Women and the Purāṇic Tradition in India 9781138286412, 9780429448003

Table of contents :
Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Abbreviations
Note on transliteration
Note on primary texts
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The shaping of the Purāṇic narrative and gender
2 Women’s identity and Purāṇic patriarchy
3 Women outside the family circle: not bound, not free
4 Vratas, rituals, and the Purāṇic social hierarchy
Some parting thoughts
Appendix: a brief note on the Purāṇic scholarship
Glossary
Bibliography
Name index
Subject index

Citation preview

Women and the Purāṇic Tradition in India

This book analyses the diverse ways in which women have been represented in the Purāṇic traditions in ancient India – the virtuous wife, mother, daughter, widow, and prostitute – against the socio-religious milieu around CE 300–1000. Purāṇas (lit. ancient narratives) are brahmanical texts that largely fall under the category of socio-religious literature which were more broad-based and inclusive, unlike the Smṛtis, which were accessible mainly to the upper sections of society. In locating, identifying, and commenting on the multiplicity of the images and depictions of women’s roles in Purāṇic traditions, the author highlights their lives and experiences over time, both within and outside the traditional confines of the domestic sphere. With a focus on five Mahāpurāṇas that deal extensively with the social matrix Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas, the book explores the question of gender and agency in early India and shows how such identities were recast, invented, shaped, constructed, replicated, stereotyped, and sometimes reversed through narratives. Further, it traces social consequences and contemporary relevance of such representations in marriage, adultery, ritual, devotion, worship, fasts, and pilgrimage. This volume will be of interest to researchers and scholars in women and gender studies, ancient Indian history, religion, sociology, literature, and South Asian studies, as also the informed general reader. Monika Saxena is an associate professor of history at the University of Delhi, India. She has been associated with undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the university. Her research focuses on the roles and representations of women in early India. Some of her important works are “Gaṇikās in Early India: A Socio-Economic Perspective” and “Temple Girls in Early Medieval North India: A Study in Gender Relations.” She has contributed in journals and has participated in conferences and workshops.

Women and the Purāṇic Tradition in India

Monika Saxena

First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Monika Saxena The right of Monika Saxena to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-28641-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-44800-3 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC

For my parents, Dr R.G. Saxena and Asha Saxena, who have constantly inspired me to look for the larger meanings of life. For my children, Shiva and Shivani, who make life’s ceaseless struggles worthwhile.

Contents

Abbreviations Note on transliteration Note on primary texts Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Introduction

viii ix x xii xv xvi 1

1

The shaping of the Purāṇic narrative and gender

45

2

Women’s identity and Purāṇic patriarchy

96

3

Women outside the family circle: not bound, not free

158

Vratas, rituals, and the Purāṇic social hierarchy

181

Some parting thoughts

242

Appendix: a brief note on the Purāṇic scholarship Glossary Bibliography Name index Subject index

250 256 260 281 285

4

Abbreviations

Agn. Pur.

Agni Mahapurāṇam

Ath. V.

Atharvaveda Saṁhitā

Bhāg. Pur.

Śrīmad Bhāgavata

Brah. Pur.

Brahma Purāṇa

Gṛhya. S.

Gṛhyasūtras

Mats. Pur.

Matsya Purāṇa

Mārk. Pur.

Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa

Śat. Br.

Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa

Viṣ. Pur.

Viṣṇu Mahāpurāṇam

Yājñavalkya. S.

Yājñavalkyasmṛti

Note on transliteration

अ=a

आ=ā

इ=i

ई=ī

उ=u

ऊ=ū

ऋ=ṛ

ए=e

एै = ai

ओ=o

औ = au

अं = aṁ

क = ka

ख = kha

ग = ga

घ = gha

ङ=ṅ

च = ca

छ = cha

ज = ja

झ = jha

ञ=ñ

ट = ṭa

ठ = ṭha

ड = ḍa

ढ = jha

ण = ṅa

त = ta

थ = tha

द = da

ध = dha

न = na

प = pa

फ = fa

ब = ba

भ = bha

म = ma

य = ya

र = ra

ल = la

व = va

श = śa

ष = ṣa

स = sa

ह = ha

अः = aḥ

क्ष = kṣa

ा = tra

ज्ञ = jña

Note on primary texts The five Purāṇas focused on in this study Time period of the composition of the Purāṇas

Geographical Locale

Characteristic Features

THE VIṢṆU PURĀṆA

c. AD 300– AD 500

Composed in the Gaṅgā-Yamunā doab or in the area to the west of Prayāga.

This Purāṇa is divided into six aṁśas. Narrated by Parāśara, an important interlocutor, to Maitreya. It deals with the pañcalakṣaṇa material and strīdharma. Does not have detailed description of vows or tīrthas.

THE MĀRKAṆḌEYA PURĀṆA

c. AD 300– AD 600

Written in western India.

Sage Mārkaṇḍeya is the narrator of this Purāṇa. Containing 9,000 verses, it dilates on the duties of āśramas, rājadharma, śrāddha, hell, yogic practices, creation, geography, and other subjects. The text has a few verses on vrata and pilgrimage. Neither Viṣṇu nor Śiva occupy a prominent place. Rather, the praise of the Goddess has been highlighted under the name of Devī in the Devī-Māhātmya. It lays special emphasis on the notions of chastity and devotion of a pativratā.

Early Purāṇas

THE MATSYA PURĀṆA

c. AD 200– AD 600

The text was composed in the Narmadā area.

The text was narrated by Lord Viṣṇu to Vaivasvata Manu at the beginning of the kalpa. It deals elaborately with the classical features known as the pañcalakṣaṇa. It has chapters on the duties of the king (rājadharma), architecture (vāstu), gifts (dāna) and the grand ritual gifts (mahādānas), and holy places. It has drawn to a great extent on the Mahābhārata. In it is found the story of the devoted wife Sāvitrī, glorified as pāpapraṇāśinī.

THE AGNI PURĀṆA

c. AD 800– AD 1000

It was composed in northern India.

An encyclopaedic Purāṇa which was narrated by sūta Lomaharṣaṇa, who is said to have received it from Vasiṣṭha. It is divided into 383 chapters. The early chapters deal with themes like the avatāras, particularly Rāma and worship of Kṛṣṇa as Nārayāṇa or Viṣṇu. The latter portion dwells upon dharma, political expediency, lexicography, the art of wielding weapons, human diseases, and the physiognomy of men and women. Duties of the four orders, expiation of sins, vratas, māhātmyas, or legends of the few tīrthas, along with detailed description of a virtuous wife and an ideal marriage are the core themes of this Purāṇa.

THE BHĀGAVATA PURĀṆA

c. AD 900– AD 1100

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa originated in South India.

It is divided into twelve skandhas or books that have a total of 335 adhyāyas. It is distinguished by ten lakṣaṇas. It is not only a Purāṇa in the technical sense of having pañcalakṣaṇas, but it can also be viewed as a kāvya on the basis of its style. Primarily devoted to the praise and worship of Kṛṣṇa, or the Bhagavat himself, it deals with all the characteristic topics of the Purāṇas, including the dynasties of kaliyuga. It refers to vratas prescribed for different categories of women with a special code of conduct.

Later Purāṇas

Foreword

Monika Saxena’s book is a valuable addition both to Purāṇic studies as well as ancient Indian social history, with a special focus on women and gender relations during the period AD 300–1000. This book offers a detailed, comparative analysis of how women are represented in five Purāṇas, namely the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata. The choice of these particular texts is because of the fact that they deal extensively with the virtuous wife, motherhood, widowhood, and prostitution. Monika Saxena carefully examines both their didactic as well as narrative sections. She addresses issues such as the production, transmission, and reception of the Purāṇas, especially with regard to their embodiment and propagation of certain social and religious attitudes, values, and practices. Moving beyond how the Purāṇas represent women, the book also discusses how women may have potentially engaged with the Purāṇic tradition, and how this tradition may have had an impact on their lives. The division of the sources into early (Viṣṇu Mārkaṇḍeya Matsya) and later (Agni and Bhāgavata) Purāṇas gives an important diachronic perspective to this study, allowing the identification of patterns of continuity and change in the manner in which they negotiated social and religious norms. Their polyphonic nature emerges clearly, as we see several instances where a variety of views are expressed within the same text. Monika Saxena emphasises that these are not homogeneous sources, and her study involves reading them carefully, reading between the lines, and being attentive to their silences. By doing so, she brings out the complexities of both gender relations in society and the Purāṇic engagement with social realities and social aspirations. References to other kinds of texts such as Dharmaśāstra help contextualise the Purāṇic perspectives within the Brahmanical tradition. Women are not a homogeneous category in this book. Monika Saxena recognises differentiation among them on the basis of factors such

Foreword

xiii

as class, caste, religious affiliation, and locale. A significant part of the book is devoted to the family, household, and pativratā-dharma. There is a detailed discussion of the institution of marriage and how the Purāṇas present women in their roles as wife, daughter, mother, and widow. The ritual partnership of husband and wife in the sacrificial arena is also addressed. Women’s sexuality and procreative potential, taboos related to menstruation and childbirth, inheritance, and property relations, dāna and strīdhana, ideas of sin and expiation – all these feature in the book. There is also a detailed discussion of women outside the family circle. This includes different categories of prostitutes, and it is interesting to note that the Purāṇas envisaged their active participation in religious rituals. New religious practices, especially the worship of gods, rituals, pilgrimage, and vratas, are analysed. In fact, in my view, the discussion of the vratas is the most important part of this book. Although in most cases, women’s vratas were geared towards the welfare of the family, the Purāṇas also refer to the vratas of prostitutes, which had other sorts of goals. Dāna, the mahādānas, and the relationship between women and asceticism and salvation are also discussed. Against the background of the relentless process of social churning, Monika Saxena presents the Purāṇas as the product of a series of contestations and responses to social challenges, especially those related to women and the lower classes, the latter being collapsed into the śūdra category. She sees in the Purāṇas reflections of tensions, contradictions, and ambivalence towards certain issues which were left open-ended. She argues that the Purāṇas were important and influential texts that created spaces and made concessions, for both women and śūdras. The role of the Purāṇas in social acculturation is especially emphasised in the discussion of the interface of Brahmanism with regional and local traditions and Tantra. This book helps nuance the understanding of the relationship between Brahmanism, patriarchy, religion, and society. Monika Saxena sees the Purāṇas as part of a conscious attempt by a section of the Brahmanical intelligentsia to revitalise the Brahmanical normative order, which had faced various kinds of challenges, and at the same time to maintain and assert Brahmanical social control. She describes the Purāṇas as having played an important role in recasting womanhood, marking a significant change in the Brahmanical perspective towards women and śūdras. The argument is that compared to Dharmaśāstra, the Purāṇic perspective was more inclusive. In this analysis of the roles and representations of women in the Purāṇas, the relationship between the textual tradition and women is a dynamic, active one. A balance is maintained between a recognition of the agency of women and the

xiv

Foreword

limits imposed on this agency by the social subordination of women within a hierarchical, patriarchal social structure. I would like to end on a personal note. Monika Saxena was the first PhD student to work under my supervision after I joined the History Department of the University of Delhi in 2004. This book is based on her PhD thesis. It gives me great pleasure to present the fruits of Monika Saxena’s research to a wider audience. Upinder Singh 15 January 2018 Professor of History University of Delhi, India

Preface

I was initiated into gender studies while pursuing the undergraduate programme at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. My interest, once aroused, continued throughout my postgraduate level studies. Once I decided to go into research and teaching, I enrolled myself for an M. Phil. programme in history at the same university and took up the fascinating theme of “Gaṇikās in Early India: A Socio-Economic Perspective.” A little later I was awarded a University Grants Commission research project on the topic “Temple Girls in Early Medieval North India: A Study in Gender Relations.” Both these studies opened up several new and challenging possibilities in an area that remained relatively unexplored in the study of early India. An opportunity to interact with young and inquisitive minds while teaching undergraduate students helped me further understand more penetrating issues relating to women, gender, and feminism. My initial research on early India continued to influence my thinking on questions of gender significantly. I had an inkling that many values, beliefs, and behaviour patterns of the present day may be echoes of concepts that were embedded in religious narratives centuries ago. Ultimately, I decided to undertake my PhD research on a distinct genre of sacred literature – that is, the Purāṇas. My understanding of original sources, knowledge of Sanskrit, the language in which they were written, and guidance from Sanskritists allowed me to read the original texts and was an invaluable asset in this endeavour. For my research I focused on the “Roles and Representations of Women in the Purāṇas.” The book now in the reader’s hands is essentially based on the thesis on which I was awarded my PhD.

Acknowledgements

It would be remiss of me if I were not to say that my study could be successfully accomplished only with the valuable advice, guidance, assistance, and co-operation of many individuals and organisations. I express my sincere gratitude to all of them. At the very outset, I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Upinder Singh, for her time, encouragement, interest, and comments, all of which have helped to bring shape to my work. Her suggestions helped me immensely to fine-tune the questions I was asking, the arguments I was constructing, the methodology I was following, and the way I was interpreting my sources. In the process she never lost sight of the finer details like the style sheet and diacritical marks. Thanks are also due to Dr. V. K. Jain and Dr. Mohan Chand for their continuous encouragement and help. I am obliged to the staff of the Central Library, Ratan Tata Library, and South Campus Library of the University of Delhi for allowing me access to source material. For the same reason I remain grateful to the staff of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), National Museum, and Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). I also thank some of the libraries in Patna, Buxar, and Gaya from where I was able to procure some valuable journals related to my area of research. While working on my book, I had a chance to interact with scholars like Uma Chakravarti, Kumkum Roy, Chitrarekha Gupta, Anamika Roy, and Kunal Ckakrabarti. Their insights and inputs provided me with diverse and stimulating views with which to understand the representations of women in various narrative contexts. I got an opportunity to understand theology, religious practices, and folk tales discussed in the Purāṇas and how they could help us examine, interpret, and theorise certain paradoxes within Indian society and their impact on the lives of women.

Acknowledgements

xvii

I acknowledge my deepest gratitude to Dr. Rajendra Prasad (former principal of Ramjas College), who ensured that my academic pursuits always remained a priority. I also thank my colleagues at Ramjas College, Sudhakar Singh, Dr. Hari Sen, Mukul Mangalik, Dr. Vikas Kumar Verma, Dr. Uma Shanker Pandey, and Ms. Sharda Murthy, for their valuable inputs and suggestions. Dr. Pramesh Ratnakar, Abha Thapalyal Gandhi, Dr. Surojit Mohan Gupta, and Jyotish Kalita helped me in various ways and gave me new perspectives to understand the realities of women’s lives from the literary point of view. I owe special thanks to Shashank Shekhar Sinha for his general suggestions and comments on various sections of the work. I would like to make special mention of the Routledge team, particularly Shoma Choudhury and Rimina Mohapatra, for being prompt on my queries. The acknowledgement will be incomplete if I do not express my deepest gratitude to my father, Prof. R. G. Saxena, my mother, Asha Saxena, and my sisters, Geetika and Radhika, for constantly keeping me inspired and motivated. Their patience, understanding, and enthusiasm kept me constantly focused even during low moments. I remember with affection and gratitude the interest that my husband, Dr. Paresh Saxena, took in my research while I was pursuing my PhD. His comments and queries helped me to see these texts in a new light. I end with a prayer in my heart for the Almighty and gratitude for all the blessings I have received in my life.

Introduction

ādhārabhūt jagatas tvaṃ ekā, mahīsvarūpeṇa yataḥasthithāsi, āpām svarūpasthitaā tvaitadāpyāyate kṛtsnam alaṅghyavīrye. Mārk. Pur. 88.3. You alone are the support of the world, because You exist in the form of the earth. By You, who also exist in the form of water, all the universe is gratified, O Devī of invincible valour.

Evolution of the Purāṇic texts and the containment of radical social thought This work revisits the Purāṇas in the light of gender history. It seeks to analyse the roles and representations of women and gender relations in the literary tradition of the Purāṇic texts in the socio-religious milieu of the period c. AD 300–1000. Keeping in mind the contemporary importance of the Purāṇic tradition, I have attempted first to locate and identify women’s images and second sought to highlight their influence on the lives of the women of that time and their significance in today’s world. Complex narrative structures and gender issues In recent years, many layers of information and ideas conveyed by the texts have been unearthed by philological studies. There has thus been an evolution of the total corpus of research. This work makes an effort to show for the first time how complex narrative structures in five Purāṇas, namely Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata,1 are used to deal with issues related to women.

2

Introduction

The author accepts that the didactic passages of the Purāṇas echo the didactic messages of the brahmanical texts, particularly the Dharmaśāstras. For instance, a significant part of the material contained in the Manusmṛti and Yājñavalkya resembles didactic sections of the Purāṇas with particular discourses on sacraments such as matrimony, the duties of husband and wife, daily rites, and other socially important matters such as the property rights of women. However, the strength of this work lies in its attempt to move away from rigid and conventional rules and to concentrate instead on the literary analysis of gender issues to show how they play out in the lives and speech of the characters, the structure of the texts, the narratives and progress of the stories, the symbols and images used, and in the universe of the stories as a whole. As will be discussed later, the Purāṇas recognise that during times of crisis, women like Sāvitrī through their forceful speech and skill at argumentation were able to achieve victory even over deities like Yamarāj, the lord of death. On the other hand, regardless of the amount of physical hardship and vratas undertaken by them, the same texts do not grant any agency to women to decide to become renunciants or to strive for liberation. We hardly find any example of women as independent ascetics or renunciants in the five Purāṇas under study. Women are shown as pursuing the road to salvation only through their husbands by the adoption of pativratādharma. The ideal woman in the Purāṇas is more often than not described in the semiotics of the term pativratā, the wife, who has, by virtue of religious rites, been tied to her husband permanently. Some of the most well-known examples of the pativratā in the Purāṇas are those of Sāvitrī and Pārvatī. A number of Purāṇic female characters like Pārvatī, Sāvitrī, and Saivyā are compared to Śrī-Vāsudeva, the consort of Śrī, who resides in the hearts of all living beings. The idea that is then instilled is that when a woman serves her husband, it is really Nārāyaṇa, the lord of all, that she is submitting to. Amongst a host of other representations, the pativratā and Śrī are two common categories of female representations in the Purāṇas reinforcing female identities in relation to their male counterparts (see chapter 2). The ideal of pativratā is perhaps best represented by Sāvitrī who, by means of determination and devotion, prevails upon the deity of death himself and saves her husband. This example of a woman’s boldness would imply that gender roles were not absolutely rigid. In exceptional circumstances women could step out of their defined roles and become extrovert and active in the public sphere.

Introduction

3

Possibilities of women’s engagement A comparative study of the five Purāṇas and the engagement of women with the Purāṇic tradition is valuable in opening up the possibility of recognising the existence of certain spaces in which the active participation of women was likely. While the Purāṇas eulogise the pativratādharma for women, a nuanced understanding of the substructures of the narratives reveals that within the Purāṇic framework vis-à-vis the earlier brahmanical tradition, women enjoyed a certain degree of agency. Women shaped the contents of that space and redefined the Purāṇic tradition. If we go beyond the realm of didactism and focus more on the composition of the Purāṇas, their audience, and their mode of narration, then it becomes obvious that though the Purāṇas do not give women an independent existence, they do provide an inclusive and liberal space – which was the result of the contestation that must have been carried out by women. With a methodology akin to literary analysis, the focus of this work is more on the reasons why the Purāṇas were written and the intricacies of the narration of the texts. This method not only exposes the outlook of the brāhmaṇas towards women but also examines the spaces that were now created for and by women and gave them the opportunity to participate in Purāṇic traditions like vratas, tīrtha, etc. that were conceded by the erstwhile orthodox order. This “top-down” approach reflected in terms of interactive engagement between the brāhmaṇa ideologues and women forms the backbone of the present work and will be illustrated in subsequent chapters. In the large corpus of research on the Purāṇas that already exists, there is no significant analysis of the representation of women in them. The key reason that such a study is required is that the Purāṇic texts deal extensively with the social matrix, especially the various aspects of the lives of women – virtuous wife (pativratā), mother (matṛ), widow (vidhvā), and prostitute (veśyā). Another significant reason for choosing the Purāṇas as a source is that their compilers not only had a thorough understanding of the Vedas, Gṛhyasūtras, and Dharmaśāstras but also an accommodating attitude towards non-brahmanical traditions. This approach could point towards an anxiety that the brahmanical ideals had to be propagated, as well as an acknowledgement of the spread of radical ideas about social organisation resulting from the increasing popularity of Buddhism and Jainism.

4

Introduction

Heterogeneity of the Purāṇas, content, and style Purāṇa literally means ancient or old narrative. In this sense, it encapsulates both mythology and historical tradition. The enormous body of Purāṇic literature unmistakably reveals heterogeneity and the fact that there are several categories of texts that vary in content and style. The Purāṇas state their number to be eighteen.2 These eighteen Purāṇas are supposed to contain four lakh ślokas and comprise the Vāyu, Brahmāṇḍa, Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, Bhāgavata, Kūrma, Vāmana, Varāha, Skanda, Liṅga, Agni, Garuḍa, Brahma, Padma, Brahmavaivarta, Nāradīya, and Bhaviṣya. They are considered mahā or great Purāṇas as explicitly mentioned in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. In fact, the term mahā occurs in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa for the first time.3 Hearing and gifting copies of the Purāṇas were considered acts of religious merit and salvation. Most of the Purāṇas refer to the distribution of manuscripts to devotees to spread the light.4 Besides the Mahāpurāṇas, Purāṇic literature also encompasses a large number of Upapurāṇas,5 Māhātmyas,6 Caste,7 Sthala,8 Bengali,9 Kannaḍa,10 Jaina Purāṇas,11 and Kannaḍa Kulapurāṇas.12 The differences between various classes of Purāṇic literature should not be overestimated. According to S. Bhattacharji, Purāṇas are basically sectarian works which highlight the cult and character of Śiva, Brahmā, or Viṣṇu.13 Rocher, however, believes that the sectarian material is more recent in origin and that the sectarianism of the Purāṇas has been exaggerated.14 The extant Purāṇic tradition classifies the Purāṇas according to three guṇas or principles, i.e., sattva (light), rajas (active), and tamas (darkness).15 These Purāṇas are overwhelmingly regional in their concerns catering to regional requirements, so they can be connected to a particular locale with a fair degree of certainty. They tell us a lot about mythology, image worship, theism, festivals, and ceremonies.16 Interconnected texts and evolving ideology I would like to reinforce the arguments of historians17 that if we study the brahmanical texts extensively, we can see that these texts are not only intense but also interconnected. This fact is consistent with the very evolution of brahmanical ideology over time, across centuries, and expanse over a vast stretch of geography.18 From the analytical point of view, I would like to make special mention of Gavin Flood.19 His insights on how the diversity of traditions makes it difficult for historians to decide on methodological approaches appears to be very true in the case of the Purāṇas also. The study of these Purāṇas can be

Introduction

5

a very complicated but a fruitful task because the representations of gender roles in these texts greatly influenced the roles that both men and women were expected to play in the real social structure. The fact that some of these roles continue to be prevalent in present-day Indian society makes such studies even more meaningful. The complexity of the narratives should serve as an invitation for us to explore why these works contain such apparently contradictory material, and how they might contribute to a better understanding of gender constructs within the Purāṇic tradition. Chronology of the Purāṇas The texts of the Purāṇas were composed in different time periods and geographical locales. One may like to suggest here that the Purāṇas have undergone innumerable redactorial interventions, making it difficult to ascertain the precise chronology of their different sections.20 Nevertheless, scholars have reached a near-consensus on their fundamental origin and character. Though they have different methodological approaches, the academics accept the existence of a Purāṇa tradition (not identical to the extant Purāṇic texts), as early as the period of the Atharvaveda, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, Śrautaśūtras, Dharmaśūtras, and Smṛti texts.21 And though the theory of the existence of a single original Purāṇa is open to serious questioning, it can hardly be denied that some of the non-sectarian material of the Purāṇas (myths and legends) existed long before the beginning of the Christian era. In Hazra’s opinion, by the fourth century AD, the Purāṇas turned into important codes of Hindu rites and customs by including chapters on varṇāśramadharma, ācāra, śrāddha, prāyaścitta, dāna, pūjā, vrata, tīrtha, etc.22 Kane suggests that the Purāṇas are not available in their original form and states: “It is probable that the extant principal Purāṇas are partial and gradually inflated representatives of an earlier group of Purāṇas (not necessarily eighteen in number) that existed long before Yājñavalkya.”23 Both Kane and Hazra are convinced that the process of recasting took place during the early centuries of the Christian era with subsequent additions and interpolations that continued for hundreds of years.24 As regards the time brackets for the five Purāṇas that are the focus of this book, scholars hold different opinions. Going largely by the views accepted by most scholars, the five Purāṇas we have taken up for study may be dated broadly between AD 300 and AD 1000. While the Viṣṇu,25 Mārkaṇḍeya,26 and Matsya27 belong to the earlier phase

6

Introduction

spanning from about the third to seventh century AD, the Agni28 and Bhāgavata29 can be placed between the eighth and tenth centuries AD. Changing socio-historical scenario and growing mass appeal It becomes imperative, therefore, to relate the Purāṇas to the changing socio-historical scenario which must have been responsible for their growth and unprecedented mass appeal. The Purāṇas have different chronological strata, but they reflect the socio-religious changes in society during the centuries in which they were composed. We need to highlight here that the popularity of the Purāṇas lay in their espousal of new forms of rituals such as temple building, pilgrimages, gift-making, and festivals which were broad-based, allowing women and lower sections in the social hierarchy to be incorporated into the Purāṇic tradition. The geographical context of the composition of many Purāṇas has not been located with certainty. However, information collated from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa leads us to presume that this Purāṇa might have been composed in the area to the west of Prayāga or somewhere in the Gaṅgā-Yamunā doab.30 Historical antecedents clearly indicate that the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa emanated from western India,31 and the Matsya Purāṇa was composed and circulated by the Vaiṣṇava people living in the region around the Narmadā.32 While the Agni Purāṇa bears strong affiliation to northern India,33 the Bhāgavata Purāṇa originated in South India34 as is borne out by geographical descriptions and linguistic evidence.35 The linguistic intricacies, vocabulary, and social terminology that have been used in the Purāṇas serve to reveal certain tensions about brahmanical ideology and tradition, and this work attempts to unravel these issues in the context of women’s lives. In these texts, we also find an extensive amount of references to local traditions and rituals, which in turn points towards an understanding of the geographical locales from which these texts originated, and it can only be concluded that these texts were born out of their surrounding and are not merely a symbol of brahmanical didactic politics and elitism.36 Although most of the Purāṇas were composed in different geographical locales, the framing narratives of most Purāṇas is set in Naimiṣa forest, which was a gathering place for story-telling.37 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa commences with the sage Śaunaka who had started the brahma sattra, a sacrifice for a thousand years in this holy place.38 Romila Thapar observes that the setting of the Purāṇa recitation at

Introduction

7

the uncertainly located Naimiṣa Forest “may just be a convention.” It is a fact that in the narratives there is a complete absence of identifiable geographical and physical traits connected to the Naimiṣa forest. At the same time, if it is a convention, it is a strong one and functions as a significant marker when the texts are required to be situated within a discursive space, whatever the objective reality may be.39 It was only after Vyāsa attended the 12-year-long sattra (sacrifice) at Naimiṣāraṇya at the beginning of kaliyuga that the Purāṇas began to be narrated and re-narrated.40 As an indication of the importance of Naimiṣa as a place of pilgrimage, the Visṇu Purāṇa says that he who, after having offered food and libations to the manes, bathes in the Gaṅgā, Vipāsā, Sarasvatī, and Gomatī at Naimiṣa is freed from all sins.41 Further, the Matsya Purāṇa makes a reference to Yudhiṣṭhira who goes to the Naimiṣāraṇya before the sage Pippalāda and puts questions to him regarding the yugas.42 Many other holy places like Kurukṣetra and Puṣkar have also been glorified in these Purāṇas.43 Sources The Purāṇas occupy a unique position in the cultural life of India because they deal with a variety of topics such as traditional history, culture, geography, society, politics, interpersonal relationships, and gender in a comprehensive manner. Whereas the Vedas were restricted to members of the first three varṇas, the dvijas, i.e., the twice-born, the Purāṇas were to be recited in popular gatherings and narrated in the form of kathās, stories. This attribute puts the Purāṇas in an inimitable position vis-à-vis brahmanical beliefs and practices. Its relation to the Vedic tradition that eulogise norms of social hierarchy, rituals, and a cosmological order is clearly evident. However, the act of throwing open the texts for a wider public consumption suggests significant changes in the social order that would have necessitated such a measure. That a popular base was the aim can be judged from statements within the texts. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa states that the reward for hearing this Purāṇa would be equal to that obtained by the performance of a horse sacrifice.44 Similarly, the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa stating that it is augmented with the objects of the Veda, which is the sole abode of the Dharmaśāstras, declares that after hearing it, a man may attain every object and union with the universal soul (paramayoga).45 The Purāṇas are a body of brahmanical literature aimed at appealing to all sections of society – elite groups, artisans and peasants, itinerant

8

Introduction

traders, women in the households, and the lowest strata of society. The Purāṇas thus provide a vantage point from which cultural assimilation can be understood. The changing socio-economic, political, and cultural scenario spanning the first millennium unleashed forces of interaction and acculturation46 between different social groups. Keen probing by R.C. Hazra has shed light on the historical context of successive stages of the composition of the Purāṇa. Hazra argues that ancient India saw the rise of various “religious movements” which he classifies as Śrauta and Smārta,47 anti-Vedic (Buddhism, Jainism, the Ājivika sect), semiVedic (consisting primarily of Vaiṣṇavism and Śaivism), and non-Vedic (Śāktism). Due to challenges from non-brahmanical religious traditions, there was the fear of the Kali Age (characterised by a disruption in the brahmanical social order) expressed in all the Purāṇas.48 An attempt was made by the brāhmaṇas to re-assert and re-establish the authority of the Veda, varṇāśramadharma, and the moral order. This attempt was made by two sections of society in two different ways – by orthodox brāhmaṇas who began to advocate the performance of gṛhya rites through Smṛti works, and by Smārta Śaivas and Smārta Vaiṣṇavas who introduced Smṛti materials into the Mahābhārata and Purāṇas for propagation of their sectarian points of view against non-brahamanical religious movements. The condition of brahmanism having become insecure and the social discipline having been disturbed, the brāhmaṇas felt it necessary to popularise their own ideals and beliefs among the masses, particularly among women and śūdras and those members of the upper three varṇas who, under the influence of new religious ideas, had lost regard for the Vedas and the Vedic way of life.49 Scholars like Kunal Chakrabarti also reiterate similar arguments regarding the evolution of the Purāṇic tradition.50 According to R.C. Hazra, the śūdras enjoyed little privilege and freedom in religious life, and therefore when these people attained political power, the brāhmaṇas felt threatened and wanted to integrate them into the brahmanical social fabric. References to śūdras and tribals becoming politically powerful come from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. For instance, there is a reference in this Purāṇa to a ruler named Viśvaphaṭika who created a new order of mixed varṇas giving a political status to lower orders like the Pulindas and Kaivartas.51 There are also concerns expressed about women becoming prone to moral turpitude, how some were taking up a wandering life, creating serious problems for their families. Regarding the evolution of the Purāṇas, we can say that composition of the text was an ongoing process which operated at various levels.

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9

One of the easiest ways in which the Purāṇic corpus linked itself with the Vedic tradition was by asserting, as the Devī Bhāgavata does, that the result of reading and listening to the Devī Bhāgavata is comparable to the fruits of reading the Vedas.52 Like the epics, the Purāṇas claimed for themselves the status of a fifth Veda. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa states that Brahmā with his four faces oriented to the east, south, west, and north created the four Vedas and created the fifth Veda (consisting of itihāsapurāṇāni) from all his faces (sarvebhya eva vaktrebhyaḥ).53 During the period from the fifth to the ninth centuries, Hazra has shown how an analysis of the contents of the Pañcarātrasaṁhitās and Śaiva Āgamas decisively prove that tantra acquired importance in the Purāṇic tradition. The word tantra literally means “warp” or “loom.” Tantrism was associated with rituals like the utterance of mantras and meditation, generally performed secretly, to acquire esoteric powers (siddhi).54 It remained a separate branch of knowledge outside the pale of the Vedic tradition.55 The conventions of Vedic rituals in the Purāṇas diminished steadily with time and were replaced by popular sectarian ideas. The spread of such ideas affected the existing status of brahmanism. Therefore, accounts of brahmanical rites and customs had to be redrafted with sections on popular religious practices such as ritual worship of the gods (pūjā), sacred vows (vrata), sacrifice (homa), dedication (utsarga), pilgrimage (tīrtha), daily rites (sandhyā), devotion (bhakti), and consecration of images (pratiṣṭhā).56 In the Matsya, Bhāgavata, and Agni Purāṇas one finds the clearest presence of local and regional elements in terms of rituals, duties, and shrines. The information provided in these Purāṇas is of immense importance for tracing the changes in society over the period c. AD 300–1000.

Genesis and development of Purāṇic literature It is difficult to say how and when the Purāṇas first came into being. The word “Purāṇa” occurs in connection with itihāsa (traditional history) and ākhyānas (narratives). It finds mention for the first time in the Atharvaveda, which says that the verses, songs, and the Purāṇa originated from the sacrificial ritual.57 The Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra58 includes itihāsa-purāṇa in the study of sacred lore along with the four Vedas, Brāhmaṇas, etc. Itihāsa and Purāṇa texts were occasionally recited in later Vedic rituals. An example can be found in the pāriplava (recitations connected with the horse sacrifice, the Aśvamedha). These traditions, though somewhat different in detail, are unanimous in recognising the sacred origin of the Purāṇa and also in giving it a status almost equal to that of the Vedas. The root of the Purāṇic tradition can

10

Introduction

be traced to the narratives (ākhyānas), short narratives (upākhyānas), songs (gāthās), and sayings that came down the ages (kalpoktis) which the Vāyu, Viṣṇu, and Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇas say were utilised by the ancient sage Vyāsa in composing the original Purāṇa Saṁhitā.59 However, Ludo Rocher has established that there existed no original kernel of the Purāṇas in the shape of a Purāṇa Saṁhitā. According to him, the Purāṇas in their present form represent a late development with a formal attempt to collect and collate scattered ākhyānas and gāthās into large volumes with a more or less common format.60 The famous Sanskrit lexicon, the Amarakoṣa (c. sixth century AD), contains an old definition repeated in many of the extant Purāṇas that a Purāṇa is supposed to deal with five topics, the pañcalakṣaṇa.61 These are creation (sarga), secondary creation (pratisarga), genealogy of gods and sages (vaṁśa), cosmic cycles (manvantara), and accounts of royal dynasties (vaṁśānucarita). However, scholars like Vans Kennedy question the pañcalakṣaṇa as a necessary component of the Purāṇas.62 The very fact that the Purāṇas actually contain little pañcalakṣaṇa material has been repeatedly highlighted in scholarly literature.63 Some Purāṇas barely touch upon these topics and deal at great length with altogether different topics. Of all the Purāṇas, the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Matsya closely agree with the definition of the Purāṇa having five characteristics. The Matsya Purāṇa, however, makes an advance over the classical definition of a Purāṇa when it says that Purāṇas deal with the glorification of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and Sūrya and also with the dissolution and preservation of the world, and with righteous conduct (dharma), material well-being (artha), and pleasure (kāma).64 In one of the passages in the Matsya Purāṇa, Manu requests Matsya to be instructed not only in the five topics but also in the geography of the earth, śrāddha, ritual consecration of images, and last, anything else that exists on the earth.65 In fact, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa makes us aware that it is in itself a different kind of Purāṇa distinguished by ten lakṣaṇas,66 instead of the usual five. The ten are: primary creation (sarga), secondary creation (pratisarga), means of subsistence (vṛtti), protection (rakṣā), cosmic cycles ruled over by a Manu (manvantaras), genealogy of kings (vaṁśa), dynastic accounts (vaṁśānucarita), dissolution of the world (saṁsthā), cause of creation (hetu), and the final refuge of all (apāśraya). According to the Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa, the five characteristics are applicable to the Upapurāṇas, while the Mahāpurāṇas must have ten characteristics.67 In fact, the Agni Purāṇa has a meagre representation of all these topics. Though these topics are certainly treated in greater or less length in most of the Purāṇas, by no means they do form the

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principal subject of these works. According to P.V. Kane, these five characteristics occupy less than 3 percent of the contents of the extant Mahāpurāṇas.68 Other areas which have drawn the attention of scholars are the composition, authorship, and precise mode of transmission of the Purāṇas. To deal with the question of authorship, we have to brush aside the primary misconception about the existence of one original Purāṇa. Such a supposition led H.H. Wilson to label the Purāṇic texts as corrupt but inspired F.E. Pargiter to try to reconstruct the original Purāṇa text of the dynasties of the Kali age.69 Pargiter’s efforts were followed by W. Kirfel and George Bñhler, whose directly philological approach created a true class of Purāṇa scholars.70 The reactions in scholarly literature to the tradition that there was originally one Purāṇa vary greatly. Such research has made it imperative to understand the genesis and inception of the Purāṇas. The present Purāṇas should not be treated as fabricated versions of the original Purāṇa Saṁhitā compiled by the ancient sage Vyāsa, who in turn taught them to different brāhmaṇa disciples. It is interesting to note that the Viṣṇu Purāṇa in fact enumerates the name of 28 Vyāsas.71 The importance of lineage The Purāṇas are framed in a dialogical structure. The composers adopted a style of writing based on narration and story-telling with frequent interrogating interjections by the Purāṇic characters. The Purāṇic authors placed their words in the mouths of gods and sages like Manu, Brahmā, Nārada, Kūrmamūrti, Vāyu, Skanda, Mārīci, Rṣi Cyavana, Śuka, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Parāśara. These narrators introduced the ideas rooted in the stories or didactic sections of the Purāṇas.72 To illustrate this point further we can refer to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa which says that the historical authors of this Purāṇa chose Brahmā, God Himself, as its discursive voice. The lineage from Brahmā is as follows:

Ṛbhu, Priyavrata, Bhāguri, Taṃbhamitra, Dadhīica, Sārasvata, Bṛhgu, Purukutsa, Narmadā, to the nāgas Dhṛtarāṣtra and Āpurāṇa who imparted and recited the Viṣṇu Purāṇa to the nāgaking Vāsuki, then to Vatsa, Aśvatara, Kaṃbala, Elāputra, Pātāla, the sage Vedaśiras, Pramati, and Jātukarṇa who “related it to holy persons and other men of meritorious deeds . . . As the result of the boon given by Pulastya I, the sage Parāśara, have been acquainted with it. And accordingly I have related it to you, Maitreya.”73

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Introduction

An interesting observation about the “line of transmission” was made by Wendy Doniger with reference to the Bhāgvata Purāṇa: When we hear a story that claims to be true, our skepticism often leads us to ask, Where did you hear that story? Who told you that? This impulse is reflected in the tradition of Indian storytelling, too, which requires that its important stories be framed in a line of transmission, a paraṃ-parā, “from one to another,” tracing its descent from the original storyteller to the author of the present text. And the choice of that author tells us a great deal about the text’s image of itself; the nature of the author is appropriate to the nature of the text . . . Where Vedic scripture, or śruti, grounds itself in the claim of divine revelation, which is by nature secret, Epic and Purāṇic tradition (smṛti) defines itself by the chain of human memory, displaying each link as publicly as possible. The Bhāgvata in particular goes out of its way to ground itself in the archaic tradition. If observed closely, the Bhāgvata cares more to establish its link with the Mahābhāratā than with the Veda.74 Chronology, change, and continuity The purpose of mentioning these lineages was to highlight the divine origin of these texts for a varied audience. This was done to give weight to the Purāṇas in the popular mind so that even the non-literate segments of society could be reached. The narrators of the Purāṇas were primarily the sūtas or bards. In most of the Purāṇas, the sūta was Lomaharṣaṇa,75 who was said to have thrilled his listeners with his engaging story-telling skill. It seems then that the sūtas were the ones who transmitted the Purāṇic tradition. There is a difference of opinion amongst scholars as to the exact nature and function of sūtas.76 Some regarded them as brāhmaṇa sages, the reciters of the Purāṇas, duly honoured. On the other hand, the Manusmṛti seems to indicate that the sūtas were not brāhmaṇas, but rather men who were denied the right to study the Vedas as they were the progeny of pratiloma marriage (i.e., between a kṣatriya and a brāhmaṇa woman).77 So the low social status of the sūtas combined with their role as bards and singers made their situation highly anomalous.78 What is clear is that the descriptions of the duties and position of the sūtas in the extant Purāṇas indicate that they were entrusted with the task of transmitting ancient lore.

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13

The Purāṇa texts as we know them were composed at such divergent periods that it is difficult to fix their chronology and authorship with any degree of certainty. However, they still reveal historical processes of change and continuity. In a great majority of cases, the Purāṇas have not come down to us in their original form and have undergone continuous and substantial re-moulding by generations of editors and transcribers. The fresh editions were not always fresh compositions, but chapters and verses transferred from one to another Purāṇa. Since there is very little information about the actual authors of these texts, it becomes imperative that we find out more about the compilers and narrators, which should help us to understand the popularity of this genre of literature. Vyāsa, who is said to have composed the itihāsa known as the Mahābhārata and is also the author of all the Purāṇas, remains a subject of academic debate, and this mandates that we look more closely at this character.79 He is believed to have divided the Vedas into diverse sections in various yugas. Because the Veda tree had a thousand branches, it is impossible to provide a detailed description, as noted by Parāśara, the narrator of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. According to him: For the benefit of mankind, in every dvāparayuga the glorious Viṣṇu in the form of Vyāsa, divided the Vedas into different sections. He further adds that having observed the diminished energy and power of mankind, he performs the division of Vedas. Parāśara goes on to describe that in the vaivasvata manvantara. The Vedas have been arranged by the ṛṣis twenty-eight times. The twenty-eight Vyāsas who divided the Vedas have passed on. In the dvāparayuga, Vedas were divided by Brahmā himself, followed by Prajāpati, Uśanas, Bṛahaspati, and Savitṛ . . . This account goes on to enumerate the names of twenty-eight Vyāsas as arranger of the Vedas.80 We may conclude that what is really being said here is that in the Hindu view of life and religion, the authenticity and credibility of sacred texts are closely tied to the concept of a supreme authority, personified as “the guru.” Where Vyāsa is cited as the author of the Purāṇas, he actually symbolises the source of a long line of gurus, illustrating the guru-paraṃparā. Thus a text acquires unassailable authority the moment it is believed to be written by Vyāsa.81 Just as Parāśara is the narrator of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, sūta Lomaharṣaṇa is the primary narrator of Agni Purāṇa. However, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa makes clear reference to Vyāsa as arranger of the Vedas and who further entrusted the task for compiling the Purāṇas and other texts to the

14

Introduction

sūta named Romaharṣaṇa (Lomaharṣaṇa). The Viṣṇu Purāṇa clearly states: When Vyāsa was engaged by Brahmā in the work of arranging the Vedas, Vyāsa took four disciples to help him in the work. The great sage took Paila as his disciple for the Ṛg Veda, Vaiśampāyana for the Yajur Veda, Jamini for Sama Veda, and the knower of the Atharvaveda, Sumaṃtu, became the disciple of Vyāsa. The great sage then took the sūta of intellect and wisdom, sūta Romaharṣaṇa by name as his disciple and gave him the compilation of the Purāṇas. Lomaharṣaṇa in turn had six disciples, each of whom was responsible for compilation which resulted in the Romaharṣikā and other texts.82 The Purāṇas have consistently identified Vyāsa as an incarnation of Nārāyaṇa Viṣṇu.83 Both Vyāsa and the bards were known for their narrative skills and their profound knowledge of the scriptures. Tradition names Vyāsa as the author of all the Purāṇas;84 in reality it was the Paurāṇikas, who composed and altered the texts as required by changes in the context of their times. They must have been brāhmaṇas who used the Purāṇas as instruments of transmission of brahmanical traditions from one generation to the next. These Paurāṇikas served as anonymous authors without claiming individual recognition. Thus the individual Purāṇas are named after some cosmic phenomenon or a favoured deity. The authority and authenticity of the narratives were established by the Purāṇic authors using very effective strategies that involved the creators, narrators, their multiple voices, and lineage of the texts. Another strategy was employed to reach the target audience: rewards, spiritual, and worldly benefits promised to all sections of society, including women85 (discussed in Chapter IV). In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa the narrator Parāśara says that this Purāṇa is as sacred as the Vedas and that by hearing it all sins are expiated.86 He goes on to say that the reward which one obtains by hearing this Purāṇa is equal to that received by the performance of a horse sacrifice or by fasting at important holy places like Prayāga, Puṣkar, and Kurukṣetra.87 One who hears, recites, and retains with faith this Purāṇa acquires the eternal state of perfection, which is Hari.88 These rewards or benefits are not exclusive to particular Purāṇas; in fact, there is a significant amount of overlap and thus they can be summarised. The rewards include the accomplishment of the goals of life: destruction of enemies, prowess in battle, and the conferment of worldly benefits like progeny, prosperity, and wealth. They are said to give protection

Introduction

15

against inhibitions and the terrors of kaliyuga.89 The association of the Purāṇas with the source of all kinds of power proved to be a very successful strategy that established the authenticity of this genre of literature, and of course increased its popularity tremendously. The Purāṇas and the elements of “truth” At this juncture, we must consider the reasons that make it possible for didactic texts like the Purāṇas to function as “true discourses.”90 In the words of Michael Foucault, every society in its particular organisation abides by a standard “politics of truth” that enables it to form its own “regime of truth.”91 That is to say, the mechanism of judging what is true and what is false, what is acceptable, and what is unacceptable is a subjective trait for each society that is determined by the discourse it accepts and makes function as true. The means by which each “truth” is sanctioned and the means of reaching it are vested in individuals and institutions that are accorded the authority of saying what counts as true.92 When it comes to the discourse of the Purāṇas, the elements of “truth” have to be understood as a system of predetermined processes for the production, regulation, diffusion, and popularisation of statements that would be believed by society at large.93 As such, the techniques that have been used in the texts by the composers and compilers to manage the “regime of truth” in relation to women are also the tools which help us to analyse women and gender relations in the Purāṇas. The Purāṇic corpus as a body of writing is distinct from other brahmanical religious texts, even the two epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, due to its vastness as well as its wider scope. Thus, with the passage of time and the association of brahmanical laws as remembered truths, the Purāṇas came to occupy a unique position. Yet, these texts could not aspire to attain the supreme sanctity of the Vedas, nor the strategic authority of the Smṛtis.94 It must be observed that the epics were circulated largely outside the conservative priestly class and were produced to glorify the kṣatriya class, although brāhmaṇas were involved in their composition. Adaptation, acculturation, and historical processes The women in the epics present a stark contrast to the passive housewives idealised in the Dharmaśāstric literature and permit the reader to hear women’s voices like those of Sītā and Draupadī. In terms of religious ideas and practices, the Purāṇas carry forward and develop further some of the elements visible in the epics.95 The reason seems

16

Introduction

clearly to be that brahmanical social order was facing serious challenges and indeed being undermined because of social and economic changes. Adaptation and some kind of amalgamation of people belonging to different regions and social strata seems to have begun to make sense. It may be hypothesised that the composition of the Purāṇas could very well have been triggered due to a process of acculturation96 already underway or strategic reasons, in a conscious bid by the dominant brahmanical class to win over the masses and ensure their own social control. The historical processes which changed and brought about the development of such a vast shift in perspective need to be studied and analysed.

Treatment of women in the Purāṇic tradition The “women’s question” is a matter of grave significance throughout the Purāṇas. Along with the vast range of issues that the Purāṇas deal with, gender, its construction, and its function are a prime concern. The Purāṇas do not constitute a homogeneous genre of literature, and, therefore, instead of treating them as such, this work focuses on tracing elements of continuity and change in the roles and representations of women in three of the earlier Purāṇas (Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Matsya) and two later ones (Agni and Bhāgavata). The book does not locate itself specifically within the ambit of gender studies. Instead it looks at the Purāṇas as a body of literature that has been one of the key factors in the development of our society as we know it today. It foregrounds the idea that contemporary gender issues and roles assigned to both men and women are demonstrably derived from this heritage. Through a comparative study of the five Purāṇas mentioned above, this work aims to highlight the complexities of and variations in gender relations as they existed from c. AD 300–1000. In attempting to include the multiplicities of women’s variegated experiences, it is necessary to consider a wide range of themes as they play themselves out in the Purāṇas. The normative image of “Indian” womanhood has displayed a rather remarkable consistency over time, despite certain alterations that occurred due to historical processes linked to socio-religious and economic developments at particular times. The enduring image is, to a large extent, based on the brahmanical tradition, and the power of this model can be appreciated by the fact that the figure of the pativratā continues to be deeply embedded in the social consciousness even today after well over two millennia. Recognising the increasing importance of the role of gender in history, Peter Burke commented that if the idea of masculinity and

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17

femininity being socially constructed is beginning to seem obvious, the change is due in large part to the feminist movement.97 Feminist thinking involved moving away from questions of status, and to look instead at the structural framework of gender relations, at the subordination of women and its extent, as well as specific forms in which it manifested itself in different societies and periods. Established concepts and methodologies have been challenged by the extent and range of gender studies in recent times, and new areas of investigation have been opened up. However, a new paradigm will only appear when we have begun to consider the reality of women and men in the societies we study. This does not mean that it is enough to complement studies on men with studies on women. Rather, we must refocus our attention on what is culturally constructed . . . rather than on what our traditional analytical categories dictate to us . . . we must place the analysis of the relations between the masculine and feminine domains on the same level of theoretical abstraction as kinship, politics or economics.98 Gender is both a part of the world we live in as well as of our understanding of the world. It is both constructed and lived. If gender makes a difference, so do race, class, religion, sexuality, and other forms of difference.99 Through the examination of the contesting relations between gendered subjects and patriarchal authority, historians are offering different perspectives on women and gender.100 By raising such issues, feminist scholarship with its use of gender as an analytical category for the study of history has taken social history towards new and interesting directions. Women: neither a sub-group nor a race nor a class Gender studies, in Joan Kelly’s famous formulation, have a dual goal: to restore women to history and to restore history to women.101 The task of restoration has begun, but it is complicated by the fact that women can be considered neither a minority or sub-group nor a race or class apart. As Gerda Lerner points out, they are the social opposite not of a class, a caste, or a majority, but of men.102 Moreover, every effort has to be made to avoid generalisations and common stereotypes while interpreting the experience and history of women. Every genre of ancient literature contains references to women, but the women who are known to us from the literature of antiquity are

18

Introduction

mostly those who belonged to the elite or intellectual strata of society, and in most cases those residing in courts, palaces, and cities. Eloquent accounts of women and their beauty, dress, and ornamentation, and the noble nature of wifehood and motherhood are to be found in the writings of ancient poets and writers. “Women” cannot be treated as a unified category any more than men can. Women differ on the basis of class, caste, religious, and regional affiliations, and any number of other categories. The difficulty has been that in the patriarchal structures that we have, men have been viewed as a norm, and women as a deviation from that norm. Rather than being identified in their own right as women, women are defined in terms of their relationship to men, putting in their appearance as daughters, wives, and mothers. This can be seen as a function of unequal power relations between men and women. This lack of an “authoritative historical self,” as E. Fox Genovese puts it, incorporates the denial of women’s actual historical agency, which is evinced in both conventional historical sources and their interpretation by historians.103 Even a brief review of the existing literature on women in early India and on the Purāṇas will demonstrate that quite a few fundamental issues remain unresolved.

Historiography of women in early India Surveys and studies of the “position of women” are many and extensive but are often very general or simplistic in their approach. Initially works on society in early India tended to focus on what is broadly termed as the “status of women,” which in turn led to a concentration of attention on a limited set of issues which were normally viewed as indices of status, such as marriage law and rights related to property and to religious practices. This limited focus left a major lacuna in the understanding of the social processes which actually shaped men, women, and institutions in early India.104 The sources on which traditional writings on the status of women were usually based were brahmanical which carry an inherent bias. They reflect the precepts of the brāhmaṇas rather than actual social reality or rather, some version of the interface between those precepts and the social reality of the time. In the process of reading a text, the modern reader must consider authorial intention as well as those of the compilers and figure out whom it is written for. In other words, the readership roles are not to be ignored in light of the authorial role. In that context, Derrida addresses the complex question, as to why we should “undo” and

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“redo” texts at all. He acknowledges that the desire of deconstruction may turn into a wish to be in command of the text, to “re-appropriate” it, and to establish what it “does not know.” In the case of encyclopaedic works like the Purāṇas this observation is uniquely fitting.105 The “ideal” vedic period and Altekar’s ghost In India, some of the early scholars to write on women were law scholars like D.N. Mitter and G.D. Banerjee who concentrated on legal and inheritance rights.106 P. Thomas discussed the social aspects of the lives of women.107 Similar concerns emerge in other writings.108 None of these works, however, are comprehensive as they do not take into account historical continuity and change over time and space. A.S. Altekar and B.S. Upadhyaya did a historical study tracing the position of women in “Hindu Civilization” starting from prehistoric times.109 The significance that these historians assign to the role of women in the Vedic Age and their assessment of this age as the pinnacle of glory after which a gradual decline set in, makes their work important, but also problematic. In these works, great importance was attached to the relative antiquity of sources utilised, the underlying assumption being that the older the source, the more authoritative and authentic it was. Both Altekar and Upadhyaya conclude their works with specific prescriptions for the future in areas such as educational and legal reforms, basing themselves on the so-called ideal Vedic model. In the act of re-interpreting the Vedic texts subject to their own biases, due attention was paid to creating a classic role for both men and women in the domestic sphere.110 In the view of Aruna Asaf Ali and G. N. S. Raghavan in their work, The Resurgence of Indian Women, from its very initiation, the women’s movement in India was reactive to changes in the political scenario and forward looking. Women like Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu, Margret Cousins, Jirothy Janirajavasa, Dhanvanti Rama Rau, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, and Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya played prominent roles in the political and social spheres. Overall the contributions and needs of women could no longer be ignored.111 It is understandable that Altekar’s approach had its appeal during the colonial period. However, reliance on his book for the study of, and to further research in, gender studies delayed the emergence of new approaches, even in more recent times. Commenting on the limiting effect of the “Altekarian paradigm,” Uma Chakravarti makes an entreaty that there is an urgent need to move forward and rewrite history, a history that does justice to women by examining social

20

Introduction

processes and structures created by them which crucially shaped and conditioned the relations between men and women.112 Chakravarti argues that it is time we realised that despite Altekar’s substantial contribution, we must lay his “ghost” aside and begin afresh. Altekar’s perspective was shared by other historians of the time. In fact, it was common in nationalist historiography to study the representations of women focusing primarily on the ideal image of womanhood. The result was the glorification of certain qualities most closely identified with women or imposed on them, patience and suffering being foremost among them. The works of R. C. Majumdar and Swami Madhavananda tried to place women on a pedestal and perpetuated a model of ideal womanhood with a patriarchal bias. Some of the women were real historical personages, while many were undoubtedly legendary or mere creations of poetic fancy . . . They have inspired the thoughts and ideals of our women for untold centuries. What could be better examples of the true dignity of Indian characters like Draupadī, Śakuntalā, and Gāndhārī.113 Such scholars did not examine or see the complexity of personalities like Draupadī and Śakuntalā and who on several occasions asserted or demanded their rights. The ideal woman perspective lingered on in some later writings as well. For instance, R.M. Das in his work comprehensively tried to examine the status and rights of women. His description is limited to an analysis of one law-maker, namely Manu, and ignores many others who prescribe a different treatment of issues like widow remarriage.114 Looking at history through a wider perspective Subsequent scholars have tried to emphasise the need to view the women’s question within a wider perspective. Saroj Gulati in one such work attempts to study the women’s lives within the socio-economic context. She attributes the deterioration in the status of women to factors such as brahmanical austerities, discontinuance of upanayana for girls, lack of educational facilities for women, and other social restrictions.115 Such endeavours are also evident in the work of S. Jayal and P. Mukherjee, who utilised anthropological and sociological data to relate the women’s issue to broader questions of social change.116 Historians have also discussed historical developments in context, but these discussions seldom refer to how patriarchal constructs are an

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21

integral part of norms that govern class, caste, kinship, and gender constructs. The pioneering works of other scholars remain crucial to our understanding of the social and economic history of early India of which women formed an integral part. For example, D.D. Kosambi posits the idea that in many cultures, the mother figure becomes central to the practice of religion and emphasises the nurturing maternal role of women.117 Thapar has touched upon the issue of gender in general, but in one of her works, dealing with various versions of the story of Śakuntalā, she attempts to explore some of the links between culture, history, and gender.118 If the traditional approach emphasising the permanence of social and economic institutions is discarded, and developments in society and economy are seen in terms of continuity, discontinuity, and variations of trends, the work of R.S. Sharma is significant.119 Sharma discusses traces of promiscuity in early literature, varṇa influence on marriage forms and practices, the equation of women with property, the notion and practice of sati, and many other issues, but a detailed analysis of different Purāṇas was outside the purview of his work since he concentrated on early literature like the epics, Brāhmaṇas and Gṛhyasūtras. It should be acknowledged that the roles and representations of women have not been static through the ages. It is apparent that their changing status in society is also a reflection of changes that took place in cultural attitudes. Consequently, the established version of history needs to be reviewed. In this context, certain historians have used gender as a tool of analysis in order to change it. Moving away from clichés Uma Chakravarti’s works bring to light several crucial concepts and categories that have made possible a sensitive delineation of social alienation, class antagonism, and gendered violence in ancient Indian society.120 The histories of gṛhaṇīs and bhaktins provide an understanding of ancient society away from the clichèd delineations of ideal kings, brāhmaṇas, and pativratās. Chakravarti and Sangari’s edited anthology brings out a range of patriarchal configurations of social reform, of work and family, the gendering of consumption, the relationship between state formation, caste, and class stratification, colonial educational policies, new developmental paradigms, and transformations in gender relations.121

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Introduction

Kumkum Roy’s work breaks the false line of demarcation between gender and mainstream history as it demonstrates how our understanding of the past is expanded and enriched when gender is used as a category for analysis. Using Brahmanical texts, she examines issues like household dynamics and the tradition of the courtesan, along with issues of justice, kinship, and the nature of authority.122 Along with Chakravarti, Roy also brings out the diversity in patriarchal structures at any given time, and draws attention both to women’s subordination and agency. Jaya Tyagi’s work shows how the Gṛhyasūtras attempted to codify the domestic rituals and practices within the brahmanical framework to consolidate varṇa and gender hierarchies. She highlights the fact that these texts made a deliberate attempt to assimilate and brahmanise common ritual practices like marriage, which was the most significant sacrament for men and even more so for women. These codified rituals became the mechanisms by which the brāhmaṇas, as the upholders of varṇāśramadharma, were able to ensure social control within the household.123 Certain important works focused on the representations of women in early Buddhist texts. While many works deal with the role of women within the traditional confines of the family or the domestic sphere, I.B. Horner introduced a new category of women: workers.124 This was probably the first attempt to analyse the role of women outside the domestic network, attempting to see them as an independent category. Though Horner discusses a few instances of labouring women, the rest of the book is a description of various courtesans. Thus, Horner’s model of women, as stratified according to class and roles in society as workers, wives, courtesans, and bhikkhunis, throws up great possibilities for research. Reading Buddhist canonical sources against the grain, Uma Chakravarti presents a distinctive reading of the Pali canon and the Jātaka stories to demonstrate the stratifications in early Indian society.125 Scholars have also used Sangam, Buddhist, Jaina, and bhakti literature to explore the opportunities of expanded space for women.126 Similar attempts are made in this work in relation to the Purāṇas. Another aspect of feminist scholarship has been to bring sexuality into the framework of serious discussion. In the Indian context, there have been works on polyandry, prostitution, and promiscuity without any analysis of the linkages between them and the structure of gender relations that might explain such practices. A pioneering attempt in this regard was made by H.C. Chakladar.127 His work focuses on prostitutes as depicted in Vātsyāyana’s Kāmasūtra. He throws light on how

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23

prostitutes, by virtue of their intellectual accomplishments and skill in fine arts, occupied a prominent place in society. Moti Chandra’s work highlights the socio-legal position of courtesans culled from different texts.128 His work discusses different issues like questions of patronage, access to royal households, proprietary rights, and the participation of courtesans in ritual activities. What remains unexplored in his work is the relationship of the institution of the courtesan to a wider social context and within the larger framework of patriarchy. Examining a similar theme, J. Gonda added a new dimension to the existing historiography.129 He focuses on areas which opened up new spaces for courtesans and prostitutes. It is his contention that prostitutes were considered harbingers of good luck and prosperity. Many other scholars have made an attempt to present a historical and analytical perspective on the institution of prostitution in general.130 They cover areas like the changing position and status of gaṇikās in early India131 and have also focused on temple women, often referred to as devadāsīs.132 In this context, Sangari mentions that the evolution of the domestic and the public spheres is a differential process that plays on several levels, the discursive, the linguistic, the political, and the economic. This very same abstract division between the public and the private arenas has been a major determining factor in shaping the agency of women throughout history.133 Positive constructs and women as active agents The considerable current scholarly interest in women and religion has unearthed an important challenge. The new scholarship must go beyond looking at women merely as the passive victims of an oppressive ideology; it must study them as active agents of their own positive constructs. The numerous studies of the religious life of women that have been published over the past two decades fall loosely into two categories. Some elucidate the ideal, brahmanical codification of women’s appropriate duties in life – strīdharma.134 Others contribute to our knowledge of that large body of customary religious practices and observances undertaken by women, such as sacred vows vratas – and the beliefs that they were based on.135 In both these categories, the only status appropriate to a woman is that of a homemaker. Not surprisingly, the most striking feature of her elaborate religious life is the extent to which it is focussed on the well-being of the family. These older studies confine themselves to the domestic arena of a woman’s

24

Introduction

world, not allowing us to understand other facets of her life associated with asceticism and spirituality. It is in relation to the spiritual path and goals that one has to situate the whole issue of gender and spirituality.136 There are a few works that detail the spiritual or ascetic aspirations of women and the female body impinged in a major way on this quest. The reality was and still is that the male mind sees the presence of women as a danger and distraction. They show that the path to spiritual attainment or salvation has always been a gendered one. This is clearly discussed in great detail in the chapter on vratas. There are other dimensions of the complex relationship between gender and religion which we can merely point to. While histories of specific cults have been traced, problems surface in attempts to equate the divine situation with the human. It is obvious that understandings of the Goddess tradition constitute one spectacular example of the connections between religion and gender.137 The overarching structures in Indian religion have tended to be conceived in male terms. The special nature of the hegemony of the Goddess forces us to rethink the range of roles she plays in religion. Through the Purāṇas, this study tries to generate fresh questions and perspectives. While there are studies on women based on the Dharmaśāstrās, epics, and the canonical works of other traditions, the epics and the inscriptions offer us important perspectives on the roles and representations of women in early Indian society. Vaidehi Krishnamoorthy’s work, based on inscriptions, divides women into three categories, the kulastrī (family woman), the bhogastrī (courtesan), and the veśyā (prostitute) and enhances our understanding of women in society.138 Women in the first category (kulastrī) are placed on a high pedestal. And in inscriptions, these women are invariably queens, on whom plenty of data is available. In the other two categories (bhogastrī and veśyā), there are women who rise occasionally to great eminence as concubines of ruling princes. A micro analysis of the contents of inscriptions by Kirit Shah underscores the need to make women – real women – visible on the historical stage.139 Similarly, Kumkum Roy and Upinder Singh, in their study of the corpus of votive inscriptions at Sanchi, have collected and classified data in terms of gender. While Roy concerned herself with the early inscriptions, Singh has covered inscriptions dating up to the ninth century of the Christian era.140 Leslie Orr’s work on temple women during the Cōḷa period is another important work based on inscriptions.141 We can also see that in concurrence with the Purāṇic tradition most of these texts are rife with conflicting attitudes and downright

Introduction

25

contradictions. The analysis of such fissures, gaps in the narrative, and pervasive stress, both in terms of the subject and between the authors and compilers, is the “top-down” approach that looks beyond the brahamanical didactic language of the texts to the sub-structures and sub-text of the narratives of the Purāṇas. Approaching the texts by the very nature of their openness and then interpreting them by reading more closely between the lines brings out the intricacies of the Purāṇas to address women-related issues.

The present work: ambit and methodology The debate about the relative value of the text and archaeological evidence has emerged as a modern phenomenon in the realm of historical methods. The tussle between positivism and other interpretive methods can be traced back to the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. It can be seen as a competitive exercise in the field of intellectual enquiry because positive philosophy had by then become the ruling idea for the field of methodology and because there was a desperate search for exactness in the realm of methodological discourse. The rise of positivism at the start of the nineteenth century and the attempt to search for the “exact” sciences by philosophers such as J. S. Mill could be linked with the growth of archaeology as the more preferred method when it came to probing historical facts. However, archaeological sources have to be corroborated with the literary sources. That seems to be the epistemological stand point as explained by Richard Rorty, but the approach suffers from a major drawback that considers raw facts as inanimate objects capable of being analysed independently of the conditions of existence of the “knowing subjects.” Hence, Rorty points out the pitfalls in the method that relies on subject-object dichotomy. Hermeneutical analysis of texts acquired importance in other fields of intellectual enquiry in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. A shift towards interpretative methods could be seen as the consequence of the works of phenomenologists such as Edmund Husserl, Alfred Schutz, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, not to mention, the works surrounding the theme of existentialism by Mark Heidegger and enhanced emphasis on language by Ludwig Wittgenstein.142 Hence, the relevance of the text in the context of historical analysis can hardly be discounted. This work does not fall within the realm of archaeological studies. It is with this vantage point that we set out to investigate the status of women in early India through a textual analysis of the Purāṇas. In the context of ancient India, most of the early writings on women were heavily based on the Dharmaśāstra norms, which represented the

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Introduction

perspectives of upper class males and legitimised the oppression and subordination of women. The Purāṇas, on the other hand, are more inclusive texts. While the readership sphere of the texts remained dominated by the brāhmaṇas, there is ample evidence of the texts encouraging other classes to conduct social practices. This enables us to look at the textual material with a special emphasis on the socially marginalised groups, i.e., women and śūdras, and to re-tell and re-investigate their history. Complex representations of social reality Gender studies have broadened our outlook on history while they have themselves been enriched by new methodologies and new ways of looking at old questions. In terms of the methodology pertaining to the study of women, it is necessary to highlight problems scholars face when engaging critically with normative texts composed in ancient India. We need to recognise that the relationship between the text and the social reality in which it is embedded is both problematic and complex. In an area as large and diverse as the Indian subcontinent, texts cannot be understood as reflecting these realities in a direct or straight forward way. Rather, they have to be interpreted as complex representations of their time, as seen from the specific points of view of their composers, framed within the conventions and requirements of their genre, and addressed to a certain kind of audience. Seen in this way, even “normative” texts like the Purāṇas can reveal an intersection between social theory and social practice. Since more often than not, texts have taken shape over centuries, it is extremely difficult though not impossible, to fix authorial intention. However, rough geographical context, the social practices and beliefs, as well as the information contained in the texts can be revealing. Another major problem is that within the texts, we often come across glaring contradictions – authoritative formulations that fly in each other’s faces. Patrick Olivelle in his work, A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra, engages with the issue and provides us with a few key explanations: multiple authors; contradictions reflecting changing customs and norms; two sets of guidelines – primary and secondary, the first to be followed in normal times and the latter in times of adversity; the “anthologising” technique of text production; and the commonplace use of hyperbole in didactic literature.143 Similarly Stephanie W. Jamison in her article “Women ‘Between the Empires’ and ‘Between the Lines’” articulates a methodological

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27

principle that can help us negotiate the problems outlined above. Focusing on women in ancient India, she argues that their history must be reconstructed not so much by extracting the “meaning of lines” but rather, from our insightful reading of what lies “between the lines.” The texts, she argues, must not be read as “straightforward representations of social conditions in their period. But the fact remains that what the texts choose to include, or exclude, is in itself interesting and gives indirect but telling evidence about certain social attitudes and facts.”144 In the Smṛti texts, as opposed to the Dharmaśūtras, Jamison argues, there is a growing tendency to attribute agency, especially mental agency, to women. Within the texts, however, there is also a counterreaction – a conscious attempt to both control and rein in this capacity. In the Mānava-Dharamaśāstra, contradictory tendencies acquire special urgency and become almost “schizophrenic” because of the emergence of a real threat to the brahmanical world-view around that time – the rise of the female ascetic. Creation of the texts and social processes Jamison’s method thus involves identifying tendencies that manifest themselves in different kinds or schools of texts and understanding the emergence of these tendencies in terms of the social realties shaping them. In her reading of an individual text, the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra, by reading “between the line,” she is able to show how even the contradictions within the texts need not be seen as senseless inclusions by anonymous composers spread across centuries, but can be made to yield a deeper and a more significant understanding of the social processes that resulted in the creation of the text itself. Because the Purāṇas use a complex narrative structure, the task of the scholar is made even more difficult. But there is no getting away from the fact that we need to take the trouble to read “between the lines” and give the Purāṇas the attention they deserve if we want to understand gender relations during the period under study. It is true that the Purāṇic texts maintain a single overbearing tone when it comes to women, but the meta-narratives of the texts also suggest that there is no single uniform strīdharma for all women. Rather, we find that strīdharma is actually subjective, with expectations and duties of “womanhood,” exemplified by behaviour, depending on the woman’s relation to a man. As such, there is a strīdharma for woman in the position of a wife or a widow, daughter or a mother. Therefore, the differences in the portrayal of someone like Sāvitrī or Madālasā is

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dependent on the former in the role of a wife and the latter in the role of a mother, with character roles depending upon their depictions in stories and legends in the five Purāṇas. The Purāṇic texts were constituted through the complex process of negotiation. The period c. AD 300–1000 saw a metamorphosis when the established socio-religious framework was subjected to radical and innovative forms of re-orientation. During this period, political structures emerged out of what had originally been tribal society.145 Many states were contending for political hegemony. The processes of local state formation, proliferation, and expansion were accompanied by a new socio-ideological milieu, marked by philosophical and religious contestation. The spread of Buddhism and Jainism with their proselytising activities also posed a challenge to the brahmanical tradition. The Purāṇas thus emerged at a critical juncture, often figuratively described in the tradition as kaliyuga, when attempts were made to tide over a perceived impending socio-religious disorder, by becoming more inclusive. Ideology was disseminated through the Purāṇas via doctrines like devotion to gods (bhakti), pilgrimage (tīrtha), sacred vows (vrata), redefining duties of different varṇas, and expiation (prāyaścitta) as a means of attaining salvation. Carrying out Vedic sacrifices no longer sufficed to justify claims to political legitimacy. The style of writing of the Purāṇas also reflects a reaching out to a larger target audience, the tribals, lower classes, and women. The Purāṇic tradition consciously incorporated mythology, simple rituals, and temple-centric religious practices such as vratas and pūjā, giving it a broad base. The use of a narrative story-telling technique as well as a questionanswer format further demonstrated a desire to clarify, explain, and elaborate complex socio-religious ideas to the common people, redefining social identities and concepts of status. This structured information became important because of the difficult social times in which the Purāṇas were composed. For the first time in the brahmanical tradition varṇa and gender biases were diluted to some extent in the observance of rituals, thus making them acceptable to different segments of society. This work discusses the changing roles of women as evidenced in the five Purāṇas which constitute the basis of the study. The variant profiles and representations have been dealt with in various chapters where themes related to multiple facets of women’s lives are undertaken and discussed. In the following section, I shall briefly summarise the themes that have been identified for study and discussion in the various chapters.

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The work in outline The introduction contains a detailed analysis of the textual tradition represented by the Purāṇas and discusses topics such as chronology, regionality, geography, temporality, authorship, and transmission of Purāṇic traditions. Focusing on the Mahapurāṇas, Upapurāṇas, caste Purāṇas, and Māhātmyas, an attempt has been made to shed light on the problem of the successive stages of the composition of the Purāṇas. The process seems to have extended over centuries and passed through various stages of transformation. The four chapters in this work are based on perspectives derived from various studies on the five Mahāpurāṇas that aim to highlight the construct and sub-structures of gender and the fact that the brahmanical system operated on various levels that were designed to address all aspects of social organisations, as well as daily life, both of householders and others. Chapter I (The Shaping of the Purāṇic Narrative and Gender) highlights the efforts of the Purāṇa composers to retain the supremacy of the brahmanical structure, while giving certain concessions to women. Details of the political economy, social change, and the historical role of religious institutions are integral to this chapter. What is remarkable about the Purāṇas is that although they relied heavily on the Dharmaśāstras, they brought elements of Vedic thought within the reach of social categories like women and śūdras. The chapter begins with a discussion of the yuga theory. This is followed by an account of how the Purāṇic pantheon centering around Viṣṇu, Śiva, and Śakti or Devī gave expression to the process of acculturation. Also discussed are the many semi-divine beings like yakṣas, kinnaras, and gandharvas that find mention in the Purāṇas. We see in this chapter that the Purāṇas introduced and emphasised new ritual activities. This is especially evident in the significance attached to mahādāna, tīrtha, bhakti, and temple worship, with the help of appropriate legends drawn from Vedic and Smārta traditions, non-brahmanical traditions, and tāntric practices. Chapter II (Women’s Identity and Purāṇic Patriarchy) analyses the different roles and representations of women and their connections with the religious world-view discussed in the Purāṇas. It highlights a spectrum of themes such as family, household, marriage, property rights, and physical taboos. The aim is to show that the meanings of the forms of marriage, daughterhood, wifehood, motherhood, widowhood, and sexuality are not given to us in some rigid form. These meanings are constructed according to the different perceptions,

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circumstances, and desires of the Purāṇa composers. This chapter focuses more on the dialogues that claim various benefits for the audience (with a special eye on the female listeners) that could be received by reading or hearing these texts. Chapter III, titled “Women outside the Family Circle: Not Bound, Not Free,” looks at the varied roles of women outside domesticity like that of prostitute, tapasvinī, and brahmavādinī. This chapter breaks away from conventional perceptions and tries to argue for a certain degree of agency to women vis-à-vis historical processes. It also delves into the ideas of sin (mahāpātaka), expiation (prāyaścitta), and hell or purgatory (naraka) that became instrumental in creating fear in the minds of people, which compelled them to conform to the brahmanical cultural norms. However the efforts of Purāṇic composers to accommodate women is discussed in the nature of expiations undertaken by men and women. Chapter IV (Vratas, Rituals, and the Purāṇic Social Hierarchy) focuses on the representations of women and womanhood through the practice of vratas. It attempts to bring out the gender dichotomies and complexities associated with the notion of vratas and other rituals. The Purāṇa composers brought about a conspicuous shift in gender equations by giving women the right to undertake a large number of sacred vows. Some vratas were performed by both married and unmarried women. Many vows were also observed by widows and prostitutes. The vratas were classified on the basis of their nature and purpose such as the attaining of goals like good health, longevity, and prosperity. This chapter addresses the very major issue that while vratas did gave space to women, most traditional gender roles remained rigid, when it came to the question of finally achieving spiritual liberation, mokṣadharma. Apart from the conventional goal that expected a woman to marry and aid in the process of procreation, all other spiritual goals continued to be linked with a woman’s connections to a man. The conclusion summarises my findings from the Purāṇas and presents changes in the Purāṇic representations of women during the period under study. It shows how in many ways, the role and scope of women’s identity was expanded, yet also circumscribed, by the quest of the brāhmaṇas to re-invent brahmanism in the face of oncoming challenges. That they were able to do so successfully speaks volumes of their ability to create a façade of autonomy and agency for women while reinforcing their moralising stands favouring the virtuous wife within the established parameters of ritual partnership.

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Several desiderata, however, remain. I have referred to some of the early brahmanical texts, but especially the Manusmṛti and Yājñavalkyasmṛti, to provide a comparative element in the analysis.146 Much can surely be gained by broadening the comparison to look at other kinds of sources like inscriptions and art remains. Nonbrahmanical Purāṇas such as the Jaina Purāṇas can also be brought within the ambit. This study thus explores multiple facets of the question of gender in early India. Moreover, it does so through a genre of texts that have not received their due as historical sources, the Purāṇas. Particularly in the context of women’s studies, the Purāṇas, as this book attempts to show, contain a mine of information and insights that are yet to be plumbed. The attempt is to bring out multiples “truths” as it were, following the “top-down” approach. While examining the roles and representations of women, this work also makes an effort to move beyond a focus on gender roles, particularly those of women, and to explore how gender identities and relations were invented, constructed, replicated, stereotyped, and sometimes reversed through narratives.

Notes 1 The following translations have been used for the five Purāṇas. The Viṣṇu Mahāpurāṇam (ed.) P. Kumar (trans.) M. N. Dutt, New Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 2005. Henceforth Viṣ. Pur.; The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (ed.) J. K. L. Shastri (trans.) F. E. Pargiter, New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2004. Henceforth Mārk. Pur.; The Matsya Purāṇa (trans.) H. H. Wilson, 2 Vols., 2nd edn., New Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1997. Henceforth Mats. Pur.; The Agni Mahapurāṇam (ed.) P. Kumar (trans.) M. N. Dutt, 2 Vols., New Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 2006. Henceforth Agn. Pur.; Śrīmad Bhāgavata (trans.) S. Tapasyananda, 4 Vols., XII Skandhas, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Matha, 1980. Henceforth Bhāg. Pur. These translations have been modified in certain cases. 2 Mats. Pur., 53.12; Agn. Pur., 271.9–17. 3 Bhāg. Pur., 12.7.10. 4 This is discussed in chapter IV titled Vratas, Rituals, and the Purāṇic Social Hierarchy. 5 V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar considers that the classification of mahā and upa is a later development, while Rocher suggests that “the distinction between mahāpurāṇas and upapurāṇas is not as historically important as it is generally made to be” (L. Rocher, The Purāṇas, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrosswitz, 1986, p. 68). Regarding their origin, the Śiva-Māhātmya khaṇḍa of the Kūrma Purāṇa records a tradition that the sages proclaimed the Upapurāṇas from Vyāsa (the original compiler). Indeed the Matsya Purāṇa calls the Upapurāṇas mere sub-sections or supplements (upabheda) of the principal Purāṇas (R. C. Hazra, Studies in the Upapurāṇas, 2 Vols.,

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6

7

8

9

10

Introduction Calcutta: Sanskrit College, 1958, Vol. I, pp. 7–13, 16–17; V. Narayana Rao, ‘Purāṇa’, in S. Mittal and G. Thursby (eds), The Hindu World, New York and London: Routledge, 2004, pp. 101–2; Hazra, Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol. II, p. 232). The majority of māhātmyas which are connected with or included in the Purāṇas as Upapurāṇas are on the whole inferior from the literary point of view. They arose as handbooks for the purohitas of the tīrthas praised in them, and tell legends which in part belong to the tradition and in part are inventions with the purpose of proving the holiness of these places of pilgrimage (M. Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, translated into English from the German by Mrs. S. Ketkar and H. Kohn (first published, Vol. II, Calcutta, 1933), 2nd rev. edn., New Delhi: Oriental Book Reprint Corporation, 1972, pp. 375–6). Also see D. L. Eck, ‘A Survey of Sanskrit Sources for the Study of Vārānaṣī’, Purāṇa, Vol. 22, 1980, pp. 81–101; V. Kumari, The Nīlamata Purāṇa, 2 Vols., Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Language, 1973, p. vii. Examples of caste Purāṇas are well documented in the region of Gujarat and they focus on certain castes; for instance the Śrīmālapurāṇa focuses on the Śrīmālī brāhmaṇas and the Mallapurāṇa on the Malla brāhmaṇas (S. K. Dave, ‘The Minor Purāṇas of Gujarat’, Purāṇa, Vol. 17, 1975, pp. 149–57; V. Das, ‘A Sociological Approach to the Caste-Purāṇas: A Case Study’, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 17, 1968, pp. 141–64). The Sthala Purāṇas manifest a strong regional base; they also give expression to and affirm and augment local identities. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, for example, bears close affinity to the region of Vidarbha. Similarly one Tamil Purāṇa – the Periyapurāṇam is a study of Śaivism and South Indian culture in general (D. P. Dikshit, ‘Two Paurāṇic Sites of Vidarbha’, Purāṇa, Vol. 9, 1967, p. 277; V. Raghavan, ‘Tamil Versions of the Purāṇas’, Purāṇa, Vol. 2, 1960, pp. 225–42; R. Jain, ‘Tamil Purāṇas, Srī Purāṇam and Meru Mandara Purāṇam’, Jain Journal, Vol. 2, 1977, pp. 89–90; G. L. Hart, The Relations Between Tamil and Classical Sanskrit Literature, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrosswitz, 1976, p. 343; D. D. Shulman, Tamil Temple Myths: Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in South Indian Śaiva Tradition, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980, pp. 8–9. This category includes, for instance, the Kannivanapurāṇam and Periyapurāṇam). D. C. Sen, History of Bengali Language and Literature, Calcutta: Calcutta University Press, 1954, pp. 147–332; S. Sen, ‘Bengali’, in S. K. Chatterji (ed.), The Cultural Heritage of India, Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 2001, Vol. V, p. 438. The foremost preoccupation of Bengali Purāṇas is the Goddess, primarily because the tradition of the Goddess worship and its associated customs were firmly rooted in that region. Most prominent are the ‘translations’ of the Bhāgavata and Caṇḍī portions of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. This literature drew its material from popular tales and came to be known as Pāñcālī or Maṅgala literature in Bengal. These Purāṇic stories were popularised by performances of professional singers the Maṅgal Gāyakas (K. Chakrabarti, Religious Process: The Purāṇas and the Making of a Regional Tradition, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 165). The Kannaḍa Purāṇas containing stories of miracles of deities and saints are very popular in Vīraśaiva maṭhas and households (M. K. Satyanarayan

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11

12

13 14 15

16 17

33

Rao, ‘Kannada Version of the Purāṇas’, Purāṇa, Vol. 6, 1964, pp. 147–73). These Purāṇas were also composed by Vaiṣṇavas, the Bhāgavata being rendered into Kannaḍa in the sixteenth century (S. C. Nandinath, A Handbook of Vīraśaivism, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1979, pp. 23–4). The Harivaṁśa Purāṇa of Jinasena (eighth century) and the Mahāpurāṇa of Jinasena (ninth century) enlightens the readers on a wide range of Jaina topics concerning philosophy, religion, and rituals. The name Jinasena frequently occurs as the author, but is not identical with Jinasena, the author of Ādipurāṇa (M. Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, Vol. II, p. 499; S. Jha, Aspects of Brahmanical Influence on the Jaina Mythology, New Delhi: Bharat Bharti Bhandarkar, 1978, pp. 44–61). The Sanskrit version of the Jaina Rāmāyaṇa composed by Ravisena is known popularly as Padma Purāṇa or Padmacarita (ninth century AD). See R. B. P. Singh, Jainism in Early Medieval Karnataka (AD 500–1200), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1975, p. 9. The Viśvakarmā Purāṇa and Devāṅga Purāṇa which focus on caste hierarchy amongst the artisanal communities are popular examples of Kannaḍa Kulapurāṇas (K. Suryanarayan, ‘Kulapurāṇas in Medieval Telegu Literature’, Proceedings of the Andhra Pradesh History Congress, 1990, pp. 81–3). S. Bhattacharji, The Indian Theogony: A Comparative Study of Indian Mythology from the Vedas to the Purāṇas, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970, p. 19. Rocher, The Purāṇas, p. 20; P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1962, Vol. V, Part II, p. 342. The sāttvika Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas which lead to salvation (mokṣa) are Viṣṇu, Nāradīya, Bhāgavata, Garuḍa, Padma, and Varāha. The rājasa Purāṇas are devoted to Brahmā and lead to heaven (svarga). They include Brahmāṇḍa, Brahmavaivarta, Mārkaṇḍeya, Bhaviṣya, Vāmana, and Brahma. Tāmasa Purāṇas are Śaiva, and are said to lead one to hell (naraka). They include the Matsya, Kūrma, Liṅga, Śiva, and Agni (Rocher, The Purāṇas, pp. 20–1). Chakrabarti, Religious Process, p. 49. M. Witzel, ‘Early Indian History: Linguistic and Textual Parameters’, in G. Erdosy (ed.), The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, pp. 85–117. In a survey of sources dealing with linguistic and textual parameters, Witzel’s study offers valuable insights on the treatment of philological methods. Though he has focused on the Vedic corpus, a similar approach can help us in the reinterpretation of the Purāṇas. B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Studying Early India: Archaeology, Texts, and Historical Issues, New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2003, pp. 3–27; Representing the Other? Sanskrit Sources and the Muslims (Eighth to Fourteenth Centuries), New Delhi: Manohar, 1997, pp. 10–27; See G. Flood, ‘Introduction: Establishing the Boundaries’, in G. Flood (ed.), Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2003, pp. 14–17; for interesting perspectives on literary traditions, see J. Tyagi, ‘The Dynamics of Early Indian Household: Conjugality, Domesticity, Patronage and Propriety in Textual Traditions’, in K. Roy (ed.), Looking Within, Looking Without:

34

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19 20

21

22

23 24 25

Introduction Exploring Households in the Subcontinent Through Time, Essays in Memory of Nandita Prasad Sahai, New Delhi: Primus, 2014, pp. 137–71. M. Perrot (ed.), Writing Women’s History (trans.) F. Pheasant, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1984, pp. 1–9; For a thorough analysis on dharma, brahmanical normative traditions, rituals, gender, see K. Roy, Women in Early Indian Societies, New Delhi: Manohar, 1999; J. Tyagi, ‘Reconstructing the Social Histories of the Purāṇas: Kings and Wives as Upholders of Propriety in the Matsyamahāpurāṇa’, in D. N. Jha (ed.), The Complex Heritage of Early India, Essays in Memory of R. S. Sharma, New Delhi: Manohar, 2014, pp. 447–74. Flood, ‘Introduction: Establishing the Boundaries’, in Flood (ed.), Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, pp. 1–19. R. C. Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs (first published, Dacca, 1940) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1987, pp. 9–75; Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, pp. 815– 20; Rocher, The Purāṇas, p. 103; Rao, ‘Purāṇa’, pp. 114–15. Most of the chronological problems emanate from the processes of composition and recasting of the Purāṇas. This also brings within its fold the question of the production and transmission of the textual traditions. Atharvaveda Saṁhitā (ed.), C. R. Lanman (trans.) W. D. Whitney, 2 Vols. (first published, Cambridge, 1905) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 2011. Henceforth Ath. V., XI.7.24; The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, Ganga Prashad Upadhyaya (Hindi trans.) (Introduction in English by S. Prakash), New Delhi: The Research Institute of Ancient Scientific Studies, 1970. Henceforth Śat. Br., XI.5.6.8; Śāṅkhyāyana Śrautasūtra, edited with commentary of V. Anartiya and Govind, A. Hillerbrandt, Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1886–1889, Śāṅkhyāyana Śrautasūtra, XV.2.27; Āśvalāyana Śrautasūtra, II.4.7; The Sacred Laws of the Āryas as Taught in the Schools of Āpastamba, Gautama, Vaśiṣṭha, and Baudhāyana (trans.) G. Bñhler, 2 Vols., Sacred Books of the East, nos. II & XIV (first published, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1879) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 2007, Gautama Dharmasūtra, VIII. 6, XI.1.19; Āpastamba Dharmasūtra, 1.6.19.13; All citations from Manusmṛti used in the book as a supplementary text, are from G. Bühler, The Laws of Manu With Extracts From Seven Commentaries (trans.) G. Bühler, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XXV (first published, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1886) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 2006, X.11, 17. Henceforth Manusmṛti, III.232. Also see Yājñavalkyasmṛti (ed.), R. K. Panda (trans.) M. N. Dutt, New Delhi: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan, 2011, I.93–94. Henceforth Yājñavalkya. S. 1.101. Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 6–75, 188. Kane too has commented that the Garuḍa and Agni Purāṇa contain several references that are identical with those in the Yājñavalkyasmṛti. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 815. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, pp. 841. Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 7, 17, 146; Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, pp. 815–20, 855; Rocher, The Purāṇas, p. 101. Rocher points out, the date of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa suggested by various scholars like H.H. Wilson, V.R.R. Dikshitar, P.C. Bagchi, J.N. Farquhar, and

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26

27

28

29

35

M. Winternitz extends from c.700 BC to AD 500 (Rocher, The Purāṇas, p. 250). R.C. Hazra dated the Viṣṇu Purāṇa not later than the fourth century AD. According to Kane, this Purāṇa was composed between AD 300 and AD 500 (Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 852; Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 174–5). The dating of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa has been a matter of contestation among various scholars because although the Devī-Māhātmya has an independent status, its date and the date of Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa in most cases has been examined simultaneously by the scholars like F.E. Pargiter, J.N. Farquhar, N.Y. Desai, Hazra, and Haraprasad Shastri who proposed dates for the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa to the seventh century AD or even earlier, but according to Kane it could not be later than AD 600 (Mārk. Pur., pp. xi–xii; T. B. Coburn, A Translation of the Devī-Māhātmya: A Study of its Interpretation, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991, p. 13; J. N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India, London: Humphrey Milford, 1920, pp. 140, 148, 150, 152; N. Y. Desai, Ancient Indian Society, Religion and Mythology as Depicted in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Baroda: M. S. University, 1968; Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 8–12; H. Shastri, Catalogue of Palm Leaf and Selected Paper Manuscripts Belonging to Durbar Library Nepal, Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, 1905; Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 842; Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, Vol. I, p. 559; D. M. Mehendale, ‘The Purāṇas’, in R. C. Majumdar (ed.), History and Culture of Indian People: The Classical Age, Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1954, p. 293). H. H. Wilson opines that it is later than the Mahābhārata but anterior to the Brahma, Padma, Nāradīya and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. He conjectures that it may be placed in the ninth or tenth century AD. Mārk. Pur., Preface, pp. x–xi. According to R. C. Dikshitar, the Matsya Purāṇa developed from the fourth century BC up to the third century AD. Manoranjan Shastri dates the text in the first half of the eleventh century. Hazra has concluded that it is not possible to give any precise date for the Matsya Purāṇa, whereas Kane places it between AD 200 and AD 600 (Rocher, The Purāṇas, pp. 199– 200; Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 26–52; Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 852). Since the Agni Purāṇa is a compilation from various works which were written in different periods, no accurate dates can be assigned to it as a whole. Kane, Haraprasad Shastri, H. H. Wilson, and S. B. Chaudhari place the dates of this Purāṇa between AD 800 and AD 900, while S. D. Gyani allows a period of growth “to its extant form . . . from AD 700 or 800 to 1000 or 1100”. Hazra and S. K. De, however, assign the composition of the Agni Purāṇa to the period between the ninth and twelfth centuries AD (P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1968, Vol. 1, Part 1, pp. 425–8; S. D. Gyani, Agni-Purana: A Study, Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1964, p. 288; Rocher, The Purāṇas, pp. 136–7; Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, p. 138). Historians and Indologists like A. D. Pusalkar, Wilson E. Burnouf, and Colebrooke pushed the date of this Purāṇa as late as AD 1300 whereas

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R.G. Bhandarkar and S. N. Dasgupta favoured a date of AD 1000. V.R.R. Dikshitar dated it to AD 300. But Hazra holds that it cannot be dated later than AD 500. While Kane assigns AD 900 as the date for the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, A. Gail proposes AD 750. But according to F. Hardy the ninth or early tenth century appears as the most reasonable date for the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. (A. D. Pusalkar, Studies in Epics and Purāṇas, Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1955, pp. 214–6; Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, p. 55; A. Gail, Bhakti in Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Muncherner Indologische Studien, Vol. 6, Wiesbaden, 1969, p. 12; Friedhelm Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti: The Early History of Kṛṣṇa Devotion in South India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983, p. 488). 30 The geographical section of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa mentions many rivers of northern India like Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Vipāsā, Sarasvatī, Śutudrī, Gomatī, and mountains, namely Govardhana, Himālaya, Kailāśa, and Kolahar. Many stories mentioned in this Purāṇa are associated with places in north India. For example, there is the performance of the tapa (penance) of Dhruva near Mathurā; the story of the penance performed by Kaṇḍu sage on the banks of Gomatī; and the adventures of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma at Gokula, Hastināpura and Dvārakā. A study of this Purāṇa shows that many of the tribes mentioned in it can be located to the west of Prayāga (Viṣ. Pur., 3.14.18, 1.9.9, 2.3.17, 5.17, 1.12.1–5, 1.15.11, 5.3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 2.3.15–17). 31 The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa is said to have been declared by ṛṣi Cyavana, who is associated with western India, especially with the region about the mouths of the rivers Narmadā and Tāptī. This was also the territory associated with the Bhārgava clan. As Cyavana settled near the mouth of these rivers, the Purāṇa is believed to have been first narrated by Cyavana in this area. The identification of this Purāṇa with the ancient city of Māhiṣmatī (in the Maheshwar district, on the left bank of Narmadā, 80 km due south of Indore) and the goddess as Mahākālī or Mahākāle, which is actually the name of a shrine devoted to Śiva at Ujjain are significant in explaining many features of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. It is possible that the poem may have been composed to proclaim the māhātmya or to glorify the Narmadā region (Mārk. Pur., 42.24–26, Preface, pp. vi–vii, 4.22–26, 10.8–13, 42.18, 43.1, 89.35). Māhiṣmatī was the capital of South Avanti. For details see B. C. Law, Historical Geography of Ancient India, Paris: Société Asiatique de Paris, 1954, p. 322; A. Ghosh, An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, 2 Vols., New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, Vol. 1, 1989, p. 146. 32 There are nine chapters in the Matsya Purāṇa extolling the greatness of the Narmadā. In the Purāṇa, the river Narmadā, and not the famous Gaṅgā, is said to remain even after the destruction of the world. Further in the chapter on Narmadā māhātmya, this Purāṇa states that one who resides on the banks of the Narmadā acquires different types of merit, such as freedom from passion and anger and from the ill effects of jaundice, old age sufferings, and the sin of killing a brāhmaṇa. A woman bathing there becomes the queen of Indra after becoming beautiful like Pārvatī and gets manifold blessings (Mats. Pur., 2.13–14, Chapters 186–194, 191.1, 25, 191.20–22, 55–57). For further details, Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, p. 52; A. M. T. Jackson, ‘Epic and Purāṇic Notes’, The

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34

35 36

37 38 39

40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

48 49 50 51

37

Centenary Memorial Volume of the Journal of Bombay Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 1905, p. 73. The Agni Purāṇa gives a vivid description of Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Gayā, Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and other places and rivers (Agni Purāṇa (trans.) M. N. Dutt, 2 Vols., Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1967, Vol. I, pp. 25–41, 55–62, 440–463). The reference to Vaiṣṇava Āḷvārs in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa makes it apparent that it was written in South India in the Tamil-speaking area. The Āḷvārs are usually regarded as contemporaries of Pallavas who were ruling Kanchi during the sixth to the eighth centuries AD. The text refers to the Kāverī as a sacred river (Bhāg. Pur., 11.5.39–40). D. P. Sheridan, The Advaitic Theism of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1986, p. 6; Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 488–9. Witzel, ‘Early Indian History: Linguistic and Textual Parameters’, pp. 98–109. For interesting observations on Sanskrit texts see S. Pollock, ‘Sanskrit Literary Culture from the Inside Out’, in S. Pollock (ed.), Literary Cultures in History: Reconstruction from South Asia, Berkeley: University of California Press, p. 60. For a proper literary analysis of the Purāṇas, we therefore need to understand the position of the Puranic (kindly keep this word with diacritics) compilers which can be discerned from the linguistic contexts against which these texts were written. Agn. Pur., 364.44–45. Bhāg. Pur., 1.1.4–5. M. C. Taylor, ‘What Enables Canonical Literature to Function as “True”? The Case of the Hindu Purāṇas’, International Journal of Hindu Studies, Vol. 12, No. 3, December 2008, pp. 319; R. Bihari Pandeya, ‘Naimiṣāraṇya in Literature’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 84, No. 4, 1964, pp. 405–8; A. Hiltebeitel, Rethinking the Mahābhārata: A Reader’s Guide to the Education of the Dharma King, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 92–129. The Naimiṣā forest has attracted the attention of scholars. Some interesting observations have been made by R. Thapar, ‘Genealogical Patterns as Perceptions of the Past’, Studies in History, Vol.7, No. 1, 1991, pp. 1–36. V. Nath, Purāṇas and Acculturation: A Historico-Anthropological Perspective, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2001, pp. 53–4. Viṣ. Pur., 3.14.18–19. Mats. Pur., 72.2. Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.28–29; Mārk. Pur., 134.16. Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.30–60. Mārk. Pur., 134.9–29. See below for the meaning of ‘acculturation’. The Śrauta tradition refers to the Vedic tradition which was dominated by sacrifices. Smārta (literally “related to that which is remembered”) denotes the Smṛti tradition and puts emphasis on the worship of deities such as Viṣṇu and Śiva. Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 210–11. Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 206–14. Chakrabarti, Religious Process, pp. 46–7. It is mentioned in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that the śūdras and tribal groups (mlecchas) would occupy the banks of the Jadus and Candrabhāgā rivers, and

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52 53 54 55

56 57

58

59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69

Introduction the regions of Kashmir and Saurāṣṭrā. Viṣ. Pur., 4.24.61, 69–71. Mlecchas is a term used for foreigners and tribal groups. Aloka Parasher Sen, Mlecchas in Early India: A Study in Attitude Towards Outsiders Up to AD 600, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1991. Devī Bhāgavatapurāṇam, XII.14.25–26. Bhāg. Pur., 3.12.37–39, 1.4.19–24. A. Padoux, ‘Tantrism and Hindu Tantrism’, in M. Eliade (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Religion, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, Vol. 14, pp. 272–80. N.N. Bhattacharya, History of the Tāntric Religion: A Historical, Ritualistic and Philosophical Study, 2nd rev. edn., New Delhi: Manohar, 1999, pp. 20–3. Also see G. Samuel, The Origins of Yoga and Tantra, Indic Religion to the Thirteenth Century, first South Asian edn., New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 32, 215–6, 224–5; Chakrabarti, Religious Process, p. 47; V. Nath, The Purāṇic World: Environment, Gender, Ritual, and Myth, New Delhi: Manohar, 2009, pp. 120–3. Atharvaveda Saṁhitā (ed.), C. R. Lanman (trans.) W. D. Whitney, 2 Vols. (first published, Cambridge, 1905) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 2011, XI.7.24, XV.6.4. Henceforth Ath. V. Also see The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, G. Prashad Upadhyaya (Hindi trans.) (Introduction in English by Satya Prakash), New Delhi: The Research Institute of Ancient Scientific Studies, 1970, XI.5.6.8. Henceforth Śat. Br.; The Atharvaveda and the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa (trans.) M. Bloomfield, New Delhi: Asian Publication Services, 1978, 1.2.9–10. Gṛhyasūtras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (trans.) H. Oldenberg (2 Parts, XXIX–XXX), Part 1, Gṛhyasūtras of Śāṅkhāyana, Āśvalāyana, Pāraskara, and Khadira (first published, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1886– 1892) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 2007, IV.6, VII.1.2. Henceforth Gṛhya. S. D. M. Mehendale, ‘The Purāṇas’, in R. C. Majumdar (ed.), History and Culture of Indian People: The Classical Age, Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1954, pp. 291–7. Rocher, The Purāṇas, pp. 30–1. Amarkoṣa (trans.) H. Shastri, Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1957, 1.6.5. Rocher, The Purāṇas, p. 28. In fact, topics other than pañcalakṣaṇa were represented in the Purāṇas from the very beginning. The extant Purāṇas contain far more subjects than the pañcalakṣaṇa traits. Rao, ‘Purāṇa’, p. 99. Mats. Pur., 53.66–67. Mats. Pur., 2.22–24. Bhāg. Pur., 2.10.1–14. Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa, edited with exhaustive introduction by Acharya Ramesh Chaturvedi (trans.) S. L. Nagar, New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2001, 4.133.10. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 841. F. E. Pargiter, The Purāṇa Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age With Introduction and Notes (first edition, 1913) (reprint), Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1962.

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70 H. H. Wilson, Analysis of the Purāṇas (ed.) R. Rost, New Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1979, pp. iv–vi. 71 Viṣ. Pur., 3.3.10. 72 F. Matchett, ‘The Puranas’, in G. Flood (ed.), Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2003, pp. 129–43. Besides the chief narrator and the respondent, there are hierarchies of interlocutors. 73 Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.43–51. 74 W. Doniger, ‘Echoes of the Mahābhārat: Why Is a Parrot the Narrator of the Bhāgvata Purāṇa and Devībhāgvata Purāṇa?’ in W. Doniger (ed.), Purāṇa Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 31–2. 75 Most of the Purāṇas agree that Lomaharṣaṇa was a mere transmitter of the Purāṇic tradition from Vyāsa and had nothing to do with the origin of the Purāṇas (Nath, Purāṇas and Acculturation, pp. 51–68). 76 In some Vedic texts like Yajurveda and the Pañcaviṁśa Brāhmaṇas, the sūta is reckoned as one of the jewels (ratnas) of the king. On the other hand, he has been mentioned as an important figure among state officials in the Arthaśāstra (V. 3, XIII.1). But this exalted position of the sūta could not be maintained in later days. In fact, his low position is characterised by his supposed birth from a kṣatriya father and a brāhmaṇa mother (R. C. Hazra, ‘The Purāṇas’, in S. K. De, U. N. Ghoshal, A. D. Pusalkar and R. C. Hazra (eds), The Cultural Heritage of India, Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 2001, Vol. II, pp. 243–4). 77 Manusmṛti, X.11, 17. More recently Patrick Olivelle has also edited and translated the text. See P. Olivelle (ed.), Manu’s Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānava-Dharamaśāstra, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 209; Yājñavalkya. S., I.93–94. 78 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 862. 79 Viṣ. Pur., 3.4.6; Agn. Pur., 364.32–39; Bhāg. Pur., 1.4.14–25. 80 Viṣ. Pur., 3.3.2–19. 81 B. M. Sullivan, ‘Religious Authority of the Mahābhārat: Vyāsa and Brahmā in the Hindu Scriptural Tradition’, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 62, No. 2, 1994, p. 377; Taylor, ‘What Enables Canonical Literature to Function as “True”? The Case of the Hindu Purāṇas’, p. 316. 82 Viṣ. Pur., 3.4.7–10, 3.6.16–19. Romaharṣaṇa is the variation of Lomaharṣaṇa. 83 Viṣ. Pur., 3.3–4; Bhāg. Pur., 1.3.21, 2.7.36. 84 See for instance, Mats. Pur., 53.8–9. 85 Taylor, ‘What Enables Canonical Literature to Function as “True”? The Case of the Hindu Purāṇas’, p. 321. 86 Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.12. 87 Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.28–32. 88 Viṣ. Pur., 33–56. 89 Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.40–42; Mārk. Pur., 89.13–16; Mats. Pur., 291.29–30; Agn. Pur., 364.57–70; Bhāg. Pur., 4.31.31. 90 Taylor, ‘What Enables Canonical Literature to Function as “True”? The Case of the Hindu Purāṇas’, p. 309. 91 M. Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972–1977 (ed.) C. Gordon (trans.) C. Gordon, L. Marshall, J. Mepham and K. Soper, New York: Pantheon Press, 1980, p. 112.

40 92 93 94 95 96

97 98 99

100

101

102

103 104

105

Introduction Foucault, Power/Knowledge, pp. 131–2. Foucault, Power/Knowledge, p. 112. Chakrabarti, Religious Process, p. 3. For greater details see, S. Broadbeck and B. Black (eds), Gender and Narrative in the Mahābhārata, London and New York: Routledge, 2007. Acculturation has been used since the nineteenth century to describe the process of accommodation and change during cultural contact between two interfacing disparate groups. These changes could be in the form of reinterpretation and even revitalisation of the existing value system of either group. P. Burke, History and Social Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge Polity Press, 1992, p. 50. Perrot, Writing Women’s History, p. 70. G. Rubin, ‘The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex’, in R. Reiter (ed.), Towards an Anthropology of Women, New York: Monthly Review Press, 1975, pp. 159, 178–9. Also see J. W. Scott, ‘Women’s History and the Rewriting of History’, in C. Farnham (ed.), The Impact of Feminist Researches in the Academy, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987, p. 36; H. L. Moore, A Passion for Difference: Essays in Anthropology and Gender, Cambridge: Cambridge Polity Press, 1994, p. 49. G. Lerner, ‘Reconceptualizing Differences Among Women’, Journal of Women’s History, Vol. 3, No. 1, Winter, 1990, p. 107. Also see M. Donald and L. Hurcombe (eds), Representations of Gender from Prehistory to the Present, Houndmills and London: St. Martins, 2000. J. K. Gadol, ‘The Social Relation of the Sexes: Methodological Implications of Women’s History’, in E. Abel and E. Abel (eds), The Signs Reader: Women, Gender and Scholarship, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983, pp. 11–26. Also see J. K. Gadol, History, Theory and Practice, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984, pp. 1–3. G. Lerner, The Majority Finds Its Past: Placing Women in History, New York: Oxford University Press, 1979, pp. 160–7. Gerda Lerner’s exploration of the relationship between class and gender, and the importance of recognising the crucial place of control over female sexuality was a pioneering and influential work on gender studies. Also see G. Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy, New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. E. F. Genovese, ‘Placing Women’s History in History’, New Left Review, Vol. 133, May–June 1982, pp. 5–29. See U. Chakravarti and K. Roy, ‘Breaking Out of Invisibility: Rewriting the History of Women in India’, in S. J. Kleinberg (ed.), Retrieving Women’s History: Changing Perspectives of the Roles of Women in Politics and Society, Oxford: Berg Publishers, 1988, pp. 319–37; U. Chakravarti, ‘Conceptualising Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and State’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 28, 1993, pp. 579–85. Also see U. Chakravarti, Theorizing Feminism: Gendering Caste through a Feminist Lens, Calcutta: Stree, 2003. That Derrida’s post-structuralist approach also known as deconstruction is a method of enquiry which asserts that all writings are full of confusions, contradictions, and even the writers cannot deliver their meanings which also depends on the reader. This is also true in the case of

Introduction

106

107 108

109

110

111 112 113 114

115 116

41

open texts like Purāṇas and such challenges can be overcome by reading between the lines of the given texts. (J. Derrida, Of Grammatology, Corrected edn. (trans.) G. Chakravorty Spivak, Baltimore & London: The John Hopkins University Press, 1997, preface, lxxvii). In the twentieth century both ‘deconstruction’ and ‘reappropriation’ as concepts have acquired a new importance in our view of knowledge and the world (D. P. Michelfelder and R. E. Palmer (eds), Dialogue and Deconstruction: The Gadamer-Derrida Encounter, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989, pp. 27–9, 41–7). D. N. Mitter, Position of Women in Hindu Law (reprint), New Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1984; G. D. Banerjee, The Hindu Law of Marriage and Stridhana (first published, Calcutta, 1879) (reprint), New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2005. P. Thomas, Indian Women through the Ages: A Historical Survey of the Position of Women and Institutions of Marriage and Family in India from Remote Antiquity to the Present Day, Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1964. C. Bader, Women in Ancient India: Moral and Literary Studies (trans.) M. E. R. Martin, 2nd edn., Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1964; M. W. Pinkhaim, Women in the Sacred Scriptures of Hindu Law, New York: Columbia University Press, 1941; M. Indra, The Status of Women in Ancient India, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1955; C. Seltman, Women in Antiquity, London: Pan Books, 1956; R. L. Chaudhary, Hindu Women’s Right to Property: Past and Present, Calcutta: Firma KLM, 1961; N. Upadhyaya and R. Pandey, Women in India: Past and Present, Allahabad: Chugh Publications, 1990. A. S. Altekar, The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day (first edition, Banaras, 1938), 3rd rev. edn., New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1962; B. S. Upadhyaya, Women in Rig Veda (first published, Balia, 1933) (reprint), New Delhi: S. Chand & Co., 1974. K. Sangari, ‘Whatever Happened to the Vedic Dasī? Orientalism, Nationalism, and a Script for the Past’, in K. Sangari and S. Vaid (eds), Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History, New Delhi: Kali for Women (first edition, 1989) (reprint), 1993, pp. 26–87. A. Asaf Ali and G. N. S. Raghavan, The Resurgence of Indian Women, Nehru Memorial Museum Library, New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 1991, pp. 70, 244. U. Chakravarti, ‘Beyond the Altekarian Paradigm: Towards a New Understanding of Gender Relations in Early Indian History’, Social Scientist, Vol. 16, 1988, pp. 51–2. S. Madhavananda and R. C. Majumdar (eds), Great Women of India: Ideal and Position of Indian Women in Social Life (first edition, 1953), 2nd rev. edn., Mayavati, Almora: Advaita Ashrama, 1982, p. x. R. M. Das, Women in Manu and His Seven Commentators, Varanasi: Kanchana Publications, 1962. According to Das, the low status of women is explained continuously by the spiritual and material limitations placed upon them in society. S. Gulati, Women and Society in Northern India in the 11th and 12th Centuries, New Delhi: Chanakya Publications, 1985. S. Jayal, The Status of Women in the Epics, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1966; P. Mukherjee, Hindu Women, New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1978.

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117 D. D. Kosambi, Myth and Reality: Studies in the Formation of Indian Culture (first published, Bombay, 1962) (reprint), Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 2008, pp. 82–109. 118 R. Thapar, Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations, New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1978; Śakuntalā: Texts, Readings, Histories, New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1999. Thapar emphasises the idea of kinship in caste and birth as crucial to the understanding of the study of gender. 119 R. S. Sharma, Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1983. Also see R. S. Sharma, Rethinking India’s Past, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009. At any rate, what these studies do expose is a relation of power that determined and exercised through such divisions in the society. 120 U. Chakravarti, Everyday Lives, Everyday Histories: Beyond the Kings and Brahmanas of Ancient India, New Delhi: Tulika Books, 2006; Theorizing Feminism. 121 K. Sangari and U. Chakravarti (eds), From Myths to Markets, Essays on Gender, New Delhi: Manohar, 2001. 122 K. Roy, Emergence of Monarchy in Northern India as Reflected in the Brahmanical Tradition, c. 8th–4th centuries BC, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994; (ed.), Women in Early Indian Societies; The Power of Gender and the Gender of Power: Explorations in Early Indian History, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2010. Roy highlights that constructions of gender must be understood with reference to their particular cultural, political, social, religious, and historical contexts. 123 J. Tyagi, Engendering the Early Household: Brahmanical Precepts in the Early Gṛhyasūtras: Middle of the first Millennium BCE, New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2008. 124 I. B. Horner, Women under Primitive Buddhism: Laywomen and Almswomen (first published, London, 1930) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975. 125 U. Chakravarti, The Social Dimensions of Early Buddhism, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1987; ‘Women, Men and Beasts: The Jātakas as Popular Tradition’, in Everyday Lives, Everyday Histories: Beyond the Kings and Brahmanas of Ancient India, New Delhi: Tulika Books, 2006, pp. 198–221. 126 V. Ramaswamy, Divinity and Deviance: Women in Virasaivism, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996; ‘Aspects of Women and Work in Early South India’, in K. Roy (ed.), Women in Early Indian Societies, New Delhi: Manohar, 1999, pp. 150–71; P. S. Jaini, Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debate on the Spiritual Liberation of Women, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1992; special issue of Manushi on Bhakti, nos. 50–52, 1990; A. K. Tyagi, ‘Women Workers in the Jatakas’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1984, pp. 121–8; S. Jaiswal, ‘Women in Early India: Problems and Perspectives’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1981, pp. 54–60. M. G. S. Narayanan in his ‘Presidential Address’ in the Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1978 (pp. 12–40), evoked discussion of various aspects of feudal social formations including the temple economy, brahmanical supremacy, and devadāsī bhakti literature. 127 H. C. Chakladar, Social Life in Ancient India: Studies in Vātsyāyana’s Kāmasūtra (reprint), New Delhi: Cosmo India, 1976.

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128 M. Chandra, World of Courtesans, New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1973. 129 J. Gonda, ‘Ascetics and Courtesans’, Selected Studies, History of Ancient Indian Religion, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975, Vol. IV, pp. 231–45. 130 N. K. Basu and S. N. Sinha, History of Prostitution in India, Calcutta: Bengal Social Hygiene Association, 1929; B. Joardar, Prostitution in Historical and Modern Perspectives, New Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1984; S. Bhattacharji, ‘Prostitution in Ancient India’, Social Scientist, Vol. 15, 1987, pp. 32–61; K. Roy, ‘Unravelling the Kāmasūtra’, Indian Journal of Gender Studies, No. 3, 1996, pp. 155–70. 131 This dimension has been examined by us elsewhere. See M. Saxena, ‘Gaṇikās in Early India: Social and Economic Perspectives’ (Unpublished M. Phil. Dissertation), University of Delhi, New Delhi, 1994. Also see ‘Temple Girls in Early Medieval North India: A Study in Gender Relations’ (UGC Project, Unpublished), New Delhi, 2002. 132 F. Apffel Marglin, Wives of the God-King: Rituals of the Devadasis of Puri, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1985. Also see S. C. Kersenboom-Story, Nityasumaṅgalī, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1987, p. 192; J. Nair, ‘The Devadasi, Dharma, and the State’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 10, 1994, pp. 3157–67. Also see, D. Desai, Erotic Sculpture of India: A Socio-Cultural Study, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1975. Desai’s work undertook to explain comprehensively the features of Indian erotic art and the magico-religious aspects of sex against the backdrop of the Khajuraho temples. 133 Sangari and Vaid (eds), Recasting Women, pp. 10–13; Also see C. H. Sommers, Who Stole Feminisim: How Women have Betrayed Women, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994, pp. 51, 56, 78. 134 I. Julia Leslie, The Perfect Wife: The Orthodox Hindu Women According to the Stridharmapaddhati of Tryambakayajvan, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989. 135 N. A. Falk and R. M. Cross (eds), Unspoken Worlds: Women’s Religious Lives in Non-Western Cultures, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980. 136 L. T. Denton, Female Ascetics in Hinduism, New York: State University of New York Press, 2004; V. Dehejia, Slaves of the Lord: The Path of the Tamil Saints, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1988; V. Ramaswamy, Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India, Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1997; U. Chakravarti, ‘The World of the Bhaktin in South Indian Tradition – The Body and Beyond’, in K. Roy (ed.), Women in Early Indian Societies, New Delhi: Manohar, 1999, pp. 299–321. 137 See for instance, L. E. Gatwood, Devi and the Spouse Goddess: Women, Sexuality and Marriage Within India, New Delhi: Manohar, 1985; J. S. Hawley and D. M. Wulff (eds), The Divine Consort: Radha and the Goddesses of India, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1984; C. Talbot, ‘Temples, Donors, and Gifts: Patterns of Patronage in 13th Century South India’, Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 50, No. 2, 1991, pp. 308–40; T. Pintchman, The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994. 138 V. A. Krishnamoorthy, Social and Economic Conditions in Eastern Deccan, AD 100–AD 1250, Madras: Kabeer Printing Works, 1970, p. 57.

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139 K. K. Shah, The Problem of Identity, Women in Early Indian Inscriptions, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001. 140 K. Roy, ‘Women and Men Donors at Sanchi: A Study of Inscriptional Evidence’, in L. K. Tripathi (ed.), Position and Status of Women in Ancient India, Varanasi: Benaras Hindu University, 1988, Vol. 1, pp. 209–23; U. Singh, ‘Sanchi: The History of the Patronage of an Ancient Buddhist Establishment’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. 33, 1996, pp. 1–35. 141 L. C. Orr, Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God: Temple Women in Medieval Tamil Nadu, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. 142 R. Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979, pp. 164–70. 143 P. Olivelle (ed.), Manu’s Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānava-Dharamaśāstra, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 29–41. 144 S. W. Jamison, ‘Women “Between the Empires” and “Between the Lines”’, in P. Olivelle (ed.), Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE, New York: Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 191–214. 145 Chattopadhyaya, Studying Early India: Archaeology, Texts and Historical Studies, pp. 250–1; also see B. P. Sahu, The Changing Gaze: Regions and Constructions of Early India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 152–62. 146 P. V. Kane dates the Manusmṛti between 200 BC–200 AD and the Yājñavalkyasmṛti between AD 100–AD 300 (P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. 1, Part 1, 330–49, 421–59).

1

The shaping of the Purāṇic narrative and gender

tvaṃ vaiṣṇavī śaktir anantavīryā, viśvasya bījaṃ paramāsi māyā saṃmohitaṃ devi samastametat tvaṃ vai prasannā bhuvi muktihetuḥ. Mārk. Pur. 88.4. O Devi, You are that power of Lord Viṣṇu, and have endless valour. You are the primeval māyā, which is the source of the entire universe; by You all this universe has been thrown into an illusion, O Devi! If You become gracious, You become the cause of final emancipation in this world.

This chapter traces the process of accommodation and negotiation that resulted from major shifts in social forces, including gender, and led to the creation and shaping of the Purāṇic narrative. A better understanding of the gender question with regard to the Purāṇas can be gained through a discussion on the Purāṇic tradition itself. Apart from the obvious chronological pattern, we must also acknowledge it in terms of the evolution of cultural norms, philosophical ideas, and the readership of these texts. Together, these three postulates can point us towards the technique and intention of the authors and compilers, which in turn could only have come about as a reaction to the change in the ethos of gender from the Vedic period to the Purāṇic. This approach towards a literary analysis of the texts supplements the idea of a “top-down” approach that has been mentioned in the Introduction. The structure of the Purāṇas is intricate and dialogical. This form has sufficient fluidity to accommodate multiple stories, themes, and sub-themes within itself. Thus it speaks at times of already popular characters like Savītrī and at others about the magnificence of

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geographical entities like the River Narmadā.1 One can legitimately argue that the text itself shows that the authors and compilers had an audience in mind, an ideal though multi-faceted audience that was to be kept within the brahmanical fold. In the Purāṇic representation, all categories of women, including queens, administrators, housewives, widows, prostitutes, etc., are addressed as women, a generalised blanket term. On the other hand we can consider and contrast the Mahābhārata, where the female characters are well defined in terms of their social significance like queens or women of royal presence like Draupadī and Gāndhārī and others like serving maids. A well-known example is a lady-in-waiting attached to Queen Sudeṣṇā, Sairandhrī, who was actually a character played by Draupadī with the aim of avoiding detection during the exile of the Pāṇḍavas.2 Therefore, it can be claimed that all categories of women, from the royal to the servers, are addressed in the Purāṇas, which helps us conceive the idea of the targeted audience better. The Indian subcontinent is a conglomeration of diverse cultural regions where each region has its own peculiarities and personality. There are no definite boundaries to each of these regions, and often it is difficult to identify a single clear cut criterion that defines them. “Region” as a term refers to an area marked by homogeneity in certain socio-economic or other features such as ethnic, linguistic, cultural, geographical, or political. It is distinguished from an “area” which as a broader concept designates a portion of the earth with its boundaries arbitrarily fixed.3 Regions are neither self-evident nor static. In the context of the Indian subcontinent, the process of the emergence of regional cultural configurations was especially marked during the period c. AD 600–1200.4 While the regions retained their traditions and specific cultural traits, they were nevertheless influenced by the larger range of socio-cultural changes that they were exposed to. A true estimate of the interrelationship between region and area as geographical entities can be said to depend on their mutual dynamism, in the process of which each contributes to the making of the other. Apart from ideas that might propagate regions as an imagined entity, it is more appropriate to conceptualise region as an area that is made up by shared cultures, a sense of belonging and kinship, interpersonal relationships and collective memory, all of which are a function of time. In other words, a region has a tradition that is inherent in its evolution, and existence. Customs and practices in different regions are distinguishable from each other and have a clear set of markers in the form of language, script, art forms, architecture, food habits, etc.5

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The creation of the Purāṇic traditions The Purāṇas enjoyed immense popularity in the immediate context of their geographical spread, which in itself was a significant feat. This is the result of a two-way flow of ideas that characterised the texts ever since they were conceived and compiled. First was the careful and meticulous incorporation of the beliefs and customs of a place and its people, and second, “the continuous assimilation” and integration of different peoples within the ambit of the Purāṇic tradition over time.6 It is important to understand that the Purāṇas met the challenge of incorporating the local and regional in a pan-Indian brahmanical framework. The Purāṇas interfaced with regional cultural elements by incorporating some of the important ones into their pan-Indian discourse, to a large extent masking the historical processes of conflict and negotiation that underlay this incorporation. During the period of Purāṇic composition the diverse regions were undergoing social and cultural transformations which necessitated a reformulation and negotiation of socio-religious practices and observances. The Purāṇas in their entirety tell the story of a major intellectual initiative by the brāhmaṇas to come to terms with the changes around them. This required renegotiating with new groups through more inclusive strategies involving new concessions to women and the lower sections of society and thereby perpetuating brahmanical hegemony and ideology. Therefore, this chapter attempts to explore the trajectory and evolution of the Purāṇic tradition which shows variations in its processes of assimilations and incorporations, as it encountered various peoples in different regions and conversely, how the Purāṇic tradition itself was influenced by the respective regional customs and practices.7 The social outlook of the Purāṇas was less splintered and more accommodating than that of the Dharmaśāstras. Whereas the Dharmaśāstras tried to isolate the lower varṇas and women within the larger social order, the Purāṇas reduced this chasm by fostering a syncretistic outlook8 which was a fusion of brahmanical with local traditions. The institutionalisation of the Purāṇic tradition was maintained through a combination of stories and legends culled from a variety of myths. Myths come alive in the context of history, rituals, philosophy, and social rules. They encompass the religious life of a community in its totality, giving meaning to ritual acts and sacred places which in themselves are mute. A myth is at one level a straightforward story, a narrative; at another it reflects the integrating values around which societies are woven. While history is a narrative of comparatively recent events situated in human time, a myth is a narrative set in primeval or

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prehistoric time, a time very remote from that of everyday reality. The unique features of myth are the result of the immense power of speech to go beyond the realm of the ordinary – the reality of the known world and the limits of common knowledge and perception – into the metaphorical realm of the spiritual potential of humans. A myth, therefore, recounts for its listeners a fabled past widely divergent from present existence.9 In this sense, the narratives of the Purāṇic tradition were myths. Looking at the ideological and the theological content of the Purāṇas, we can see that myths were woven to shape a social structure and familial traditions conducive to the world of brahmanism. In this assimilative synthesis, the brāhmaṇas assumed the dominant initiative in the negotiation of cultural norms. The Purāṇic process created a tradition which had the stamp of brahmanical approval. The Mahāpurāṇas cover a wide range of themes such as varṇāśramadharma (duties of the four social orders), rājadharma (the obligations of rulers), strīdharma (duties of women), saṁskāra (sacraments), śrāddha (ancestral rites), dāna (gift-making), pratiṣṭhā (consecration of images), tīrtha (pilgrimage), devapūjā (worship of deities), vāstu-vidyā (architecture), prāyaścitta (expiation of sins), vrata (sacred vows), and japa (chanting). While dealing with these themes, the Purāṇas engaged with a variety of traditions, creating a syncretic religious framework which was able to reach out to different social segments and to consolidate their popular appeal. The emergence and development of the Purāṇic tradition was a slow and gradual process. The process was distinguished by a remarkable continuity of appeal to past traditions, including the Vedic, accompanied by significant changes in religious ideas and practices. Sacrifice was central to the Vedic tradition, and continued to retain a certain importance in the epics and Purāṇas, but the emphasis in these later texts decisively shifts towards bhakti (devotion) to the gods, expressed in pūjā in the temple context. In the brahmanical tradition, Vedāṅga, Dharmaśāstra, the epics (Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata), Nītiśāstra, as well as the Purāṇas are classified as Smṛti (literally, “that which is remembered”). As we proceed, it will become clear that many attributes which we associate with the Purāṇic religion are anticipated in the Dharmaśāstra and the epics. Composed over a long period of time, the appeal of the Purāṇas cut across varṇa and gender boundaries, for it was believed that reading them, or listening to them being narrated, or devotion to their deities could lead to the atonement of sins and to salvation. The composition of the Purāṇas as a distinct genre of brahmanical literature was not only an attempt at meeting the challenges of the

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changing socio-economic order, it was also an effort to augment the mass appeal of brahmanical values. Social values were re-oriented through a set of ritual observances to promote devotion to deities, at the same time new rituals that encouraged wider participation were also created. It is significant that from the sixth century onwards, new topics were added to the Purāṇas. They relate mainly to various kinds of gifts, initiation ceremonies, sacrifices to planets and their pacification, glorification of holy places, vrata, and pūjā. P.V. Kane states that “on a modest calculation the four subjects, i.e., dāna, along with vrata, śrāddha, tīrtha cover at least hundred thousand slokas in the extant eighteen main Purāṇas.”10 During this process, we see a variety of unique and specific symbols, traits, and rituals, that could only have belonged to the particular regional ethos, fused into the larger composite culture within the brahmanical framework. At the same time one can discern the spread of the brahmanical ideology and its absorption by peoples of various regions. The culture that emerged in this way during the first millennium CE has been described by Sheldon Pollock as the “Sanskrit Cosmopolis.” Its impact, scope, and relevance were palpable even in the next millennium when the vernaculars had developed and even later. In the early phases of their encounter with India the British focused seriously on the Cosmopolis idea in their attempt to understand precolonial India.11 The Purāṇic tradition and social flux The Purāṇic tradition undoubtedly arose at a point when society was undergoing change and transformation. The growth of the Purāṇic tradition, on the one hand, and socio-political changes taking place, on the other, are inextricably linked with each other. The term which is often used in the Purāṇas to describe a period of flux and decline is kaliyuga.12 Some historians have viewed the Purāṇic idea of kaliyuga as reflective of a perception of an actual, historical process of change. R.S. Sharma, D.N. Jha, B.N.S. Yadava saw the idea of kaliyuga as pointing to an actual socio-economic crisis connected with the emergence and development of feudalism during the Gupta and post-Gupta periods. In those times kings had to resort to making land grants because of their inability to collect taxes from peasants on account of turmoil in the varṇa order and to pay to priests, administrative officers, and soldiers. But Upinder Singh differs and asserts that the cause of the so-called “kali crisis” and its chronology remain puzzling.13 Whether Indian society during this period was feudal or not has remained an

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important cause of animated debate in Indian historiography for nearly four decades.14 In this context B.D. Chattopadhyaya has attempted to provide an alternative paradigm. In his opinion, social changes in the early medieval period were marked by an expansion of state society through state formation, peasantisation of tribes and their infusion into brahmanical society, formation of castes, and cult appropriation and integration.15 Herman Kulke shares similar views and believes that kaliyuga does not reflect a social crisis or even class struggle; rather it reflects the brahmanical view on a challenge to their social status due to the rise of local and tribal rulers who were not yet fully integrated into the varṇāśrama system.16 Theory of varṇasaṁkara This scenario appears to have begun to develop since the fall of the Mauryan empire in the second century BC and finally became crystallised in the Gupta period. Part of the reason for the changes may relate to the influx and absorption of a large number of foreigners such as Śakas, Kuṣāṇas, and Yavanas in northern and western India during the early centuries of the Christian era, as well as the spread of the brahmanical tradition in the tribal regions of the Deccan as a result of land grants, particularly from the time of the Sātavāhanas (1st–3rd century AD).17 Going by the epigraphic evidence, the Sātavāhanas are known to have granted land with tax exemptions to brāhmaṇa beneficiaries. It may be noted that in the Nasik Inscription, Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi acquires the epithet of eka-brāhmaṇa (a unique brāhmaṇa).18 It is suggested that the Sātavāhanas, who initially belonged to a local Nāga tribe, claimed the social status of brāhmaṇas as a result of the admixture of brāhmaṇa blood in the family.19 It is also mentioned in the Nasik inscription that the king took as his primary duty the upholding of the brahmanical varṇa order by checking varṇasaṁkara (intermixture of varṇas). Naturally, foreigners and tribals were not willing to accept the brahmanical traditions and must have tried to resist their dominance. Land grants to brāhmaṇas were not a symptom of the disintegration of polities, but represented a royal integrative and legitimising policy. Thus, the Purāṇic idea of the kaliyuga may represent the brāhmaṇas’ perception of an age of resistance in various regions against brahmanical traditions. Yet another important development that took place between 200 BC–AD 300 was an increase in the number of jātis (caste), as a basis of social identity.20 According to the Mānavā-Dharmaśāstra (Manusmṛti), the emergence of jātis was the result of varṇasaṁkara

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(intermixture of varṇas) which included anuloma (marriage between a male of a higher varṇa and a woman of a lower varṇa) and pratiloma marriages (marriage between a male of a lower varṇa and a woman of a higher varṇa). This theory of varṇasaṁkara represents a desperate attempt to explain the changes in the existing social conditions including the proliferation of jātis and shows how different non-Aryan people like the Āndhras and even foreigners were gradually incorporated into the brahmanical order. It is significant that dynastic genealogies given in the Purāṇas are familiar with regions like Āndhra, Vidarbha, and Central India which indicates political accommodation. This is symptomatic of the change and challenges that the brāhmaṇas had to face and deal with. Socio-economic changes and their result From the economic point of view, the change was on account of the growth of trade within the subcontinent as well as with far off countries, including parts of the Roman empire. As merchants and their guilds grew in wealth and power they may have begun to be openly critical of orthodox brahmanism. There are various epigraphic references to merchant guilds making contributions to Buddhist stupas at Sanchi, Amaravati, and Nagarjunakonda.21 The brāhmaṇas thus had to adjust to the changing socio-economic environment. There is definitely a need to understand the social dynamics within a larger cultural matrix. The Purāṇas provide a vantage point from which cultural assimilation of elements ranging from Vedic rites to highly diversified local practices can be understood. Our study reveals that the Purāṇas were composed with a view to revitalising the brahmanical social order which was being seriously undermined. The brāhmaṇas attempted to meet this challenge by adapting certain practices to suit the changing requirements of people from different regions and social strata, while keeping alive and propagating the brahmanical tradition. As such, it is but natural that the woman question is addressed by the compilers and the necessary variations made in the narrative of the texts, always bearing in mind the larger priority. Therefore, it cannot be said that the synchrony between the time when the Purāṇas began to be composed and the beginning of the reformation and review of the brahmanical order was accidental or just by chance. As Nath puts it Considering the circumstances, it would almost appear to be a part of a well-conceived and skilfully implemented plan on the part of the brahmanical ideologues to reach out and acculturate

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In the sections below, certain important features of Purāṇic cosmology and religion are discussed. In all cases, special emphasis has been placed on the details of the contents of the five Purāṇas that form the focus of this book, i.e., the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas.

Cosmology of the Purāṇas and religion We may recall that the brahmanical view of change is evolutionary and cyclical. The four yugas are basically a symbolic measurement of time that provide a basis for explaining the origin and development of the universe. There are four ages or yugas which are kṛta, tretā, dvāpara, and kali, each consisting of many thousands of years. The duration of each is said to be respectively 1,728,000, 1,296,000, 864,000, and 432,000 years – the descending numbers representing a gradual physical and moral degradation of men. These four yugas make up a mahāyuga and 1000 mahāyugas constitute a kalpa. Each kalpa is divided into 14 manvantaras, each presided over by a Manu. This cycle of time is connected with the cyclical decline and revival of dharma. In the kṛtayuga, dharma was fourfooted and complete, and so was truth. In the kṛtayuga, austerity was the chief virtue; in the tretāyuga, it was wisdom; in the dvāparayuga, the performance of rituals; and in the kaliyuga, uttering the name of Hari was the best means to find salvation. The idea of kaliyuga in the Purāṇas In the last phase, that is the kaliyuga, dharma and righteousness suffer a three-fourth extinction. An interesting story about Kali is found in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, in which Parīkṣit saw a śūdra in king’s attire (who was actually an anthropomorphic representation of the age of Kali) beating a bull and a cow who stood for dharma and pṛthvī respectively. Parīkṣit, after comforting dharma and pṛthvī who were being beaten by Kali marked by five attributes, i.e., gambling, drinking of intoxicants, debauchery, slaughter, and adharma, restored to dharma embodied as a bull his three lost feet – austerity, purity, and fellow-feeling, and made the earth prosperous.23 According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, the kaliyuga will end with the appearance of Viṣṇu’s Kalki avatāra who will defeat the wicked and liberate the virtuous.

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Implicit in this notion is the equation of the process of time with a moral and socio-economic decline. The general description of the kaliyuga is fairly clear because it is a deviation from the norms of the established social order. Detailed descriptions of the kaliyuga are found in almost all the early Purāṇas. Both Kane and Hazra assign the earliest kaliyuga passages in the Purāṇas to the end of the third and beginning of the fourth century AD.24 Kane25 considers the four yugas to be theoretical. It is remarkable that in sharp contrast to the other ages, discussions of the kaliyuga occupy the largest space in the Purāṇas. According to a description of the kaliyuga in the Matsya Purāṇa, “The people will be unholy (asādhvāḥ), unrighteous (asattvāḥ) and oppressed (piḍitāḥ) with disease (vyādhi) and sorrow (śoka), and goaded by the failure of rain, they will be eager to destroy each other.”26 Characteristics of kaliyuga The Viṣṇu, Matsya, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas give a very vivid description of the kaliyuga. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa says that in the kaliyuga, people will not observe the principles of varṇa and āśrama. The laws that regulate the conduct of husband and wife (dāmpatya-krama) will be neglected. Wives will desert their husbands when they lose their wealth. Economic wealth will be above social status and only the rich will be considered by women as their lords. The path of the Vedas being obliterated will lead to a predominance of incest and all sorts of infirmities of mind, body, and speech.27 Kaliyuga, according to Hazra, in these texts is characterised by a neglect of rituals, foreign invasions, social tensions, and the growing influence of heretical sects.28 The kaliyuga features refusal by the vaiśyas to pay taxes, lack of security for family and property, widespread theft and robbery, brāhmaṇa-śūdra hostility, women becoming devoid of chastity, and ultimately, the breaking up of the varṇa structure.29 In this age, it is said that mlecchas would become more dominant, along with specific tribal groups like the Pulindas, Yadus, and Madrakas. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa mentions the Niṣādas whose association with king Pṛthu gave them a high social standing.30 In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, references to inter-tribal conflicts are also explicit. Sagara, who destroyed the Śakas, Yavanas, and Kambojas, deprived them of the right to perform religious rites and thus turning them into mlecchas.31 Alluding to the process of political flux, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa states that in a period of instability, one who becomes strong and possesses horses, elephants, chariots, and wealth manages to become a king and

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has the right to marry girls from all varṇas.32 In the same Purāṇa, we have the story of sage Dīrghatamas who begot sons through Bali’s wife after whom the five regions of Aṅga, Vaṅga, Kaliṅga, Suhma, and Pundra were named.33 The Matsya Purāṇa describes a significant amount of political upheaval and mentions many local dynasties like the Āndhras, Śrīparvatīyas,34 Yavanas, and Tuṣāras and foreign powers like Hūṇas35 and Śakas.36 In fact, an adjective commonly used for both the ruler and the ruled of the kaliyuga is greedy (lubdha).37 The concept of the three guṇas–sattva (purity, goodness), rajas (passion/splendour), and tamas (dullness/gloom) also received a major thrust in the Purāṇas.38 According to the Matsya Purāṇa, during the kaliyuga, owing to the dominance of the guṇa of tamas, “people indulge in hiṁsā (violence), theft, falsehood . . . and quarrels, plague, fatal diseases, famines, drought, and calamities appear.”39 Certain legends point towards increasing socio-economic mobility, and various tribes and communities being incorporated within the confines of the brahmanical tradition. However, the process was gradual, varying from region to region. Some tribes like the Tālajaṅghas, Yavanas, and Śakas, in order to achieve socio-religious approval, may have claimed kinship ties with the ṛṣis with the aim of legitimising their authority. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, King Sagara defeats Tālajaṅghas, Yavanas, and Śakas. But on the advice of his teacher (Aurva), he spares their lives.40 Varṇasaṁkara in the kaliyuga The main element of the kaliyuga highlighted in most of the Purāṇic texts is varṇasaṁkara, i.e., intermixture of varṇas, in the course of which the first three varṇas would be reduced to one varṇa, varṇāśrama rules would not be observed and there would be increasing addiction to unrighteousness. Such people are described in the Matsya Purāṇa as having no protection from anyone, always living in terror on top of the mountain and on the banks of a river. The people would be unholy (asādhvāḥ), would subsist on fruits, roots, and leaves of trees, be clothed in tattered garments of bark and skin, and would be doomed to wander over the earth in search of livelihood.41 In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa there are references to brāhmaṇas who were sprung from families of rākṣasas, which suggests improper conduct of brāhmaṇas.42 The fact that such a large number of local groups and tribes have been identified in the Purāṇas shows brahmanical concern regarding the impact

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such social turmoil was likely to have on society, as well as the urgent need to diffuse the crisis in the best possible way. A significant aspect associated with the kaliyuga are the kalivarjyas or practices forbidden in the Kali Age. However, the majority of the Purāṇas hardly contain any verses about such matters. Inextricably linked though they are with the notion of kaliyuga, it seems that the idea of kalivarjyas crystallised nearly half a millennium later than the earliest Kali descriptions in the Purāṇas. According to Kane, the Nāradīya Purāṇa contains four verses about the kalivarjyas. He further says that according to the Nāradīya Purāṇa, certain practices, which were once allowed, were forbidden in the kaliyuga. These proscriptions included, among others, undertaking of a sea voyage, the carrying of a jar of water, marrying a girl of a class lower than one’s own, perpetual studenthood, levirate, killing of an animal in Madhuparka, offerings of flesh in Śrāddhas, the stage of a forest hermit, remarriage of a girl who was married earlier, but whose marriage has not been consummated, human sacrifice, horse sacrifice, and the sacrifice of a cow.43 In the Purāṇas that are the focus of this study there are no references to kalivarjyas. It is clear from the above discussion that while the notion of kalivarjyas may have existed in nascent form in the early centuries of the Christian Era, they became prominent in response to the growing socio-political flux which characterised the early medieval period in India (c. AD 600–1300) and were finally crystallised into concrete prohibitions as evident by their inclusion in the Nāradīya Purāṇa.

The Purāṇic pantheon In the period under consideration, religious traditions must be viewed as multiple interacting entities within the larger religious fabric. The Purāṇas and the epics emphasised theism, included within which were polytheism (the worship of many deities) and monolatry (the worship of a supreme deity without denying the existence of other deities). A wide range of monistic and non-theistic ideas and notions of piety co-existed with the above and they all shared the religious landscape, embedded in a variegated yet partially-shared matrix of cosmology, mythology, and philosophy. Moreover, the brahmanical tradition had expanded to incorporate within itself a diverse mix of ideas and practices.44 Many Purāṇic deities have Vedic antecedents but the types of religious beliefs and worship of the deities in the Purāṇas are different from those of the Vedas. Both Śaivisim and Vaiṣṇavism focus on bhakti as an effective means to salvation and can be viewed as a result

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of the interaction between Veda-centred brahmanical orthodoxies and a diverse array of local and regional practices.45 The brahmanical attempt at social reorganisation was through the assimilation of local cults, traditions, and tribes. In the Purāṇic religion tīrthayātrā, pūjā, dāna, and vrata occupy a place of prominence and have a universal appeal. These practices were open to all varṇas and were acceptable to a wide section of people. They are associated with bhakti (devotion) which finds wide expression in texts such as the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Bhakti is identified as the supreme means of spiritual fulfilment and the Bhāgavata says that man reaches the Supreme Being by adopting the path of devotion.46 Bhakti articulated itself in different forms comprising listening to recitals (śravaṇa), worship (pūjā), and praise of god (kīrtana).47 It emphasised virtues like purity of mind, speech, kindness, humility, non-violence, and truth for the purpose of inculcating the idea of devotion in the human mind.48 It was bhakti that qualified a person for receiving God’s grace, for knowledge of the divine, and liberation. The role of the Purāṇas in disseminating the idea of bhakti in outlying areas, both in the geographic and social sense, is clearly attested to in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. This text says that the path of bhakti is open to all varṇas and āśramas. For women and śūdras, this path was described as most beneficial for spiritual progress.49 Vaiṣṇavism: the source and a myriad manifestations “Vaiṣṇavism” is a term which is usually used to collectively refer to several distinct cults, especially those centering on the worship of Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva-Kṛṣṇa, and the goddesses Śrī and Lakṣmī, which at some point came to be associated with the god Viṣṇu. The thrust of the Purāṇic religion was evident in its accommodating process. The name Viṣṇu denotes all-pervasiveness; he is the one who enters all beings and non-beings, one who possesses all auspicious attributes, such as knowledge and power, and is the one who is desired by all souls. The idea of an avatāra is a distinctive feature of Vaiṣṇavism. The term avatāra refers to the “descents” of Viṣṇu in different forms; it is often loosely translated as “incarnation” and eventually accounts for all the myriad manifestations of Viṣṇu. Traditionally, the avatāra system articulated four, six, then ten and seemingly a large number of descents subordinate to Viṣṇu-Nārāyaṇa. Early hints of the avatāra idea are found in the Rāmāyaṇa and in the Bhāgavad Gītā, which

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forms eighteen chapters in the sixth book of the Mahābhārata. However, this idea was developed more fully in the Purāṇas. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa mentions that there is no limit to the incarnations of Viṣṇu.50 In the Purāṇic accounts, the theriomorphic forms of Viṣṇu Matsya (the fish), Kūrma (the tortoise), Varāha (the boar), and Narasiṁha (the half man-half lion) were understood to have appeared in the first age of the world, the kṛta. These avatāras begin with an aquatic emergence of life represented by the fish to save Manu, the first ancestor to be saved after the flood. The next incarnation was that of the tortoise to support the mountain Mandāra on his back, so that the gods could use it as a churn, and using the serpent for a rope, churn the ocean to retrieve the lost nectar of immortality. Next came the boar who saved the earth goddess from drowning in the cosmic ocean. Viṣṇu makes the transition in Narasiṁha to the man-lion avatāra to destroy the demon-king Hiraṇyakaśipu who inflicted miseries on his son Prahlāda who was a devotee of Viṣṇu. In the tretā, Viṣṇu assumed human dimensions as Vāmana (the dwarf), and Paraśurāma (‘Rāma with the axe’). Viṣṇu in the form of a dwarf tricks the demon-king Bali into granting him the space that three of his steps would cover. Upon being granted the request, Viṣṇu takes a gigantic form and takes two steps covering the earth; the third he places on Bali, thus ending his tyranny. In his avatāra as Paraśurāma, Viṣṇu takes the form of a brāhmaṇa who destroys all Kṣatriya varṇa descendants of king Kārtavīrya. In the next avatāra, Rāma vanquishes the demon Rāvaṇa. He epitomises a virtuous son, an ideal husband, and a highly revered god. Viṣṇu’s avatāra as Kṛṣṇa is highly celebrated as one that succeeds in saving humanity from the oppressive rule of Kaṁsa. The character of Vāsudeva-Kṛṣṇa as it emerges from the Mahābhārata, Bhāgavad Gītā, and the Purāṇas is extremely complex. According to Suvira Jaiswal, the term Bhāgavata (literally one who belongs to bhagavān, i.e., a devotee of the great lord) was used originally to refer to the devotees of Nārāyaṇa. Associated with him were asceticism, yoga, and sacrifice. According to Jaiswal, the parallel development of the concepts of the bhagavat and Nārāyaṇa strongly suggest that the ideas of bhagavat and bhakti arose among the worshippers of Nārāyaṇa. Over time, however, the term Bhāgavata came to be used for the worshippers of VāsudevaKṛṣṇa. The cult of Vāsudeva-Kṛṣṇa had its origins in the Mathura area and the pastoral elements associated with his childhood and stories revolving around him and the gopis (cowherd girls) are showcased in great details in texts such as Viṣṇu and Bhāgavata Purāṇas.51

