Women in the Hindu Tradition: Rules, Roles and Exceptions

ISBN-13: 9780415778145 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 184 str.

Mandakranta Bose

Opis

This book accounts for the origin & evolution of the nature & roles of women within the Hindu belief system. It explains how the idea of the goddess has been derived from Hindu philosophical ideas & texts of codes of conduct & how particular models of conduct for mortal women have been created.

Hindu religious culture correlates philosophical speculation and social imperatives to situate femininity on a continuum from divine to mortal existence. This creates in the Hindu consciousness multiple, often contradictory images of women, at once as wielders and subjects of authority. The conception and evolution of the major Hindu goddesses, placed against the judgments passed by texts of Hindu sacred law on women’s nature and roles, illuminate the Hindu discourse on gender, the complexity of which is further compounded by the distinctive spirituality of female ascetic poets.

The author explains how the idea of the goddess has been derived on the one hand from Hindu philosophical ideas and on the other, analogously from the social roles of women as reflected in and prescribed by texts of codes of conduct. Furthermore, that idea of female divinity which gave rise to models of conduct for mortal women is explored. Instead of a one-way order of ideological derivation it is argued that a constant traffic between both ways the notional and the actual feminine was pursued.

This book brings together for the first time a wide range of material and offers fresh stimulating interpretations regarding women in the Hindu Tradition.

Recenzje

"Bose’s work is indispensable to the field of women’s studies in general and to the study of women in Hindu social and philosophical thought in particular; the author manages to bridge gaps in the existing knowledge, and her work will hopefully spark new discussion, especially given the preoccupation with women by men throughout history." - Susanne Kranz, Zayed University; Journal of International and Global Studies Volume 4, Number 1, (November 2012).

Spis treści

1. Introduction  2. Gendered Divinity: Goddesses in the Hindu Tradition  3. Shaping Women’s lives: The Role of Ancient Hindu Texts  4. Women Poets of Hinduism  5. Sanctuary: Women and Home Worship  6. Conclusion

O autorze

Mandakranta Bose is Professor Emerita, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia, Canada. Two of her major publications are Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval and Modern India and Sangitanarayana: A Critical Edition.