bulls, Goats, Mongoose, Pigs, Black Deer, Lions, Tigers, Humans, and the blood of a woman who is maintaining a fast of the Navratras (Vrati).
However, the Kalikapurana also maintains that no females of any species are permitted to be sacrificed. The ears of an offering must not have been cut-off before its sacrificial offering. Normally a male-goat and buffaloes are sacrificed (Vol. 4, pp. 344). P.V. Kane mentions that the ancient text Varshakriyakaumudi (vol. 4 pp 397) mentions that (translation mine) “horses and elephants must not be sacrificed to the goddess. That makes her angry. If a Brahmin sacrifices a Lion, Human or Tiger then he goes to Hell”.
Nagapanchami, Manasapuja, Rakshabandhan: The monsoonal months are very important for certain very important Vratas (or penances) – the Nagpuja (or Snake Worship) observed on The Fifth day of Shukla Paksha is very famous. In various parts of India the Nagapanchami Festival is observed in differing ways. The Akshyatritiya of Eastern India is one variant.
According to P.V. Kane the Bhavishyapurana describes the rituals connected with Nagapanchami Puja in detail. On this day milk is offered to the various incarnations (of the eternal snake that winds itself around Shiva’s neck) Vasuki (Naga), Takshaka, Kalia, Manibhadra, Eiravata, Dritarashtra, Karkottakka and Dhananjaya.
These are all names of snakes. These are bathed and in return they grant abhayadana or asylum to these clans that worship them. Bhavishyapurana, in this context, recounts the story of Kadru and Vinta both sisters and their legendary wager or bet. Kadru, the mother of snakes, wagered her sister Vinata that Indra’s favourite steed Ucchaishrava has a black-tail (needless to say Ucchaishrava was perfectly white from head to tail). Obviously this was a prank on Kadru’s part and to prove her hypothesis she asked the black ones amongst her snake-sons to wrap themselves around Ucchaishrava’s tail. In the event that Kadru’s sons ditched her they incurred her wrath. Kadru cursed her sons that they would all be burnt alive. As the story goes a later King Janmejaya performed a sacrifice in which all the snakes of the world were attracted as towards a magnet and were consumed in the fire of Janmejaya’s Yajna. Nagapanchami is thus performed by mothers to breathe back life into snakes or (Kadru’s) children (Vol. 4, Chapter 7, pp 51).
Manasapuja: is most popular in Bengal. Brahmavaivratapurana deals with the birth of Manasa Devi, her worship procedure, eulogy (stuti) etc. This puja is also practiced to please snake-goddess and to gain asylum (abhyadana) from snake-bites. Here P.V. Kane mentions, with reference to contemporary India, that on this occasion snake-charmers move around neighbourhoods with snakes or Nagas (that is cobras) and are given rice, money etc. This puja is also prevalent in south India where red images of snakes are made.
Haritalika: is practiced in Maharashtra mainly. It is mentioned in medieval Sanskrit texts like Vratark, Vrataraj, and Ahalyakamdhenu. Legend has it that Shiva suggested this Vrata to Parvati as a means for their betrothal. This is a Vrata only for and to be performed by women. They must bathe with coconut oil and trifala, wear silk saris and then pray to Uma (Gauri, Parvati) and Shiva.
The Dharmasastras in the context of ancient India are also necessarily juridical in nature – as they also discuss ethics, wherein lies its true value. Insofar as its mention of women is concerned a glimpse is provided here from the index citations pertinent to just one volume: there are no less than 68 index entries of issues pertaining to women in particular. These include issues of types of marriages, transgression of the law (Dharma) with regard to women including violence towards women, rites and rituals, property, widowhood, prostitution, widow remarriage, sati, Vishwadharama or the special rights of women, polyandry and rights and duties vis-à-vis marriage, separation or divorce.
7. On Stri-Dhana
According to Kane, there are three main issues with regard to Stri-Dhana. a) What is Stri-Dhana, b) What are the rights of Women on Stri-Dhana and c) The inheritance of Stri-Dhana and the rights of daughters in this regard? P.V. Kane suggests that Katyayana has described Stri-Dhana in 27 verses. According to Katyayana Stri-Dhana are of 6 types:
1.Adhyagni: That which already belongs to a woman (before marriage).
2.Adhyavahanika: That which the father has imparted to his daughter at the time of her wedding.
3.Preetidatta: That which has been given her by her In-Laws, out of love, at the time of the wedding.
4.Shulka: These, also given at the time of the wedding, and usually include – utensils, beasts of burden, milch-cows, ornaments and slaves.
5.Anvadheya: This includes articles and objects given her after marriage by her husband and his friends
6.Saudyika: Gifts given to her by other people at the time of the wedding.
This is a very short chapter (in Vol. 2, chapter 25, pp. 830-833) that discusses transgressive sexual practices between men and women. Rape (pp. 830) is condemned outright as is intercourse in which men use force with them or sexual intercourse with women through deception. There is one further category of prohibited type of sex that does not reflect the puritanical bent of the Mithakshara (Yajnavalkya) and Brihaspatisutra. This is Kamapipasa or excessive desire for sex. Various types of punishments (Prayaschita) are prescribed for such transgressions: death sentence, confiscation of all property. According to P.V. Kane Katyayana suggests death sentence as the penalty for rape. Total castration and expulsion from the village are also recommended. P.V. Kane suggests that according to Naradapurana intercourses with the following are also prohibited: step-mother (Vimata), maternal aunt (Mausi), mother in law (Saas), aunt -maternal or paternal uncle’s wife – (Chachi or Maami), Father’s sister (Bua), friends wife, student’s wife, sister, sister’s friend, dauther-in law (Bahu), daughter (Beti) guru or teacher’s wife, Sangotra (?) a woman belonging to the same Gotra, Sharanagata (a woman who has sought protection from somebody), Rani ( a queen), Pravrajita (an ascetic woman), Dhratri (Aya,), Sadhvi (female ascetic or one who does Sadhana), a high-caste-woman. Lighter sentences are also recommended like ordeal by fire, financial penalties like 24 Panas are also part of Prayaschit. Again penalties of 12, 24, 100 and 500 Panas are also mentioned. Kane suggests that according to the Vishnudharmottarapurana Manu has recommended that such offenders should be put amidst wild dogs (so as to be torn to pieces). Kane suggest that the Apastambasutra recommends shaving of the head as also a penalty for intercourse with a married woman and confiscation of all property for intercourse with an unmarried one. According to P.V. Kane Narada recommends that if such transgression occurs then the man concerned should present jewellery to the offended woman and propose to marry her. In this context, sentences seem to be lighter when such transgression takes place between a man of a higher-caste and a low-caste woman.
9. Mention of Women in the Dharmasastras
Mention of women in the Dharmasastras are extensive, since P.V. Kane’s History of the Dharmasastras, is published in no less than 5 volumes (see bibliography). For the purpose of this essay we have consulted selected portions of (Vol. 1-5) of the History of the Dharmasastras wherein according to the index; pages 318, 324 and 327 are the relevant pages in volume I. VOL II, VOL III, VOL IV, and VOL V…
In this, the emphasis, according to Kane’s Index is on Stri-Dharma. My other colleagues in this book have ably commented upon the concerns of the other citations of the remaining four volumes.
10. The Dharmasastras as a Text: some problems
For a historian, the issue of what mention of women or any other group of people, have been made, in that text, presupposes that that particular text or corpus constitute a problem-free (in terms of the locus of writing in that context as well as in terms of its meaning) corpus from a historians’ point of view. This is the first point. In other words may we read the Dharmasastras or any other ancient text much as we read modern historical documents? In historical par lance I should say that we must not ascribe Writing Degree Zero to any ancient text[ In Writing Degree Zero Roland Barthes suggest that there are two types of texts: reader-ly and writer-ly. The first assumes that the author is writing only for him/herself and not necessarily to please the reader’s choices of what they wish to learn or read. The second case is one of writer-ly texts in which the author plays to the sentiments of the reader. In the latter (that is writer-ly type of texts) it is common that the reader of a text falls victim to reading the text and swallowing it word for word as if it epitomizes some eternal value. Roland Barthes then suggests, basically in a Marxist/deconstructionist way, that all texts should be dissected and analysed for their significances to become apparent.]. This is of course a notion introduced by Roland Barthes (see bibliography), the French Semioticist, who contributed much to our approach to studying texts. Writing Degree Zero basically means a situation where the reader of a text accords to the text ad hoc a complete transparency, or bias-free sort of legitimacy. Writing degree zero means any text that may be supposed to be free from biases arising either from the biases of the writer or that of the other circumstances surrounding the production of a text.
The second problem, I think that is relevant to mention, is that the chronology of some of our ancient texts is an issue that is hanging fire. Whether it is the Rg Veda or the rest of the Vedic Corpus, The Epics, or the texts under consideration here; it would be fair to say that we do not have a very precise idea as yet, of what should be the exact chronological bracket into which we may fit each of these texts (See Pratap 2003). Here my indication of course is towards the date of the composition of a text. We are told by historians that these texts are lacking a single author, that they were composed over centuries. Do the observations of these texts, then, pertain to only one era or several ones telescoped into a single volume. If it pertains only to one era then again we are on surer grounds, but if it is time wise stratigraphically arranged text, that is the observations of several centuries are layered in it, and then the historiographic problem of interpreting which part of it refers to which period, within the same text, should be most obvious. If indeed the Arthasastra, Yajnavalkya and Narada have been composed over centuries, then the writings within them, pertains to which particular society and what particular time?
As a historian after perusing the Stri-dharma passages I would like to make the following observations: I would suggest that the safest chronological bracket into which to place the Dharmasastras corpus is from 6th c. B.C. till 3rd c. B.C. The DS does refer to women, but only in the context of discussing Dharma more generally:
1. “Pathak” (or Infringement or Sin or Paap) and “Prayschit’” (redemption or repentance) are the over-arching themes of this work.
2. This is so because from the 6th century BCE till 3rd century BCE, a largely rural society was undergoing transformation, due to agricultural and industrial intensification and greater economic output, into a semi-urban or urban form. This was the age of the 16 great republics or the Sodasamahajanapadas and it is estimated that at the core of each there was a city (In all Jha and Shrimali, 2007 estimate over 60 cities to be existing at this time). City and state-administration was emerging and the Dharmasastras among other texts were intended to provide Jurisprudence from which ever point of view for a society now urban-dwelling and much transformed in the course of these odd three hundred years.
In my view, then, as a historian, at least these two problems, confront us, when we set about looking to the Dharmasastras or any other ancient Indian historical text for what they have to say about women. We have made some suggestions as to how then to view them as a source, for there proper reading to understand the position of women in ancient India.
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