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As pointed out by Nath, it is interesting to note that the primitive tribes not only renamed their own deities with names borrowed from the brahmanical tradition, they also adopted brahmanical gods into their own pantheon, including, among others, the incarnations of Viṣṇu in the form of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa.52 The dvāparayuga was brought to a close by Kṛṣṇa, whose childhood exploits were recounted in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. His next avatāra is believed to be that of the Buddha, which is believed to delude the wicked. Kalki (signified by the image of a white horse) is the final avatāra which Viṣṇu is yet to assume in the degraded kaliyuga, and is mentioned in some of the Purāṇas.53 One of the ideas behind the concept of Viṣṇu’s avatāras may have been to include the non-brahmanical, non-literate segments that were part of tribal belief systems, in the brahmanical order. The recognition of the Buddha as an avatāra was probably meant to erode the independence and increasing popularity of Buddhism. Similarly, the Purāṇic conception of the incarnation of Viṣṇu as a boar (Varāha) and a fish (Matsya) may reflect a process of acculturation resulting from the interaction between brahmanical traditions and tribal totemic symbols. Kṛṣṇa, who was important to the pastoral and agricultural communities, has received a significant amount of attention in the Purāṇas. This was a great leap forward for accommodating non-brahmanical deities within the Purāṇic pantheon.54 The independent worship of various Vaiṣṇava deities, especially Nārāyaṇa and Vāsudeva-Kṛṣṇa, increased greatly during the period of the composition of the Purāṇas. Śrī and Lakṣmī were originally two different goddesses whose forms and attributes coalesced into one in texts like the Brāhmaṇas and early Upaniṣads. Śrī (meaning prosperity or well-being) may have been a fertility goddess, while Lakṣmī may have been a deity connected with luck and prosperity. Śrī Lakṣmī is considered the consort of Viṣṇu in the epics and Purāṇas.55 It is from the Purāṇas that we know that Viṣṇu reclines on the body of Śeṣanāga who floats on the ocean of milk. Viṣṇu’s consort, Lakṣmī, the goddess of prosperity, sits by his side serving him. From his navel rises a lotus, out of which emerges Brahmā, whose four faces look at all four directions and who creates the world. Therefore, we can say that views of creation, protection, and dissolution of the universe, cosmological perceptions – sacred and profane – are all dealt with in the Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas. Being the ultimate reality, Viṣṇu is described as the source of the universe. Thus, it appears that the avatāras served to give expression to the processes of socio-religious assimilation and amalgamation.56

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Śaivism: diverse traditions and the figure of the Mahāyogī Besides Viṣṇu, another deity who dominates Purāṇic literature is Śiva. While the development of the relationship of these gods cannot be described in detail here, it should be pointed out that Viṣṇu is connected with purity and peace (sattva) and Śiva with asceticism, austerity, and death (tamas). It is generally held that Śiva did not have avatāras and that deities from diverse traditions were incorporated into the Śaiva pantheon. The character of Śiva is very enigmatic and has been studied by several scholars.57 Under the name of Rudra as Mahākāla, Śiva is the great destroying and dissolving power. But he also represents reproductive power and is regarded as Mahādeva, the great God, who dwells in all beings and encompasses the universe. The classical worship of Śiva has strong ties to both ascetic yoga practices, as well as to the liṅga – perhaps derived from old fertility cults. One of the most important elements in Śiva’s mythology is the liṅga which is overwhelmingly his most common aniconic representation. The liṅga or phallus, symbolising Śiva’s fertile procreative powers, is combined with the yoni, or female organ, the representative of śakti or female energy. This aspect is discussed in detail in the Śiva and Liṅga Purāṇas. Certainly, by the period of the Purāṇas, the connection between Śiva and the liṅga is firmly established. In fact S.A. Dange relates the mythological origin of Śiva being worshipped in the liṅga form as an indication of the absorption of tribal tokens and symbols.58 Śiva is also the greatest ascetic, the Mahāyogī. In this form of Śiva is centred the highest perfection of austere penance and abstract meditation, through which are obtained the most unlimited powers. In the Matsya Purāṇa, when Himālaya learns that his daughter is to marry Śiva, he says, “It is said that Śiva lives without any attachments and that he performs asceticism alone. It is confounding, therefore, to find that he yet desires to marry.”59 Śiva is also Bhūteśvara, the lord of ghosts and ghouls (bhūtas). In this aspect, he haunts places of cremation, wearing serpents round his neck and a necklace of skulls. Śiva possesses infinite attributes, some of which are reflected in the many names by which he is known. He is the “three-eyed,” Trilocana, the “blue-throated” Nīlakaṇṭha, and the “five-faced,” Pañcānana, among others. His sculptural representations are infinitely unique as well. He is often represented in profound thought, often times with a third eye in the middle of his forehead. His locks are generally matted, upon which he carries the symbol of the river Gaṅgā, as he catches her fall from heaven; a necklace of skulls hangs around his neck

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(muṇḍamālā), serpents move freely around his neck (nāga kauṇḍala), and in his hand he holds a triśūla or trident called pināka.60 There are various legends regarding Śiva’s weapons and garments.61 It is said that he once visited a forest in the form of a religious mendicant and the wives of the ṛṣis residing there fell in love with him for his great beauty. To overpower him, the ṛṣis first dug a pit, and by using magical powers, caused a tiger to rush out of it. Śiva slew the tiger and made his skin into a covering for his body. In the case of Śaivism, it was largely the deities who seem to have had a tribal background, such as Pārvatī, Gaṇeśa and Skanda, who were integrated into the Purāṇic pantheon. Pārvatī is Śiva’s wife and a powerful goddess. Sometimes she is represented as being one half of Śiva in his Ardhanārīśvara form. On other occasions, she is, in terms borrowed from the philosophical system of sāṁkhya, the female prakṛti, Śiva being the male puruṣa. She is also Devī, the great Goddess with a character and identity of her own. Gaṇeśa myths bring into focus certain significant aspects of the norms of relationship within the divine family. D.D. Kosambi connects Gaṇeśa with the Nāga cult of Western India62 and D.P. Chattopadhyaya also points to his tribal antecedents.63 The Matsya Purāṇa gives the following iconographic description of Gaṇeśa: the face of Gaṇeśa should have the trunk of an elephant with three eyes, he should have four arms, a huge stomach, wear a sacred thread, and ride a mouse. He is the source of success, prosperity (riddhi), and intelligence (buddhi). Purāṇic lore is absolutely silent about the wives of Gaṇeśa, but gives a description of various goddesses and nymphs. Riddhi and Siddhi are neither independent deities nor are they conceivable in the category of actual women.64 Fertility symbols such as the snake and bull found their way into Purāṇic traditions that centred on Śiva. Śiva is in turn ascetic, erotic, malevolent, benevolent, destructive, and creative. All these aspects are important features of his portrayal in the Purāṇas. Śāktism – worship of the feminine as the supreme being Śāktism, which pertains to the power of the universe conceived of as a Goddess, is the third major sectarian tradition in the Purāṇic religion. Śāktism is the worship of śakti, the feminine power, personified as a female deity who is the supreme being, and is of utmost importance for the scope of this present work. Hence, a detailed discussion of Śāktism in the context of the five Purāṇas becomes imperative at this point.

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Scholars dealing with the history of goddesses in India strongly proclaim that the basic impulse behind the worship of the goddess is indigenous, non-brahmanical, and non-sanskritic. The idea that the origin of the goddess is pre-Vedic is attested to by the fact that the Indus civilisation had goddess worship, whereas it is not found to any great degree in the early Vedic religion.65 Shubhangana Atre has suggested that the ritual basis of the Harappan civilisation was derived from the basic concept of the “Archetypal Mother.”66 However, in the Vedic period goddesses such as Sarasvatī, Uṣas, Pṛthvī, Aditi, and others do not occupy the centre of the textual sacrificial tradition; it is quite possible that they were central to women’s household rituals. In the Vedic pantheon, the goddesses are negligible in number and compared to the gods insignificant in importance. Essays and specialised monographs on the goddess cult by D.D. Kosambi, Moti Chandra, R.C. Hazra, and R.G. Bhandarkar demonstrate the non-Vedic origin of the goddess and also illustrate how the Vedic and non-Vedic traditions interacted to transform the original character of the goddess in the realm of ideas.67 The presence of goddess worship in the Vedic corpus was marginal, and lacked in the religious intensity witnessed in tribal worship and in the later Purāṇic literature. The study of an important text associated with the great Goddess, the Devī-Māhātmya, was undertaken by Vasudeva Saran Agrawala and Thomas Coburn. A broad historical survey of Śāktism as a continuous developing tradition was carried out by N.N. Bhattacharya and Tracy Pintchman. The study of specific goddesses along with a literary, mythic, and iconographic analysis was also undertaken by other scholars.68 A more recent critical and reflexive work, different from other scholarly studies of the Goddess, and one which focuses on gender issues within the contemporary discourse, is a collection of essays entitled Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddesses.69 The first attempt to incorporate the Goddess in all her essentials within the brahmanical fold was made in the Mahābhārata. In the Vīrāṭaparva stuti, as Yudhiṣṭhira goes towards Vīrāṭanagara, he praises the goddess Durgā in 26 verses. In the Durgāstotra of the Bhīṣmaparva, Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna to pray to a Goddess, who is primarily a war goddess Jayā; this and the Āryāstava in the Harivaṁsa reflect Śākta ideas.70 The Durgāstotra addresses the Goddess by various names such as Āryā, Nārāyaṇī, Śrī, Aparṇā, and Nagnaśabarī.71 The process of assimilation had just begun, for she is described in the same texts as Svāhā and Svadhā, i.e., oblations to deities; and vedānta, i.e., the beginning and the end of the Vedas. This process reached its

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culmination in the Devī-Māhātmya section of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa around the sixth century AD.72 Devī-Māhātmya The Devī-Māhātmya represents a point of synthesis between goddesses as significant individual deities and the concept of a great Goddess, a synthesis that became prominent in Sanskrit literature. As stated by V.S. Agrawala,73 the following strands comprise Goddess worship: the Vedic tradition of vāc and trayīvidyā, i.e., knowledge of the Vedas and the philosophical doctrines of sāṁkhya and vedānta with their concepts of prakṛti, māyā and brahman. In Purāṇic mythology, Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī and Durgā are conceived of as the three śaktis of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva along with the cult of seven goddesses (saptamatṛkā). The Goddess not only incorporates within her all feminine qualities but masculine qualities as well. David Kinsley points out that in taking over the roles of the creator, preserver, and destroyer from Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva respectively, she makes the male gods superfluous.74 The Devī-Māhātmya is certainly not the earliest literary work attesting to the existence of devotion to a Goddess figure, but it is surely the earliest in which the central object of worship is conceptualised as the Goddess. Crystallising the earlier myths and images of the goddesses and identifying them as many manifestations of one great Goddess, it presents an integrated theology and mythology in the Sanskrit language of the Goddess as a Supreme Being.75 Although this text is woven quite naturally into the fabric of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, it has a high degree of independence. The Devī-Māhātmya, which describes “the greatness of the Goddess,” is popularly known as the Durgā-Saptaśatī, i.e., seven hundred verses to Durgā.76 The easiest way to grasp the significance of the text is to return to the notion of “brahmanical synthesis” which is the process of local cults gaining importance and being accepted by the more powerful and ascendant tradition. The Devī-Māhātmya can be seen as representing a synthesis of goddess cults that existed at the time of its composition; several goddesses became identified in the text as different aspects of one great Goddess, the Devī or Mahādevī.77 The first episode of the Devī-Māhātmya opens with the creation of the world when the entire earth is covered with water upon which the serpent Śeṣa floats. The great Viṣṇu is sleeping when the creator Brahmā, seated upon a lotus, emerges from Viṣṇu’s navel and sees two demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha who have been born from the dirt of Viṣṇu’s ears. When the two demons start to attack Brahmā, he sings

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a hymn of praise to the Goddess as Yoganidrā, asking her to depart from Viṣṇu’s body, thus allowing him to awaken and slay the demons. In the hymn, Brahmā also calls her Prakṛti, Mahādevī (great goddess), and Mahāsurī (great demoness). She emerges from Viṣṇu’s body, and slays the demon after a five-thousand-year battle.78 One of the epithets used for the goddess in the Madhu-Kaiṭabha episode is Mahāmāyā, for she deludes the two demons. The second episode of the Devī-Māhātmya centres on the Goddess killing Mahiṣāsura, the buffalo demon. The demon has usurped the power of the gods so that they no longer receive the proper share of the Vedic sacrifice.79 They approach Viṣṇu and Śiva for help and all the gods together through their anger emit a brilliance (tejas), which fuses together like a “flaming mountain whose flames pervaded the entire sky.” This unified brilliance becomes a beautiful woman. Each god then gives her a weapon, ornament, or other emblem. Śiva gives her a trident, Kṛṣṇa a discus, Himālaya a lion as her vehicle, and so on.80 This conception of the Goddess created from the energy of all the gods who kills Mahiṣāsura is elaborated in the Purāṇas and ultimately she crystallises into Mahiṣāsuramardinī.81 The third episode introduces numerous individual goddesses such as Kālī and Cāmuṇḍā who are integrated into the great Goddess.82 Remembering the Goddess’s promise to return, the gods go to the Himālayas to invoke her. As the gods are engaged in their praise, Pārvatī, who had approached the spot to bathe in the Gaṅgā, asks them who they were praising. Immediately, the beautiful Ambikā (also called Kauśīkī) emerges from the kośa (drinking vessel) of Pārvatī, who becomes black (Kālī) and therefore becomes known as Kālikā. From this point, Pārvatī-Kālikā plays no further role. Seeing the beautiful Ambikā, the servants of the demon Śumbha and Niśumbha, Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, describe her beauty. Śumbha sends them to Ambikā with the message that she could choose either him or his brother as her husband. The Goddess refuses, saying that she had long ago made a vow that she would marry only the one who defeated her in battle. Hearing this reply, Śumbha and Niśumbha send their general Dhūmralocana (“smoky-eyed”) to capture her, but he is slain by her instead. As the battle continues, śaktis emerge from the bodies of seven male gods and thus the “seven mothers”(saptamātṛkā) are created. They are designated by the names Brahmāṇī from Brahmā, Māheśvarī from Maheśvara or Śiva, Kaumārī from Kumāra, Vaiṣṇavī from Viṣṇu, Vārāhī from Varāha, Narasiṁhī from Narasiṁha, and Aindrī from Indra.83 In addition to these seven and Kālī, the Goddess emits one more śakti called Śivadūtī, because she enlists Śiva as a messenger to

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challenge the demons further to battle. Then the demon Raktabīja (literally “blood-drop”) appears on the battlefield. Kālī laps up all the blood and destroys him. The third episode concludes with the gods singing the famous Nārāyaṇī-stuti, a lengthy hymn of praise to the Goddess as the creator, preserver, and destroyer of the universe. The Goddess then appears before them and says that whenever evil threatens the world, she will appear in the form of various incarnations (avatāras). Although in the Devī-Māhātmya, the Goddess is more closely associated with Viṣṇu than Śiva, the purpose of the text is to emphasise the greatness of the Goddess. The divine mother and her many forms The divine mothers (mātṛkās) play an important role in Devī legends. In the Purāṇas, they are regarded as offshoots of goddess Caṇḍikā and some of them, like Vaiṣṇavī and Kālikā, are often identified with Devī herself.84 There is absolutely no reference in the Vedas or in the Mahābhārata to Caṇḍikā, which means “the violent.” Therefore we may look for the historical origin of her worship in non-Sanskritic areas.85 In due course, certain goddesses grew out of their local boundaries and acquired a regional or trans-regional profile. By the time the Matsya Purāṇa was composed, the Goddess was worshipped in her myriad forms. She takes on many forms, beneficial like Pārvatī, Ambā or Śrī, and fierce like Durgā, Kālī or Caṇḍī. Different goddesses like Kumud, Mādhavī, Gaurī, Rambhā, Bhadrā, Jayā, and Umā are described as manifestations of the same deity.86 Whereas Kālī is the dark half of nature, Gaurī is the brighter side, the loving, tender, and benevolent one who sustains life. The Matsya Purāṇa mentions the benefits that accrue through the grace of the goddess Gaurī and other manifestations of the Devī.87 They are described as different names of one and the same Goddess for the purpose of worship in different months and tithis.88 Vratas (sacred vows) were performed for individual goddesses to ensure the security and prosperity of the household. In all vratas, different items in the form of sacrificial fee (dakṣiṇā) had to be given to the wives of brāhmaṇas. With the multiplicity of rituals, the Purāṇas emphasised the need for all to take part in Goddess worship, irrespective of varṇa and gender. Some of the indigenous vratas like the Kātyāyanī Vrata which were open to women became a community festival.89

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The Matsya Purāṇa also contains a list of goddesses like Gadinī, Nairityā, Paṭākinī, and Saṁkhinī whose images had to be worshipped at the time of the Kalpalatā mahādāna, i.e., mahādāna of the wishfulfilling creeper.90 Such female divinities are associated with their weapons and vehicles.91 In the same note, we find a figure like Kāmakhyā Devī, who is worshipped for enhanced fertility. The annual celebration of Kāmakhyā Devī’s menstrual cycle for four days, the ambubasci92 ritual, still celebrated in the eastern state of Assam, provides ample pointers to the goddess and her significance in this discussion. Such importance being given to fertility and the worship of the menstrual cycle, otherwise scorned by brahmanism as impure and stigmatised by a periodical untouchability, only proves the gradual upsurge of both Śāktism and the agency of women, which could no longer be ignored. These goddesses were visualised like young girls forms with a coronet on their heads. The emphasis was on their boon-giving power which highlighted their popularity.93 While permanent images of metal or stone adorned temples or household shrines, temporary images of goddesses moulded out of clay were prepared during festivals. Thus, we can see that the Purāṇas attach importance to certain goddesses. Although individual local goddesses were submerged into a Goddess tradition, the Purāṇas under study show that they also retained their individual identities. Simultaneously, as early as the fifth century AD, there evolved a notion of a single great Goddess, Devī, of whom all individual goddesses were discrete manifestations. Gender complementarity among deities But in the Purāṇas, gender complementarity among the deities is also quite marked. The high-profile goddesses are attached to their consorts – for instance, Rudrāṇī is the favourite of Lord Śiva, and Lakṣmī is the consort of Viṣṇu.94 In these contexts, creation is described in relation to a series of interactions between Śiva and his consort Rudrāṇī and between Viṣṇu and his spouse Lakṣmī. These goddesses are not only important in themselves, they are also the epitome of śakti for the gods to carry on their assigned functions. Tantra In the early stages, the Purāṇic religion was free from tāntric influence, but from the ninth century onwards, as Hazra has shown, the Purāṇas began to accept tāntric elements.95 Tantra is understood as the method or technique by which an individual could achieve supernatural powers

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and liberation in this life. In tantra, the divine is visualised as formed of the union of the male and female principles. The rites and rituals of tantra are seen as the tools through which an individual is able to understand the components of the divine and to attain it as well. P.V. Kane has also pointed to the growing influence of tantra in the Purāṇas. The word tantra occurs in the sense of a loom in the Ṛg Veda.96 It is derived from the root word “tan” meaning “to spread.”97 In the Mahābhāṣya, the word signifies a branch of knowledge. Practice is the main aspect of tantra and tāntric course of action is usually called sādhanā. Tāntric features became more evident in some of the Purāṇas like the Agni. This text mentions twenty-four tantra rituals for the consecration of the images of Viṣṇu, Śiva, and other gods; also tāntric symbols and ceremonies like orb or circle (maṇḍala) with Pāśupata mantras were used for renovation of old Śiva liṅgas for the building of temples.98 The Purāṇas and tantra also give emphasis to initiation (dīkṣā) by a guru as an essential pre-condition of tāntric sādhanā involving ritual and yoga.99 Some of the other tāntric cultic practices which had penetrated into Purāṇic ritualism were the symbols of the lotus (padma), discus (cakra), and orb (maṇḍala) during the performance of vows, and the worship of virgin girls.100 In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the ritual worship of Viṣṇu could be based on Vedic mantras or on tāntric texts. But only members of the three varṇas who after upanayana had attained the status of dvija (twiceborn) were permitted to perform any of the rituals.101 An important feature of tantra is its supreme emphasis on the female principle. As a matter of fact, a woman as such is an object of great veneration to all schools of tāntric sādhakas (seekers) in the cultic context. The origin of this idea lies in the fact that the fertility of the field was thought of as having a special connection to women, who were the first cultivators of the soil.102 In tantra, the Absolute is considered as having male and female aspects. In Śākta tantra, this energy (śakti) represented as the Goddess is given prime importance.103 However, it must be noted that not all tāntrics are Śāktas and not all Śāktas are tāntrics. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, the female principle is regarded as Mahālakṣmī who is the consort of Viṣṇu. Tāntric elements began to make their way through the existing cult of goddesses who later came to be identified with the consorts of Viṣṇu. Of these goddesses, Śrī or Lakṣmī came to predominate.104 What is of direct significance here is the fact that tantra and tāntrism were forms of spirituality that laid more emphasis on practice and rituals rather than devotion and recitation, as the importance on fertility would suggest. As such, women could no longer be

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kept out of the sphere of influence of tāntrism. In the process of acculturation of fringe elements, brahmanism had to make a concession that granted space to marginalised groups, like women. In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa,105the Goddess is Viṣṇumāyā, the śakti or energy of Viṣṇu, and Nārāyaṇī, the wife of Nārāyaṇa. Brahmanism, in order to gain popularity among the masses, had to compromise with existing cults and beliefs and this was one of the processes through which female divinities broke into the strongholds of male-dominated cults. The demi-gods Apart from gods and goddesses, other categories like asuras (demons) and nāgas (serpent deities) also find mention in the Purāṇas. Both are described in the Manusmṛti as having been produced by Brahmā’s foot106 but were also referred to as the progeny of ṛṣi Pulastya. N.N. Bhattacharya identifies demons with non-Aryan people because of their varied activities.107 In the Purāṇas, asuras are involved in endless struggle with the gods. They have been identified with other demonic beings such as rākṣasas. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa108 makes them the descendants of Kaśyapa and Khāśā. Closely associated with the asuras are daityas like Hiraṇyakaśipu.109 Some of the demi-gods were involved in heinous crimes like the murder of Parīkṣit by the Nāga chief, Takṣaka.110 Other mythical categories that acquired cultural significance were the yakṣas, kinnaras, and gandharvas. They are all depicted as celestial and semi-divine beings. In the Matsya Purāṇa111 for example, there is a story of a yakṣa by the name of Harikeśa, who was granted a boon by Śiva and made lord of the gaṇas, in the Kāśī region, free from infirmity, and one who could bestow the gift of food and wealth. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa defines the functions of the yakṣas, nāgas, gandharvas, and kinnaras.112 The yakṣa cult, deeply embedded in local traditions, came to figure prominently in Purāṇic literature, not merely in a secondary position, but also in an independent capacity. Yakṣas were deities connected with water, trees, fertility, etc. Once major foci of independent cults, they were absorbed and marginalised by the dominant religious traditions and their worship pushed from the public into the domestic sphere.113 Gandharvas, who were semi-divine beings, are described as born of Brahmā. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa has a legend of the gandharvas fighting with the nāgas, whose treasures they plundered. The nāga chief appealed to Viṣṇu for relief and he promised to appear in the form of Purukusta (a son of king Māndhātā) to help them.114 Similarly, for the

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kinnaras, it has been suggested that they sprang from the toe of Brahmā with the yakṣas, but they are also referred to as sons of Kaśyapa.115 However their cultural traits like martial skills, music, and association with festivities brought them closer to mainstream tradition compared to the piśācas, asuras, and daityas, who were portrayed as hostile and far more distanced from sophisticated cultural traditions.

Gender elements in Purāṇic cosmogonic myths An important feature of the Purāṇas are the cosmogonic myths. The role of myths in supporting the powerful and pervasive social hierarchy remains the subject of academic debate and discussion. The authors of the brahmanical texts were, after all, not just brāhmaṇas, but also males. It was in their interest to perpetuate an ideology of superiority that encompassed the class and gender dimensions of identity. It may be mentioned here that the original difference between male and female was understood as the key to order, and gender complementarity was therefore an important part of these cosmogonic myths. While varṇa hierarchy is marginal in these myths, they were unable to overcome androcentric biases in their construction of gender.116 There are numerous accounts of creation scattered throughout different brahmanical texts, and they represent a variety of divergent views regarding cosmogony. Male and female principles are usually portrayed in these narratives as complementary and the creation processes involved the participation of both. The importance of the feminine principle is nowhere negated, and the female contribution to the process of creation is acknowledged. These assertions, nevertheless, harken to biological realities which require participation of both the male and female in the process of procreation. But the Purāṇas also suggest the dominance of male over female and the primacy of the male contribution to the creative process. The idea that is clearly conveyed through the Purāṇic cosmogonies of the dynamics between the male and female is of male hegemony which is seen as inherent in creation from the very beginning. Purāṇic accounts of creation comprise two cosmogonic phases – primary creation (sarga), i.e., creation of the universe after a major dissolution; and secondary creation (pratisarga), i.e., the creation of the universe after a minor dissolution. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa delineates these cosmogonies through its narration that there is only one principle that ultimately is truly real, that is brahman, who emerges as Brahmā – the Supreme Absolute identified as Śiva, Viṣṇu, or one of Viṣṇu’s incarnations who creates the world

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through his līlā. Both male and female dimensions are transcended by brahman who contains within himself the feminine principle, called śakti or māyā, generally identified with Brahmā’s consort.117 The great goddess who creates and also destroys In the Devī-Māhātmya118 on the other hand, various conceptions of the feminine principle (prakṛti, māyā, and śakti) combine with the notion of an ultimate reality to create a great Goddess within whom is concentrated the power of both the creation as well as the dissolution of the world. She is without form, yet in reality the totality of all forms. Several Purāṇas subscribe to the gendered perception of cosmogony. When derived from Brahmā, the feminine principle becomes māyā, prakṛti, and śakti, which together represent dimensions or manifestations active at different stages of cosmogony.119 In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Viṣṇu, along with identifiable and non-identifiable powers, has two forms: one form is female, and the other is male. Although the precise form of his female identity has not been described, we are told that Viṣṇu can never be complete without Lakṣmī nor she without him, for the two are inseparable and the form of Śrī (Lakṣmī) is reflected in the form of Hari (Viṣṇu). That mother of the universe, Viṣṇu’s energy, is enduring and un-deteriorating. As Viṣṇu is omnipresent, so is this one also. Lakṣmī and Viṣṇu are respectively love and attachment.120 In relation to Lakṣmī as prakṛti, Viṣṇu is puruṣa. The interaction between male and female elements that sustains the creative process is made amply evident in some of the Purāṇas. These narratives bear testimony to the abiding presence of the feminine principle without which creation would be impossible. Equally important is the role that the feminine plays at different stages of the process of creation. In the Matsya Purāṇa, Brahmā, after creating his mind-born sons (mānasaputras), was not quite satisfied with the work of creation. Therefore, he began to invoke Gāyatrī and divided his body into two parts. After some time, the goddess Gāyatrī, known under different names, viz., Śatarūpā, Sāvitrī, Sarasvatī, and Brahmāṇī, appeared in the form of a girl from one portion of Brahmā’s body. The other part became a male. These two beings then unite as man and woman and procreate.121 In the Viṣṇu and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, the origin of Manu and Śatarūpā is recounted in a different way. Realising the indifference of his mind-born sons to the process of creation, Brahmā becomes angry and divides his body into many parts. Out of these parts Brahmā

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creates a man, Manu, described as another form of Brahmā himself, and a woman Śatarūpā. Together, Manu and Śatarūpā produce sons and daughters.122 It can be said unequivocally that symbolically the Purāṇas maintain the principle of gender complementarity in such cosmogonies. The embodiment of the feminine principle in the female form of Śatarūpā, during the primary and secondary levels of creation, highlights the complementary nature of male and female interaction as the propelling force in the cosmogony. And yet, the brahmanical tradition of favouring male dominance over the female is also reflected in these cosmogonies. The male is always seen as the dominant autonomous agent who takes charge and spearheads the process. In some of these descriptions of primary creation, a formless androgyne, brahman, who transcends both the male and female dimensions, is credited as the ultimate source of all creation. At the inception of the creation process, the androgyne segments itself into its primary parts of male and female. Once the separation is complete, male initiative dominates the creative process, allowing the female to play a complementary but passive role. The theories of creation contained in the Purāṇas thus create models of gender complementarity which acknowledge female contribution but have an underlying androcentric bias.

Temples and temple rituals The Purāṇas give detailed descriptions of various types of pious activities. The Agni Purāṇa123 narrates the nature of piety which inspires acts of making different kinds of gifts and endowments, which bring to their makers both the enjoyment of earthly pleasure in this life, and salvation in the next. Acts such as the endowment of tanks, wells, temples, gardens, and feeding brāhmaṇas are known as pūrta and their performers enjoy a release from the cycle of rebirth. The performance of the agnihotra sacrifice, practice of austerities, conformity to the rules of life laid down in the Vedas are known as iṣṭa, sacred rites, which lead devotees to heaven.124 The successful carrying out of these rites was the pūrtadharma emphasised in the Purāṇas. Sacred spaces and rules Temple building and worship are salient aspects of Purāṇic religion. In contrast to the place of sacrifice which became sacred only temporarily for the duration of the yajña, temples (devālaya) built with stone represent a much more permanent sacred space. Members of political

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and social elites and others who had the requisite financial resources patronised the building of temples. The Purāṇas are, in fact, the earliest texts in which elaborate rules concerning the consecration of images (pratimā pratiṣṭhā), religious structures, and complexes, and the characteristic features of temple architecture (prasādalakṣaṇa) have been discussed.125 For instance, the Matsya Purāṇa highlights the details with regard to the consecration of different divine images and the auspicious months and asterisms favourable for their installation. It also discusses erection of the maṇḍapa to be made to the north or east of the temple, the vedi and arch-gates. There is mention of ceremonies like jars of water holding mango leaves and medicinal herbs, flowers, sandal, and water, and covered with a white cloth, being placed on the side of the maṇḍapa; and of the worship of lokapālas (guardian deities) using prescribed mantras. The Purāṇa further adds to the qualifications of the sthāpaka or ācārya who was to be well-versed in the Vedas and Purāṇas, accomplished in logic, and having devotion for Viṣṇu, Śiva, and Brahmā.126 A very significant component of the ritual performances connected with temple worship was the recognition given to the mode of worship known as pūjā in the sacred texts called the Āgamas.127 The emphasis was on the homa ceremonies during which prescribed Vedic mantras were recited and offerings made of flowers, milk, butter, honey, rice, etc.128 The Agni Purāṇa furnishes detailed information about the construction of temples, pūjā vidhis (procedure for pūjā), and rituals of worship.129 Along with the construction of temples and installation of images, a very significant feature highlighted in the Agni Purāṇa is the process of repairing or replacing dilapidated images (jīrṇoddhāra).130 This subject is discussed in the context of replacing a liṅga which has become old or broken, has been struck with lightning, or has become devoid of its characteristic marks. But the Purāṇa makes an exception by stating that a liṅga installed by sages or by brāhmaṇas belonging to the clan of any renowned ṛṣi should not be removed at all.131 The temple became a medium for spreading Purāṇic ideas to remote regions. Affluent social classes not only exercised considerable control over the local resources, but also diverted their energies to the construction of new temples and renovation of old ones.132 The increase in temple building activity was accompanied by a gradual proliferation of rituals performed in them, as well as an increase in their complexity.133 Temple building was considered a meritorious act (puṇya) and certain temples emerged as popular pilgrimage centres in the Purāṇas. According to the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa, “to build a

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temple is meritorious, so is the making of an image of a deity. Meritorious is the worship of a divine image and so its adoration.”134 Other sources also indicate the glorification of pūrtadharma in the religious texts of the period. P.V. Kane has collected many verses in early medieval land grants which talk about temples being built to gain merit, heaven, etc.135 In such a socio-religious atmosphere, with the importance of pūrtadharma and praise of donors in social circles, vigorous and unprecedented temple building and dāna-giving activities took place. Donations of entire villages for religious and charitable purposes increased from the post-Gupta period. Historical and geographical signposts Apart from the many extant remains of temples, there is evidence of temple-building activity in the ruins of several temples belonging to the post-Gupta period, including in the far-flung tribal belts. Examples include those at Dahaparabatia in Assam; Shirkot and Mirpurkhas in Sind; Mandhol in Maharastra; Benusagar in Singbhum district of Bihar; Osia, Kholvi, Binaika, and Khejaris in Rajasthan. Temple building is also mentioned in inscriptions. For instance, the Kanas Copper Plate belonging to sixth-seventh century attests to a temple dedicated to yakṣa Maṇibhadra in Orissa.136 The Lakṣmaṇa Temple inscription is symptomatic of the building activities of the Canḍela kings in central India.137 In general, there was a proliferation of temples all over the subcontinent during the first millennium, and we see the gradual emergence of regional styles in temple architecture. Temples were patronised by the elites in society, including kings, provincial and military officials, and traders. In the south, the contributions of the Pallavas, Cālukyas, Cōḷas, and other dynasties are remarkable. The Pallavas pioneered the building of temples in stone. The Cōḷa kings enlarged extant shrines and had impressive new buildings constructed. An important structural component of South Indian temples was a pillared assembly hall or maṇḍapa. This is evident in Cālukyan temples at Aihole.138 As can be inferred from the inscriptions, a majority of south Indian temples were governed by a council, headed by an officer called Sthānādhipati who was helped by other dignitaries consisting of the chief priest and his associates.139 Although the temples were dedicated to various deities, generally they contained the sculptures of Śaivite or Vaiṣṇavite themes in their niches. The Śaivite sculptures included representations of Śiva as Naṭarāja, Liṅgodbhava, Somaskandamūrti, Ardhanārīśvara, and

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so on. The Vaiṣṇavite themes included the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu and the episodes from the epics.140 Representations of Viṣṇu’s avatāras appear in relief sculptures, for example, at Deogarh. We thus see that fundamental changes were taking place in the doctrines and rituals of Indian religion during the period of the composition of the Purāṇas. One of the results was that art and architecture became more important in the designing and building of these temples dedicated to Lord Viṣṇu, Śiva, and other deities. Temples were not only the major loci of worship of deities and rituals, but also of other activities like art, dance, and music. Devotional music and dance Some of the Purāṇas have nothing much to say about the status of dance, dancing girls, and drama in contemporary society. However, certain Purāṇic deities like Śiva and Kṛṣṇa came to be associated with distinct forms of dance; devotees also offered their prayers to the gods through the medium of song and dance. As Naṭarāja, Śiva is fourarmed; the palm of one hand bears a flame symbolic of annihilation; one hand holds a small drum which emits the cosmic sound; a third hand is held in a gesture of blessing; and the fourth points towards a raised foot depicting his all-embracing aspects of both creation and destruction.141 The earliest reference to the rāsa dance of Kṛṣṇa is found in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. The rāsa is danced in a circle by men and women holding each others’ hands, singing songs related to the dance. Kṛṣṇa sang the melody that was suited to the dance. As each of the gopīs attempted to remain in one place close to the side of Kṛṣṇa, the circle of the dance could not be constructed. There upon taking each by the hand, Hari formed the circle. Then began the dance in accompaniment with music that celebrated in sweet melody the beauty of the autumnal season.142 Collective devotional singing and dancing became integral to the Purāṇic tradition. This is also evident from the vratas observed by the people.143 The tradition of the dance is especially celebrated in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Dance was considered an integral part of religious rituals. The hallmark of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is the concept of mahārāsa, when Śrikṛṣṇa assumes the form of naṭnāgara, i.e., the ultimate dancer. Many sections of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa depict how the women-folk of Vṛndāvana from across all strata are attracted to Kṛṣṇa

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and his music.144 The climax is reached when the gopīs take music and dance to their utmost perfection at the time of the divine dance, the mahārāsa, surpassing even the musical and dancing art of Kṛṣṇa. This highlights the association of music and dance with Kṛṣṇa and its acceptance as a form of devotion. Changing role of women The religious significance of the dance or rāsa being established, inevitably its relationship to the changing role of women in society requires examination. Given that women played a role in the mahārāsa that could not be ignored, it must be inferred that women must have been exposed to the public sphere. Considering the rigorous attention demanded by any art form, we must also now acknowledge the presence of women in the teaching-learning process. Over time, the intricacies of the mahārāsa must have required the propagation of the skill through a process of direct instruction. This leads to the creation of yet another space wherein women had to be taught on a regular basis and involved in an active role. The Matsya Purāṇa elaborates the festivities (mahotsava) to be held for three, five, seven, or ten days at the time of the consecration of the images of deities when grain, cloth, etc. were to be freely distributed and kīrtana, reciting the Rāmayāṇa, and other rituals were to be performed.145 The Matsya and Agni Purāṇas clearly mention that a specific structure called nātya maṇḍapa was added to the temple complex not only for religious drama but also for dance and music performances.146 Such performances in the temple premises gave merit (puṇya) to all people. Participation in devotional music and dance, with offerings of flowers to the deity, was considered to be a meritorious act and equalled the performance of a sacrifice.147 Thus, the performing arts like music and dance came to occupy a status associated with rituals and worship.

Tîrtha (pilgrimage) A very significant ritual that was popularised by the Purāṇas was that of the tīrtha, i.e., pilgrimage, a religious act prescribed for men and women alike. Tīrthas are dealt with unsystematically in the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata and are hardly mentioned in the law books. But in the Purāṇas, they are treated in great detail. Pilgrimages (tīrthayātrā) became one of the central aspects of early medieval religious activity.

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The word tīrtha literally means a “ford” or a “crossing place” – a place where one can easily cross from one side of a river to the other. The term tīrtha rarely occurs in Vedic literature. But an important feature of the Vedic tradition is the sanctity of rivers eulogised in many verses.148 The Ṛg Veda mentions the seven sacred rivers, which are the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Sarasvatī, Narmadā, Sindhu, and Kāverī.149 Although all these rivers are considered holy throughout their length, their sanctity can be intensified during particularly auspicious times or augmented at special places. Metaphorically, as Diana L. Eck states, tīrthas are places where the boundaries between the everyday world and the sacred become permeable and one can more easily “cross over” or communicate between the two.150 During the Vedic period, there did not exist a ritual code or a class of functionaries connected to tīrthas. Even in the early Dharmaśāstras, the concept of tīrtha was inchoate. In the subsequent period, however, pilgrimages or tīrthayātras emerged as an organised activity characterised by innovative features. Within the religious tradition of early India, an ethos and spirit of sacredness came to be associated with tīrtha, and such rituals became a popular means of acquiring merit. R.N. Nandi151 tries to explain the phenomenon of tīrtha as a sequel to de-urbanisation in the post-Gupta period. According to him, the decay of towns affected the prosperity of city-based priests, which in turn led to the decline of religious saṁskāras in towns and cities. These priests moved out to different places which then became sanctified as tīrthas and centres of tīrthayātrā, and earned their livelihood there. This hypothesis can be questioned as the idea of urban decay in post-Gupta times has itself been critiqued. In contrast to this view, many historians have suggested that pilgrimage can be understood as a mechanism for socio-cultural integration which includes varied regional, cultural, and caste dimensions.152 Purāṇic literature was marked by an unprecedented proliferation in the list of tīrthas. Surendra Bharadwaj has mapped out identifiable tīrthas in the Garuḍa, Matsya, and Agni Purāṇas.153 The Matsya Purāṇa fixes their number to be 35 million.154 These Purāṇas name a large number of sacred places, and one of their most significant elements is the exaltation of sacred sites, particularly the glorification of the fruits of pilgrimage (tīrthaphala). The Purāṇic texts often describe a pilgrimage as an alternative to Vedic sacrifice. A potent example is that tīrthaphala was often equated with the merit that would be gained from Vedic sacrifices such as the Aśvamedhayajña (horse sacrifice).155

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Growth of the pilgrimage network A close analysis of the five Purāṇas that are the focus of this book reveals how the institution of tīrtha played a seminal role in accentuating a regional spirit. If the Matsya Purāṇa lauds the tīrthas situated on the banks of the river Narmadā, the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa glorifies those in the Vindhya region, and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa extols the tīrthas in the Deccan. Tīrthas provided religious connectivity, thereby effecting a degree of uniformity in the observances and rituals in the majority of the areas where Aryan influence was spreading, despite the continued existence of a great variety of local practices, as highlighted by S.M. Bharadwaj.156 The idea of tīrtha does not occupy a prominent position in the early Purāṇas like the Viṣṇu and Mārkaṇḍeya. However, the concept of tīrtha is accorded an important place within the Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. These texts describe tīrthas as sacred and purifying, and necessary for the purpose of acquiring merit. In these Purāṇas, there is a good deal of discussion about persons entitled to undertake a tīrthayātrā. The tīrthas came to be graded on the basis of spiritual merit that was believed to accrue from them, as well as territorial location, association with certain deities, and so on. On the basis of their association with particular gods and goddesses, tīrthas came to be classified as those associated with the Viṣṇu-kṣetra, Śiva-kṣetra, Pārvatī-kṣetra, Brahmā-kṣetra, and Gaṇapati-kṣetra. The sacred places of the great Goddess are described as pīṭhas157 (seats) rather than tīrthas. Similar patterns of pilgrimage networks can be seen for Śaivite tīrthas, for which the most important network consisted of 12 jyotirliṅgas (liṅgas of light).158 Other categories of tīrthas have been classified as daiva tīrtha (created by gods), asura tīrtha (associated with the killing of demons by gods), ārṣa tīrtha (established by sages), and manūṣa tīrtha (created by men, especially kings like Manu). Some tīrthas were categorised as siddha-kṣetra or mukti-kṣetra (created for salvation), while others are labelled as pitṛ-tīrtha (associated with the ancestors of pilgrims). The Purāṇas mention tīrthas such as Kāśī or Prayāga, Gayā, Vārāṇasī, Avanti, Puṣkara, Ayodhyā, and many others. Whereas pitṛtīrthas like Gayā were meant for the performance of ancestral rites, mukti-tīrthas like Kāśī were meant for the attainment of salvation.159 The Matsya Purāṇa attaches great symbolic significance to Prayāga in terms of the merit resulting from the gift of a cow (godāna) at that tīrtha.160 It further adds that one who gives his daughters in marriage according to the prescribed rites between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā according to his

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means never goes to the fearful hell. He is born in Uttarakuru and gets a good wife and dutiful sons and enjoys a long life.161 The Purāṇas show that the scope of the meaning of the term tīrtha had become greatly enlarged. Tīrthas now existed in well-recognised and accepted forms and came to be associated with water, land, sacred texts, places where agnihotra and śrāddha were performed, temples, or houses where the Veda were being studied, places where a Purāṇa was being recited, or where a chaste house-wife, father, and a worthy son dwelt.162 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa also states that wherever the image of the Supreme Being in whom the world resides is installed and worshipped, and where holy learned men who practice austerity, benevolence, and other virtues reside – these places are sacred like tīrthas. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, places where gods are worshipped by their devotees are known as bhakta-tīrtha.163 Tīrthas were also graded according to the purificatory powers they were believed to have. The Matsya Purāṇa discusses the glory of the sacred river Narmadā which is taken as the foremost among all rivers. Its purificatory significance is clearly expressed: Sacred is the river Gangā, sacred is Sarasvatī. The sacred Narmadā is supreme everywhere, in the forest, as well as in the places of habitation. The waters of the Sarasvatī purify one in the course of five days, those of the Yamunā in seven days, and the Narmadā at the mere sight of it, and there are millions of tīrthas around it.164 The Agni Purāṇa narrates the story of Brahmā who bestowed upon the Gayā brāhmaṇas fifty-five villages and the Gayā tīrtha extending over five krośas, which had chambers of gold and silver, kalpa trees, and kāmadhenus. He enjoined them not to accept any gift from others. But these brāhmaṇas, officiating at a sacrifice performed by Dharma, accepted gifts, and so Brahmā cursed them and took away the wishfulfilling kalpa trees and cows. The Agni Purāṇa states that Brahmā also cursed them so that they would become bereft of knowledge and learning, but the brāhmaṇas begged him to absolve them of their sin. Brahmā pitied them and enjoined that they should stay at Gayā tīrtha and earn their livelihood by performing ancestral rites there.165 Kane has suggested that brāhmaṇas at Gayā became a guild or close corporation.166 The classification of tīrthas on the basis of multiple factors thus proved to be a significant means of creating an integrated panIndian tīrtha tradition.

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Rituals and practices Numerous tīrtha practices associated with the brahmanical tradition are described in the Purāṇas. Tīrthas centred around rituals167 associated with oblations to the fire (homa), evening meditation (sandhyā), satiation of gods, worship of sages and ancestors (tarpaṇa), offering funeral cakes (piṇḍadāna), and ancestral rites (śrāddha)168 were given a popular orientation by Purāṇa composers. This end was achieved by adding practices such as pūjā, kīrtana, māhātmya, śravaṇa, i.e., listening to how merit accrues from different tīrthas,169 and religious processions (yātrā).170 The activities ranged from rituals connected with the different stages of life (saṁskārika) to those dealing with spiritual aspirations (paramārthika), while others pertained to more worldly desires for children, wealth, and other forms of material gain.171 In the Purāṇas, bathing is integral to the institution of tīrtha.172 Magical powers (abhicāra), prosperity (aiśvarya), and auspiciousness (kalyāṇa) came to be associated with bathing in holy places.173 The Kūrma Purāṇa states that persons of all four āśramas who undertake tīrthayātrā become free from all sins and purify up to seven generations of their descendants.174 In fact, in the Agni Purāṇa, tīrthayātrā and gifts had to be made and undertaken during specific months and under certain planetary conjunctions.175 According to the injunctions of the Manusmṛti japa, tapa, tīrthayātrā carried out by women and śūdras, attempts at becoming ascetics, efforts at attaining mastery over mantras, or worship by them of deities in a priestly capacity – would lead to sinfulness.176 This kind of thought process has been reiterated in some Purāṇas, which clearly state that in regard to the people of the first three varṇas, the rite of holy bath and repetition of mantras is in the manner mentioned in the Vedas. The utterance of the Vedic passage and yātrā are to be avoided by women as well as śūdras.177 However, other Purāṇas brushed aside gender and varṇa differentiation, allowing women and śūdras to undertake tīrthayātrā. The Matsya Purāṇa states that Avimukta tīrtha (the tapovana of Śiva) is the holiest of the holy: It is the highest cure for men of numerous varṇas, for men recognised as not belonging to any varṇa, for cāṇḍālas who are abhorred by people, and for persons whose bodies are full of diseases and sins.178

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As for the participation of women in tīrtha, there is mention of pitṛtīrtha, the place where Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, propitiated his ancestors in the company of his wife Sītā.179 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa very explicitly mentions the benefit which a man or a woman with perfect self-control acquires by making holy pilgrimage. It further states that a devotee should undertake pilgrimage to that sacred, excellent, and beautiful holy centre of Śrīpuruṣottama, which accords worldly pleasures and salvation to men and which is conducive to the pleasure of every being. Thereafter, the devotee, whether a man or woman, shall enjoy various pleasures and in the end acquire salvation (nirvāṇa).180 Describing the glory of the Avimukta tīrtha, the Matsya Purāṇa clearly mentions that even unchaste women dying there, i.e., kāmacāriṇī strīyaḥ (women indulging in fulfilling their desires) attain bliss.181 Therefore, according to many Purāṇas, not only men but women too could undertake tīrthayātrā. Tīrthas ultimately gained great popularity as did other rituals like snāna, dāna, pūjā, piṇḍadāna, and kathā-recital and together began to overshadow Vedic practices.182 The need to attract audiences made tīrthas not only a vantage point for kathā recitals but a major instrument for the diffusion of Purāṇic ideas. It is evident from the foregoing discussion that the Purāṇas expanded the scope of religious activity not only for ordinary women, but also for kāmacāriṇī strīyaḥ. These included nagarvadhus and different categories of prostitutes like puṁścalī, kāminī, paṇyastrī, vārāstrī, veśyā, etc. These women were given some degree of agency by encouraging them to undertake tīrtha as sacred and purifying and as a means for attaining merit.

Mahādānas (great gifts) Dāna or ritual gift-making was integral to the brahmanical system since the Ṛg Veda eulogised it in dānastutis (eulogies of gifts), and it became increasingly important in the epic and Purāṇic traditions.183 In this context, V. Nath highlights the ritual symbolism and statusconferring role of dāna in varied social and religious contexts. The Purāṇas lay down certain rules about dāna. Whatever dāna is given every day, such as food, is nitya; what is given at certain specified times, such as eclipses, or as penance for lapses is called naimittika; and whatever is given through the desire for progeny, heaven, victory, or a wife is called kāmya.184 Over time, a special category of gifts was evolved based on gold, and was referred to as the mahādānas (great gifts).185 The Matsya Purāṇa mentions sixteen mahādānas.186 They are: hiraṇyagarbha

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(golden foetus), brahmāṇḍa (cosmic egg), viśvacakra (‘world wheel’ – a wheel of gold representing the universe), saptasāgara (gift of seven oceans – a valuable gift represented by seven vases with seven different kinds of content), kāmadhenu (desire-fulfilling cow), kalpavṛkṣa and kalpalatā (desire-fulfilling tree and creeper), aśvaratha (carriage drawn by horses signifying the monarch), hiraṇyāśva (golden horse), hemahastiratha (elephant chariot), ratnadhenu (a cow represented by jewels), mahābhūtaghaṭa (a golden jar), tulāpuruṣa (gift of gold equal to a man’s weight), gosahasra (1000 kine), dharādāna (gift of land), and pañcalāṅgalaka (five ploughshares). A similar list of sixteen mahādānas are enumerated in the Agni Purāṇa.187 Both the Matsya and Agni Purāṇas emphasise the procedural details of making mahādānas to brāhmaṇas. The other Purāṇas only mention planetary conjunctions during which mahādānas could be undertaken. A verse from the Matsya Purāṇa clearly shows that the mahādānas were modelled on the lines of Vedic sacrifices. In the invocatory verse, Yajñeśvara (Lord of Sacrifice) was invoked: “Be pleased to save the sacrifice ceremony.” This was followed by the construction of the sacrificial altars (vedī) and cavities (kuṇḍa) to be dug in each direction. Each kuṇḍa was to have a girdle, a jar filled with water, two copper vessels, flowers, sacrificial utensils, etc. In the vedī, deities of different planets were to be worshipped.188 The officiating priests had to be wellversed in the Vedas (veda-vidyā) and Vedic lore (veda-vidhānadakṣa) for pacification of planets (grahaśānti).189 Society, politics, and mahādānas During the period c. AD 300 to AD 1000, political instability might have provided a base for the growth of rituals. Many local dynasties of tribal origin are mentioned in the Matsya Purāṇa. Local dynasties like the Śriparvatīyas, Āndhras, Ābhīras, Gardabhīlas, and Kilakilas have been recorded along with foreign powers like Śakas, Yavanas, and Hūṇas.190 The Purāṇic mahādānas conferred a royal status and authority over the tribal groups whose involvement in the forefront of agricultural expansion brought them within mainstream culture and polity. To win over such tribal segments contending for political power, the Purāṇic composers laid emphasis on the agrarian base of the mahādānas which glorified land as the best form of gift. For example, the pañcalāṅgalaka involved the giving away of land with five ploughs made of wood of the finest quality and five pair of oxen to be covered with gold. This was very similar to dharādāna. The ostentatious display of wealth was visible in this mahādāna under which the

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devotee was to gift a golden replica of the earth made in imitation of Jambūdvīpa.191 Some of the mahādānas conferred royal status on the devotee and seem to have been popular among rulers and chiefs. For example, the performer of tulāpuruṣa mahādāna, i.e., weighing a man against gold, was required to put on royal attire, including a coat of mail, sword, shield, and ornaments. Similarly, it was believed that one who performed the gosahasra mahādāna which entailed a gift of 1,000 cows would reign as king for a hundred kalpas.192 But the scope of the mahādānas extended beyond issues of status or authority. The idea sought to be established was that repeated carrying out of the mahādānas would lead to the fulfilment of desires generally and the expiation of sins. The aim of the kalpapādapa mahādāna is the creation of a miraculous golden tree capable of fulfilling all desires of the devotees, the procedure for which is spelt out in detail. It includes references to the plucking of flowers and fruits by kinnaras, siddhas, and nymphs.193 Similar guidelines are laid for the kalpalatā mahādāna, i.e., a creeper that fulfils all desires. This excellent gift dispels all sins, protects the universe, and grants all things desired. Similarly, in the saptasāgara mahādāna, the sea is a cosmic symbol.194 This dāna, which involves giving away replicas of seven oceans made of gold, had to be given to brāhmaṇas. Some historians have suggested that this was conceived to safeguard the interests of merchants and reaffirm their social status.195 Among the more frequently mentioned mahādānas were hiraṇyagarbha,196 brahmāṇḍa, and mahābhūtaghaṭa. In the Matsya Purāṇa, the hiraṇyagarbha mahādāna is described as the dispeller of sin, for which the person offering the dāna is supposed to get an auspicious lotus shaped jar of gold. The jar was to be filled with clarified butter and milk and also with weapons, jewels, needles, and a sickle of gold. On its two sides were placed golden hanging bowls, along with seasmum and other gems. The devotee carrying out the dāna, holding an image of Brahmā in his hand, was required to take five deep breaths, impersonating a foetus in the womb. Then brāhmaṇas versed in the Vedas re-enacted pre-natal rites such as garbhādhāna, puṁsavana, and sīmantonnayana in this dāna.197 The sacramental aspect of the hiraṇyagarbha dāna has been highlighted very explicitly. Although, in general, the purpose of the garbhādhāna rite was to produce a good and powerful son, daughters were not completely out of the picture. Even nights were deemed desirable for those who wanted sons, and odd nights for daughters. After conception was ascertained, the child in the womb was consecrated by the puṁsavana saṁskāra, the rite through which a male embryo was believed to be brought

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into being. The ritual was to be performed when the moon was in a constellation regarded as favourable for producing a male child. The third saṁskāra of the embryo was sīmantonnayana in which the hair of the pregnant woman was parted. The religious intention of this saṁskāra was to bring about prosperity to the mother and long life to the unborn child. Then came post-natal ceremonies, i.e., jātakarma, performed after the birth of a child, but began about a month before birth and continued intermittently after the birth of a child.198 The hiraṇyagarbha mahādāna involved a re-enactment of the birth process and the devotee had to address the presiding deities, “Best of the Vedas, as I was born of you in the mortal world so let me be born again in divine form on account of my being born again of you.”199 Similar injunctions are contained in the brahmāṇḍa mahādāna in which a brahmāṇḍa or cosmic egg was to be made from twenty to one thousand palas of gold, symbolic of ritual purification and birth.200 The processes of ritual purification and birth were also symbolised in the mahābhūtaghaṭa mahādāna.201 The pitcher or ghaṭa was to be made in gold studded with stones. The rite ended with the recitation of mantras for seeking peace and prosperity.202 In most mahādānas an ostentatious display of wealth was involved. Although women are not mentioned specifically as performing or participating in mahādāna rituals, their role is implicit since the entire exercise was connected to progeny and the prosperity of the family. This topic will be discussed further in the chapter on vratas. Popular appeal of mahādānas Some motifs and auspicious signs were incorporated into the mahādānas, making them meaningful to different social segments. The Matsya Purāṇa discusses precious objects like the kalpavṛksa, kāmadhenu with jewels such as maṇi, the heavenly elephant (Airāvata) and horse (Ucchaiśravas), jewel (bhadramaṇi), conch shell (pāñcajanyaśaṅkha), and also the goddess of fortune (Lakṣmī) that emerged from the ocean when it was churned by the gods and demons.203 All these were symbols of prosperity and auspiciousness which were incorporated into the rituals to ensure that the mahādānas had a popular appeal. Mahādānas also became popular by incorporating deities and demi-gods of non-brahmanical origins. Along with the divinities of the Purāṇic pantheon Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva with their respective consorts, Sāvitrī, Lakṣmī, and Pārvatī, other secondary deities were propitiated in the mahādāna rites. These included yakṣas, piśācas, gandharvas, and particularly lokapālas (divine guardians) and

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grahadevatās (ruling deities of planets). The Matsya Purāṇa204 clearly points to the tribal affiliations of some of the demi-gods when it mentions the worship of the presiding deity of the nether world (pātāla) by Nāga women and kinnaras. These demi-gods must have been invoked to add a popular element to the mahādānas. A feature integral to the mahādāna rites was the importance attached to the officiating preceptor (guru). According to the Matsya Purāṇa, the qualities of the preceptor, who was to be the recipient of the gifts, had to be expressly stated. A guru was to be accomplished in the vedānta, born in an ārya family, and knowledgeable about the Purāṇas. The Matsya Purāṇa clearly states that the guru had to be given double the share of what is given to the rṭvig. The role of the guru has been glorified in the Matsya Purāṇa, evident from the fact that the guru not only participated but officiated in all the religious ceremonies.205 The Agni Purāṇa elaborates the mode of anointing the guru, who is distinguished by his intellectual skills and could deliver the injunctions laid down in the Vedas. Gradually, the preceptor also acted as an intermediary between man and the gods. For instance, in the kalpapādapa mahādāna, it is stated that if the devotee could not afford money, he was to worship the preceptor. In this mahādāna the devotee was offered an exemption option according to his means, thereby providing an avenue for a reduction in the exorbitant fees and the opulent character of such mahādānas.206 The mahādānas were supposed to confer countless benefits on the devotee carrying them out.207 They are described as dispellers of sins and bad dreams.208 The tulāpuruṣa mahādāna could be made after having seen bad dreams or even wonderful things; on getting wealth; on the occasion of śrāddha; in fulfilment of desires; and on occasion of sacrifices, festivities, or marriages.209 Similarly, the mahābhūtaghaṭa and ratnadhenu mahādāna were believed to lead to the attainment of inexhaustible wealth and prosperity.210 The kalpapādapa211 and gosahasra mahādāna are believed to liberate the ancestors and members of future generations from pitṛloka (abode of ancestors).212 Most of the mahādānas had to be offered on auspicious and special occasions at specified places like temples, cowsheds, areas near a well, gardens, or beautiful tanks.213 Limited role of women It may be noted that the Purāṇas seem to reflect a distinct social ethos with the phenomenon of valorising mahādāna. References to women donors are hardly visible. Although some categories of women making

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dāna are mentioned in the Purāṇas and in some inscriptions, women are not mentioned anywhere as performers of mahādānas.214 Since the Purāṇas are silent about their economic privileges, it is very difficult to obtain detailed information about women donors. On the whole, we can say that women belonging to elite classes like queens or wives of merchants, whose wealth was augmented by their political and economic background, might have had some access to their husband’s wealth for the purpose of mahādāna. The Purāṇas do not give direct evidence about women making mahādāna independently. But the mahādānas were considered important undertakings for ensuring the prosperity of the family, and as such, the important role that women played within successfully realised conjugal partnership cannot be ignored. The mahādānas seem to grant the wife agency but also seem to confine that agency to her presence as part of a conjugal unit. The general economic dependence of women on their men-folk can hardly be doubted.

Purāṇic Hinduism and the woman question Thus, it can be seen that during the first millennium Vedic Brahmanism was gradually transformed into Purāṇic Hinduism. The syncretic nature of Purāṇic Hinduism, with its propensity towards gradual assimilation of unorthodox and heterodox elements, is clearly manifested in the religious synthesis that resulted during this period. Within the changing socio-religious framework, rituals were understood afresh and were not just re-articulated accordingly; new ones were also introduced. The yajña of the preceding age co-existed with new forms of religious activity like pūjā, vows, pilgrimage, gift-making, and bhakti. In all the five Purāṇas within the ambit of this study, we see the reflection of different religious trends like the development of Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism, and Śāktism, besides the worship of demi-gods like yakṣas and nāgas who were of secondary importance. Similarly, the feminine śakti, conceived as the energy of three principal gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva, was personified as Devī and became the focus of an independent cult elaborated in the Devī-Māhātmya section of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. The growing popularity of the Purāṇic tradition also finds testimony in the fact that certain popular practices and rituals such as tīrtha, mahādāna, offering pūjā to deities, temple rituals, ritual bathing in holy rivers, listening to stories or kathās, and undertaking fasts gained momentum. The stories of tīrthas are lauded in the māhātmyas. And we see that tīrthas are said to liberate the pure as well as the sinful

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brāhmaṇas or outcaste men or women from the cycle of birth and death, as highlighted in the Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. In contrast to early brahmanism, the local element became considerably stronger in the Purāṇic religious practices such as mahādāna, pratiṣṭhā, tīrtha, devapūjana, and japa and bhakti, as the Purāṇas successfully created a religious framework which was able to reach out to different social segments and bring them within the brahmanical mould. Most important is the fact that many of the pious activities described in the Purāṇas under study could be performed by all, including women and śūdras. This is precisely the crux of the matter, the space within which the women in question can be discussed by considering the intricacies of the Purāṇas. The process of acculturation and accommodation being sporadic and fragmentary, yet intentional and unavoidable mandates that we look at these spaces carefully and analyse the role of women. We can see that there is a growing recognition in the Purāṇas that women have the capacity to act independently, and consequently the scope of their action seems expanded to a greater extent in the spheres of pūjā and tīrtha. Yet the growing notion of women’s autonomy during this period seems circumscribed by the moralising view of women as virtuous wives and mothers, placed within successfully realised unions as ritual partners and devotees as discussed in the following chapters. The arguments and discussions that have been explored in this chapter provide the contextual backdrop within which the Purāṇas functioned as a means for the propagation of religious ideas as well as a site for accommodation of marginalised groups, including women, and the acculturation of traditions and cultures that had originally been outside the influence of brahmanical tradition. In the next chapter we will examine the intertwined institutions of Purāṇic marriage and the family in the context of the woman question.

Notes 1 Mats. Pur., 291.23–24. 2 For details, see Broadbeck and Black (eds), Gender and Narrative in the Mahābhārata, p. 26. 3 J. E. Schwartzberg, ‘The Evolution of Regional Power Configurations in the Indian Subcontinent’, in R. Fox (ed.), Realm and Region in Traditional India, New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1977, p. 197. 4 The concept of region has been interpreted by historians in multiple ways, for details see B. S. Cohn, ‘Regions Subjective and Objective: Their Relation to the Study of Modern Indian History and Society’, in B. S. Cohen, An Anthropologist Among the Historians and Other Essays, New Delhi:

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6

7

8

9

10 11 12

Shaping of Purāṇic narrative and gender Oxford University Press, 1987, pp. 100–35; B. D. Chattopadhyaya, ‘Space, History and Cultural Process: Some ideas on the Ingredients of Subregional “Identity”’, in H. Kulke and G. Berkemer (eds), Centres Out there? Facets of Subregional Identities in Orissa, New Delhi: Manohar, 2011, pp. 21–38. See Sahu, The Changing Gaze, pp. 10–11. For regional historiographical perceptions see B. D. Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994; Studying Early India: Archaeology, Texts and Historical Issues, New Delhi: Permanent Black; H. Kulke, ‘The Early and the Imperial Kingdom: A Processural Model of Integrative State formation in Early Medieval India’, in H. Kulke (ed.), The State in India, 1000–1700, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1977, pp. 233–62; R. Thapar, Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001; N. Sinha, State Formation in Rajasthan: Mewar During the Seventh-Fifteenth Centuries, New Delhi, Manohar, 2002; K. Veluthat, The Early Medieval in South India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009. As brahmanism spread to far-flung areas it acquired a composite cultural character which is manifested in the regional traits and symbols. V. Nath, ‘From “Brahmanism” to “Hinduism”: Negotiating the Myth of the Great Tradition’, Presidential Address, Ancient India Section, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Calcutta session, 2001, pp. 25–56. Sahu, The Changing Gaze, p. 8. For further details also see R. Thapar, ‘Imagined Religious Communities? Ancient History and the Modern Search for a Hindu Identity’, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2, 1989, pp. 209–31; S. Jaiswal, ‘Semitising Hinduism: Changing Paradigms of Brahmanical Integration’, Social Scientist, Vol. 19, No. 12, December 1991, pp. 20–32. Syncretism, used in the context of religion, is a term widely used to describe the inherent capability of a particular faith to embrace elements of another culture, faith, or language, with which it comes into contact. A more precise meaning of the term is attempted by scholars devoted to the study of religion to explain the new connections or admixtures that result in a belief system from its interaction with local rites, customs, and traditions and as a general progression of the religion from its inception to its various stages (C. Colpe, ‘Syncretism’, in M. Eliade (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Religion, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, Vol. 14, pp. 217–27). K. W. Bolle, ‘Myths: An Overview’, in M. Eliade (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Religion, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, Vol. 10, pp. 260–72; P. Ricoeur, ‘Myth and History’, in M. Eliade (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Religion, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, Vol. 10, pp. 272–83. Also see R. Thapar, ‘Origin Myths and the Early Indian Historical Tradition’, in Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 755–6. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 841. S. Pollock, The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India, New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2006. For more details on Kaliyuga see section below.

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13 U. Singh (ed.), Rethinking Early Medieval India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 7. 14 D.N. Jha (ed.), Feudal Social Formations in Early India, New Delhi: Chanakya Publications, 1987; Kulke, The State in India: 1000–1700, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995; Singh, Rethinking Early Medieval India. 15 Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India, pp. 16–19; B. D. Chattopadhyaya, ‘Political Processes and the Structure of Polity in Early Medieval India: Problems of Perspective’, Presidential Address, Ancient India Section, Burdwan session, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1983, pp. 25–63. 16 Kulke, The State in India: 1000–1700, p. 13. 17 U. Singh, ‘Brāhmaṇa Settlements in Ancient and Early Medieval India’, in B. D. Chattopadhyaya (ed.), A Social History of Early India, Vol. II, Part 5 of D. P. Chattopadhyaya (gen. ed.), History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, New Delhi: Pearson Longman, 2009, pp. 159–75. 18 E. Senart, ‘The Inscriptions in the Caves at Nasik’, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. VIII, 1905–1906, pp. 59–95. 19 D. C. Sircar, ‘The Sātavāhanas and the Chedis’, in R. C. Majumdar (ed.), The Age of Imperial Unity: The History and Culture of Indian People, 6th rev. edn., Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1990, Vol. II, pp. 191–227. 20 U. Singh, ‘Interrogating Varṇa and Jāti in Ancient and Early Medieval India’, Proceedings of the Punjab History Congress, 2008, pp. 11–21. 21 See R. Thapar, Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300, London: Penguin Books, 2002, pp. 261–2; U. Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, New Delhi: Pearson Longman, 2008, p. 417. 22 Nath, Purāṇas and Acculturation, p. 195. 23 Bhāg. Pur., 1.17.38–45. 24 P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (first edition, 1960), 2nd rev. edn., 1973, Vol. III, p. 895; Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 18, 30, 37, 57, 70, 73, 84, 87–9, 90, 95, 105, 125, 233. 25 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. III, pp. 890–6. 26 Mats. Pur., 273.26–29. 27 Viṣ. Pur., 6.1. 28 Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, pp. 214–17, 225–7. 29 R. S. Sharma, ‘The Kali Age: A Period of Social Crisis’, in S. N. Mukherjee (ed.), History and Thought, Essays in Honour of A. L. Basham, Calcutta: Subarnarekha, 1982, pp. 186–203; B. N. S. Yadava, ‘The Accounts of the Kali Age and the Social Transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages’, Indian Historical Review, Vol. 5, Nos. 1–2, 1979, pp. 31–64; Sen, Mlecchas in Early India, pp. 177–9. For the Purāṇic idea of kaliyuga see B. P. Sahu, ‘Conception of the Kali Age in Early India: A Regional Perspective’, Trends in Social Science Research, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1997, pp. 27–36. 30 Viṣ. Pur., 1.13. 31 Viṣ. Pur., 4.3.40–49. 32 Viṣ. Pur., 6.1.12.

88 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

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48 49 50 51 52 53

54 55 56

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Shaping of Purāṇic narrative and gender Viṣ. Pur., 4.18.13–14. Mats. Pur., 273.19–34. Mats. Pur., 273.19. Mats. Pur., 273.18. Mats. Pur., 144.30–34. Bhāg. Pur., 12.2.1–16, 3.18–42. Mats. Pur., 144.29–37. Bhāg. Pur., 9.8.5–6. Mats. Pur., 273.29–32. Mārk. Pur., 133.36. P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1946, Vol. III, pp. 885–968. U. Singh, ‘Historical Perspectives, Between 400 BCE and 600 CE’, in K. A. Jacobsen (ed.), Brill’s Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, Brill: Leiden, 2012, Vol. IV, pp. 29–50. Also see N. Dayal, ‘The Making of Purāṇic Religion’, in S. Basu (ed.), Religious Traditions and the Ideology of Bhakti, New Delhi: IGNOU, 2003, pp. 15–24. G. Flood, ‘Śaiva’, in S. Mittal and G. Thursby (eds), The Hindu World, New York and London: Routledge, 2004, pp. 119–39. Bhāg. Pur., 2.7.50–52, 3.29, 11.14. Whatever is attained by one through meditation on the Lord in kṛtayuga; through the sacrificial rite, yajña, in tretāyuga; and ritualistic worship in dvāparayuga; all that is obtained by kīrtana alone in the kaliyuga. Bhāg. Pur., 11.6.9, 27.9, 12.3.52; Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.17. Bhāg. Pur., 11.3.22–31. Bhāg. Pur., 11.27.4. Bhāg. Pur., 1.3.6–25. These also included twenty-three līlāvatāras (‘descents of divine play’). S. Jaiswal, The Origin and Development of Vaiṣṇavism, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981, pp. 37–9. Nath, Purāṇas and Acculturation, p. 198, J. Gonda, Aspects of Early Viṣṇuism, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1993; G. Somany, Viṣṇu and His Avatāras, New Delhi: Bookwise India, 2004, pp. 29–74; S. S. Dange, The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: A Mytho-Social Study, New Delhi: Ajanta Publishers, 1984. The Kalki avatāra is mentioned in the Bhāg. Pur., 1.3.25. Jaiswal, The Origin and Development of Vaiṣṇavism, pp. 37–9, 61–4; Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti, pp. 18–19; also see A. Sharma, The Study of Hinduism, Columbia: South Carolina University Press, 2003. Jaiswal, The Origin and Development of Vaiṣṇavism, pp. 92–5. G. Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996; F. X. Clooney and T. K. Stewart, ‘Vaiṣṇava’, in S. Mittal and G. Thursby (eds), The Hindu World, New York and London: Routledge, 2004, pp. 162–5. See for instance, K. S. Shrivastava, Lord Śiva and Śakti in Indian Art and Architecture, New Delhi: A. P. H. Corporation, 2007, pp. 11–49; S. Kramrisch, The Presence of Śiva, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981; W. D. O’Flaherty, Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Śiva, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1973, pp. 4–7.

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58 S. A. Dange, Encylopaedia of Purāṇic Beliefs and Practices, 5 Vols., New Delhi: Navrang Publications, 1990, p. 833. 59 Mats. Pur., 154.414–417. 60 Mats. Pur., 154.229–235. 61 Mats. Pur., 154.236. 62 Kosambi, Myth and Reality, p. 28. 63 D. P. Chattopadhyaya, Lōkayata: A Study in Ancient Indian Materialism, New Delhi: People’s Publishing House, 1978, pp. 137–41. 64 Mats. Pur., 260.52–55. 65 Sir J. Marshall (ed.), Mohenjodaro and Indus Civilization, New Delhi: Indological Book House, 1973, pp. 50–1. 66 S. Atre, Archetypal Mother: A Systemic Approach to the Harappan Religion, Pune: Ravish Publishers, 1987, p. 201. 67 Kosambi, Myth and Reality, p. 85; M. Chandra, ‘Studies in the Cult of Mother Goddess in Ancient India’, Bulletin of the Prince of Wales Museum in Western India, No. 12, 1973, p. 4; Hazra, Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol. II, pp. 16–26; R. G. Bhandarkar, ‘Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and Minor Religious System’, in N. P. Utgikar (ed.), Collected Works of Sir R. G. Bhandarkar, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1929, Vol. IV, p. 205. 68 V. S. Agrawala, Devī-Māhātmya: The Glorification of the Great Goddess, Varanasi: All India Kashiraj Trust, 1963; Coburn, Devī-Māhātmya, pp. 88–300; N. N. Bhattacharya, History of the Śākta Religion, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973; T. Pintchman, The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994. Also see J. McDaniel, Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000; D. R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1987; J. S. Hawley and D. M. Wulff (eds), Devī: Goddesses of India, Berkeley: University of California, 1996; K. M. Erndl, ‘Śākta’, in S. Mittal and G. Thursby (eds), The Hindu World, New York and London: Routledge, 2004, pp. 140–61. 69 A. Hiltebeitel and K. M. Erndl (eds), Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddess, New York: New York University Press, 2000. 70 Mahābhārata,(trans.) M. N. Dutt (reprint), New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 1997, Vol. II, Vana Parva, Vīrāṭa Parva, 6.4; Vol. III, Udyog Parva, Bhīṣma Parva, 23.6. 71 Banerjea, Paurāṇic and Tantric Religion, pp. 112–21. 72 Mārk. Pur., Chapters 78–91. 73 Agrawala, Matsya Purāṇa: A Study, p. xii. 74 D. R. Kinsley, ‘The Portrait of the Goddess in the Devī-Māhātmya,’Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 46, No. 4, 1978, p. 498. 75 For an in-depth study see Coburn, A Translation of the Devī-Māhātmya. 76 It is also called Durgāpāṭha or Caṇḍipāṭha. 77 Coburn, Devī-Māhātmya, pp. 88–300. 78 Mārk. Pur., Chapter 78. 79 Mārk. Pur., 79.6–10. 80 Mārk. Pur., 79.22–32. 81 Mārk. Pur., 85.45.

90 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103

104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112

Shaping of Purāṇic narrative and gender Mārk. Pur., 85.52. Mārk. Pur., 88.1–36. Mārk. Pur., Chapters 80–82. See also S. Kramrisch, ‘The Indian Great Goddess’, History of Religions, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1975, pp. 235–65. Mārk. Pur., 62.12–16. Mats. Pur., 58.25, 62.35–38. She is worshipped before the digging of water tanks. Mats. Pur., 62.17–19, 30–31. Bhāg. Pur., 10.22.1–4. See the section on mahādāna below. Mats. Pur., 286.9–10. The Ambubasci ritual is a celebration of the menstruation cycle of the goddess Kāmakhyā. It is associated with the tāntric fertility rites and creative and nurturing power of the goddess. Mats. Pur., 286.11. Viṣ. Pur., 5.1.84–85. Devī is called Āryā, Durgā, Vedagarbhā, Ambikā, Bhadrā, and Kṣemī, and is associated with wealth, progeny, fame, fortitude, etc. Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records, p. 260. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, p. 1031. Bhattacharya, History of the Tāntric Religion, pp. 19–22; also see Padoux, ‘Tantrism and Hindu Tantrism’, pp. 272–80. Agn. Pur., 27.49, Chapters 81–89. A. Sanderson, ‘Śāivism and Tantric Traditions’, in S. Sutherland, L. Houlden, P. Clarke and F. Hardy (eds), The World’s Religions, London: Routledge, 1988, pp. 660–704. Mats. Pur., 101.27.28. Bhāg. Pur., 11.27.7. Bhattacharya, History of the Tāntric Religion, p. 128. Schools of Śākta tāntrism are broadly divided in two categories, i.e., kālikula and śrīkula. While kālikula focuses on narrative traditions and spiritual practices associated with the fierce forms of the goddess such as Kālī, Caṇḍī, or Durgā, śrīkula tradition lays stress on benevolent aspects of the goddess like Pārvatī and Gaurī. But both forms are the manifestations of śakti which is highlighted in theological and ritualistic terms. For further details see G. Teun and S. Gupta, Hindu Tantric and Śākta Literature, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrosswitz, 1981. Viṣ. Pur., 1.8.17–20. Mārk. Pur., 79.11–17, 82.12, 85.17–18. Manusmṛti, 1.35–37, III.196–198. N. N. Bhattacharya, Indian Demonology, The Inverted Pantheon, New Delhi: Manohar, 2000, p. 44. Viṣ. Pur., 1.21–24. Viṣ. Pur., 1.17.3–4. Bhāg. Pur., 12.6.11–15. Mats. Pur., 180.4–5, 94–97. Viṣ. Pur., 2.10.2–4, 22. The gandharva Tumburu, serpent Vasūki and rākṣasa Heti are regarded as guardians in the sun’s chariot. Other sources talk of yakṣīs and nāgīs who are the feminine counterparts of yakṣas and nāgas. However, yakṣīs and nāgīs are not prominent in the five Purāṇas studied here.

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113 A. K. Coomaraswamy, Yakshas (first published, 1928–1931) (reprint), New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2001; R. N. Mishra, Yakṣa Cult and Iconography, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981; U. Singh, ‘Cults and Shrines in Early Historical Mathura (c. 200 BC–AD 200)’, in World Archaeology, The Archaeology of Hinduism, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2004, pp. 383–5, Routledge. 114 Viṣ. Pur., 1.5.46, 59. 115 S. Kapur (ed.), Encylopaedia of Hinduism, New Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 2000, p. 198. 116 S. M. Parish, Hierarchy and Its Discontent: Culture and the Politics of Consciousness in Caste Society, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1996, pp. 190–1. 117 Viṣ. Pur., 1.2. 118 Mārk. Pur., 78.63, 79.11, 81.38, 85.18. 119 W. D. O’Flaherty, Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980, pp. 283–4. 120 Viṣ. Pur., 1.2.31, 1.8, 1.8.15–17, 33–34. 121 Mats. Pur., 3.30–33, 35–41. 122 Viṣ. Pur., 1.7.19–34; Mārk. Pur., 47.15–37. For a detailed survey on gender and myths, see T. Pintchman, ‘Gender Complementarity and Gender Hierarchy in Purāṇic Accounts of Creation’, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 66, No. 2, 1998, pp. 257–282. 123 Agn. Pur., 209.1–3. 124 P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1941, Vol. II, Part II, pp. 890–901. 125 T. Singh, ‘An Appraisal of the Data Regarding Temple Architecture Gleaned From the Agni Purāṇa’, Purāṇa, Vol. 23, 1981, p. 196. 126 Mats. Pur., Chapters 258–266. 127 Mats. Pur., Chapters 256–267. 128 Mats. Pur., Chapters 264–270. 129 Agn. Pur., Chapters 37–43. 130 Agn. Pur., 103.1–5. The term jīrṇoddhāra is also used in certain contexts for the repair of temple structures. 131 Agn. Pur., 103.20–21. 132 R. S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism c. 300–1200, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1965, pp. 9–11, 65. 133 B. P. Majumdar, The Socio-Economic History of Northern India, Calcutta: K L M Publications, 1960, pp. 9–11. 134 Cited in K. K. Gupta, A Socio-Religious study of Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa, New Delhi: Harman Publishing House, 1994, p. 172. 135 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part II, pp. 890–901. 136 R. K. Mishra, ‘Traditions of Temples and Shrines in Ancient Seaports of Kalinga’, Journal of Orissa Historical Research, Vol. 23, 1968, pp. 80–5; K. C. Jain, ‘Ancient Temples of Rajasthan’, in B. Sahai (ed.), History and Culture in B. P. Sinha Felicitation Volume, New Delhi: Ramanand Vidya Bhavan, 1987, pp. 119–25; M. W. Meister, ‘Temples, Tīrthas, and Pilgrimage: The Case of Osian’, in N. K. Singh and R. Joshi (eds), Folk, Faith and Feudalism, Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 1995, p. 68. 137 F. Kielhorn, ‘Stone Inscription of Yasovarman of the Year 1011’, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. I, 1892, pp. 22–25. The inscription dated Vikrama

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149 150 151 152 153

154 155 156 157 158 159

Shaping of Purāṇic narrative and gender year 1011 (AD 945–955) was found amongst the ruins at the base of the temple known as Lakṣmanji at Khajuraho. Kings used to assume the title of Cakravartin. P. Brown, Indian Architecture (Buddhist & Hindu Periods) (first edition, 1942), 3rd edn., Bombay: D. B. Taraporevala, 1976, p. 52. V. V. Subba Reddy, Temples of South India, New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, 2007, p. 11. S. Reddy, Temples of South India, p. 19. In all Śiva temples a separate space is allotted to Naṭarāja known as nātya sabhā. Such images are available in stone as well as metal along with other forms of Śiva like Dakṣiṇamūrti, Jñānamūrti, Vīnādharmamūrti (Śiva-Mahapurāṇa (trans.) S. Nagar, New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2007, pp. xi–xii). Viṣ. Pur., 5.13, 47–53. See chapter IV, Vratas, Rituals, and the Purāṇic Social Hierarchy below. Bhāg. Pur., 10.29–33. Mats. Pur., 59.1–20; Agn. Pur., 68.3, 12, 14. Mats. Pur., Chapter 270; Agn. Pur., 42.22. Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa (ed.), P. Tarkaratna, Calcutta: Vangavasi Press, 1972, 3.3–4, 25–27. P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1953, Vol. IV, pp. 556–7; J. E. Schwartzberg (ed.), A Historical Atlas of South Asia, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978, p. 13. The Hymns of the Ṛg Veda (trans.) R. T. H. Griffith, 2 Vols.(first edition, 1891) (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1973, 1.46.8; 1.169.6; 4.29.3. D. L. Eck, ‘India’s Tīrthas, Crossings in Sacred Geography’, History of Religions, Vol. 20, No. 4, 1981, pp. 323–44. R. N. Nandi, Social Roots of Religion in Ancient India, Calcutta: K. P. Bagchi, 1986, pp. 46–54. S. Bharadwaj and J. G. Lochtefeld, ‘Tīrtha’, in S. Mittal and G. Thursby (eds), The Hindu World, New York and London: Routledge, 2004, p. 479. S. Bharadwaj, Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India: A Study in Cultural Geography, Berkeley: University of California, 1973, pp. 62–9; V. Nath, ‘Tīrthas and Acculturation: An Anthroplogical Study’, Social Science Probings, Vol. 10s, Nos. 1–4, 1993, pp. 28–54. Mats. Pur., 110.7. J. Ensink, ‘Hindu Pilgrimage and Vedic Sacrifice’, in J. P. Sinha (ed.), L. Sternbach Felicitation Volume, Part I, Lucknow: Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, 1979, pp. 105–17. Bharadwaj, Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India, pp. 62–9. D. C. Sircar, The Śākta Pīṭhas (first published, 1948), 2nd rev. edn., New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973. D. L. Eck, Banaras, City of Light, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982, pp. 290–1. Mats. Pur., Chapter 22; Brahma Purāṇa (ed.), G. P. Bhatt, Vol. 36, Part IV, Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology Series, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1986, pp. 759–760. Henceforth Brah. Pur.

Shaping of Purāṇic narrative and gender 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170

171

172 173

174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185

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Mats. Pur., Chapters 103, 105. Mats. Pur., 106.8–9. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. IV, p. 564. Bhāg. Pur., 7.14.27–33. Mats. Pur., 186.3–12. Agn. Pur., 114.33–39. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. IV, p. 580. Mats. Pur., 184.56–63. Mats. Pur., Chapter 22; Agn. Pur., 115.3–4. S. G. Kantawala, ‘Prayāga Māhātmya: A Study’, Purāṇa, Vol. 9, 1967, pp. 103–20. R. Soloman, ‘Traditional Hindu Concepts of Tīrtha and Yātrā as Reflected in Smṛti Literature’, in P. Jash (ed.), Religion and Society, S. Chattopadhyaya Commemoration Volume, Calcutta: Roy & Chowdhary, 1984, pp. 327–32. Nath, The Purāṇic World, p. 170. See V. S. Pathak, Smārta Religious Tradition (Being a Study of Epigraphic Data on the Smārta Religious Tradition of Northern India c. 600 A. D. to c. 1200 A. D.), Meerut: Kusumanjali Prakashan, 1987, pp. 36–7. Mats. Pur., 101.2–30. D. P. Dubey, ‘Significance of Ritual Bath at Prayāga’, Purāṇa, Vol. 33, 1991, pp. 72–86; S. K. Kumar, The Purāṇic Lore of Holy Water Places With Special Reference to Skanda Purāṇa, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1983; P. M. Upadhye, ‘Vows in the Purāṇa Literature’, Bhāratīya Vidyā, Vol. 32, 1972, pp. 13–19; N. N. Sengupta, ‘The Practice of Religious Recital (Japa)’, Journal of Uttar Pradesh Historical Society, Vol. 12, 1938, pp. 28–48. The Kūrma Purāṇa (ed.) A. S. Gupta, Varanasi: All India Kashiraj Trust, 1972, 34.20, 37.3. Agn. Pur., Chapter 208. Manusmṛti, V.155, IX.18, 22, 28, X.126–128. Also see Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. IV, p. 568. Brahma Purāṇa (ed.) J. N. Shastri, Vol. 34, Part II, Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology Series, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1985, 64.19. Mats. Pur., 184.28–32, 56–63. Brah. Pur., 23.2. Bhāg. Pur., 7.14.27–33, 11.12.1–8. Mats. Pur., 184.25–27. G. K. Bhagwati, The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: A Socio-Cultural Study, Allahabad: Vohra Publications, 1988, p. 9. V. Nath, Dāna: Gift System in Ancient India (c. 600 BC–AD 300), A Socio-Economic Perspective, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1987, pp. 13–14. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part II, pp. 837–88. V. Nath, ‘Ritual Symbolism and Status–Conferring Role of Dāna’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 1989–1990, pp. 80–7; R. Thapar, ‘Dāna and Dakṣiṇā as Forms of Exchange’, in Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 523.

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186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193

Mats. Pur., 274.7–12, 18. Agn. Pur., 210.1–34. Mats. Pur., 274.27–29. Mats. Pur., 274.37. Mats. Pur., 273.17–19, 24. Mats. Pur., Chapters 283–284. Mats. Pur., 274.65; 278.25. Mats. Pur., 277.13–21. (It is mentioned that a sonless man or a woman should undertake this mahādāna. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part II, p. 874.) Mats. Pur., Chapter 287. V. S. Agrawala, ‘Sapta-Sāgara Mahādāna in the Matsya Purāