Women in the Hindu Tradition

Women in the Hindu Tradition PDF Author: Mandakranta Bose
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135192588
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
This book accounts for the origin and evolution of the nature and roles of women within the Hindu belief system. It explains how the idea of the goddess has been derived from Hindu philosophical ideas and texts of codes of conduct and 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, both 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 duties, illuminate the Hindu discourse on gender, the complexity of which is compounded by the distinctive spirituality of female ascetic poets. Drawing on a wide range of Sanskrit texts, the author explains how the idea of the goddess has been derived from Hindu philosophical ideas and also from the social roles of women as reflected in, and prescribed by, texts of codes of conduct. She examines the idea of female divinity which gave rise to models of conduct for mortal women. Instead of a one-way order of ideological derivation, the author argues that there is constant traffic between both ways the notional and the actual feminine. This book brings together for the first time a wide range of material and offers fresh stimulating interpretations of women in the Hindu Tradition.

Women in the Hindu Tradition

Women in the Hindu Tradition PDF Author: Mandakranta Bose
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135192588
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
This book accounts for the origin and evolution of the nature and roles of women within the Hindu belief system. It explains how the idea of the goddess has been derived from Hindu philosophical ideas and texts of codes of conduct and 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, both 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 duties, illuminate the Hindu discourse on gender, the complexity of which is compounded by the distinctive spirituality of female ascetic poets. Drawing on a wide range of Sanskrit texts, the author explains how the idea of the goddess has been derived from Hindu philosophical ideas and also from the social roles of women as reflected in, and prescribed by, texts of codes of conduct. She examines the idea of female divinity which gave rise to models of conduct for mortal women. Instead of a one-way order of ideological derivation, the author argues that there is constant traffic between both ways the notional and the actual feminine. This book brings together for the first time a wide range of material and offers fresh stimulating interpretations of women in the Hindu Tradition.

Women in the Hindu World

Women in the Hindu World PDF Author: Mandakranta Bose
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
Women in the Hindu World explores the role of womanhood in Hindu religious culture and how the faith influences women’s social experiences. Women in the Hindu World encourages readers to develop and nurture their own understanding of the life of a woman as a Hindu. The seven chapters proceed both historically and thematically, exploring abstract philosophical concepts about women, as well as concrete worldly conditions of the lives they lead, from the earliest stages of Hindu society to the present, marking through time the evolving religious roles and social status of women. Hindu women have consistently found in their faith resources for claiming selfhood both within their faith and in society. Within the home, women are the keepers of the family’s religious rites. Outside the home, they worship through poetry, painting, dance, and music. Like their peers around the world, modern Hindu women have fought and worked together to claim decisive roles in shaping their own lives, while maintaining their faith and culture. Women in the Hindu World explores and explains the place of women in Hinduism, and the impact of Hinduism on women’s roles in society. EXPERT ANALYSIS: Author Mandakranta Bose is Professor Emerita and former Director of the Centre for India and South Asia Research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, where she also has taught courses in religious and gender studies. SUPPLEMENTAL STUDY: Women in the Hindu World provides a breadth of educational knowledge as a supplement to both academic coursework and the independent study of Hinduism. With the integration of discussion questions, suggested further reading, and images throughout, Women in the Hindu World offers an accessible introduction to exploring the connection between womanhood and Hinduism. EXPLORE THE SERIES: The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Publishing Series offers authoritative yet accessible introductions to a wide range of subjects in Hindu Studies. Each book in the series aims to present its subject matter in a form that is engaging and readily comprehensible to persons of all backgrounds – academic or otherwise – without compromising scholarly rigour. The series thus bridges the divide between academic and popular writing by preserving and utilising the best elements of both. Women in the Hindu World joins other engaging texts in the series, including The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape and The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation and Study Guide.

Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women

Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women PDF Author: Julia Leslie
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
ISBN: 9788120810365
Category : Hindu women
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
The considerable interest currently being expressed in women and religion has thrown down an important challenge; the need to see women not merely as the passive victims of an oppressive ideology but also perhaps primarily as the active agents of their own positive constructs. This book therefore aims to fill a notable gap in the literature. Twelve contributors study the role of women in Hindu religion by examining textual studies of the part played by women in a variety of religion rituals, both past and present, by exploring the socio-religious context of their various communites; and by using specialist material to draw on cross-cultural conclusions.

Tradition and Liberation

Tradition and Liberation PDF Author: Catherine A Robinson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136822003
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The text examines the role of the Hindu tradition in the ideology and methodology of the Indian women's movement. By showing how leaders of the movement have restated aspects of the tradition, it provides insight into the ways in which a women's movement can restate a religious tradition. Throughout Indian society religion has been central to debate about the position of women and opposition to the women’s movement has often been rationalised in terms of religion. Through a review of the speeches and writings of leading figures of the movement from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it identifies positive as well as negative representations of the tradition and its implications for women. It shows when and why the movement has chosen either to offer a traditional justification for its aims and activities or to eschew such a justification in favour of an alternative rationale.

Jewels of Authority

Jewels of Authority PDF Author: Laurie Patton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195350642
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
The essays in this collection address the problem of Hindu women's relationship to authority, both within and without the textual traditions of Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, and English. The authors adopt a method of close textual and ethnographic reading, which results in some surprisingly new and subtle ways of interpreting older, more "classical" discourses, such as Veda and Mimamsa, as well as newer discourses, such as the RSS use of the Devimahatmya.

Women's Lives, Women's Rituals in the Hindu Tradition

Women's Lives, Women's Rituals in the Hindu Tradition PDF Author: Tracy Pintchman
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 0195177061
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
In this text, 11 leading scholars of Hinduism explore the complex relationship between Hindu women's ritual activities and their lives beyond ritual.

Dharma's Daughters

Dharma's Daughters PDF Author: Sara S. Mitter
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 9780813516783
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
"A formidable achievement. . . . Mitter spans almost the entire spectrum of the 'woman's question' providing both information and insight into the complex patterns that determine the image, self-image, and status of women in contemporary India." -- Manini Chatterjee, The Hindu (India). -- Book cover.

Woman and Goddess in Hinduism

Woman and Goddess in Hinduism PDF Author: T. Pintchman
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230119921
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Offering multilayered explorations of Hindu understandings of the Feminine, both human and divine, this book emphasizes theological and activist methods and aims over historical, anthropological, and literary ones.

Jewels of Authority

Jewels of Authority PDF Author: Laurie Patton
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195134780
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
The essays in this volume seek to introduce a level of theoretical analysis by means of close readings of situations in which women are given or denied authority in ritual and interpretive contexts. This approach encompasses not only how women are represented, but also particular strategies of debate about women, how women are depicted as negotiating certain kinds of authority; and how women might resist traditional authority in specific colonial and post colonial situations.

The Hindu Tradition

The Hindu Tradition PDF Author: Ainslie T. Embree
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307779092
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
This book, compiled from basic Hindu writings, is an exploration of the essential meaning of the Hindu tradition, the way of thinking and acting that has dominated life in India for the last three thousand years. Selections from religious, literary and philosophic works are preceded by introductory material that summarizes historical developments and cultural movements. While much attention is given to religion, many selections deal with social life, political relationships, and the Indian attitude to human love and passion. The arrangement of the material suggests the growth and development of Indian life through the centuries, and makes clear that Indian culture has never been static, but rather has been characterized at all times by a remarkable vitality and creativity. The selections range in time from the Rig Veda, composed around 1000 B.C., to the writings of Radhakrishnan, formerly the President of India. They illustrate both the continuity of the Hindu tradition and its vitality, for Hinduism is probably more vibrant and alive at the present time than it has been for many centuries. The ideals and values, the unquestioned assumptions and the persistent doubts that are presented here from the literature of the past are the fundamental ingredients of the life of modern India.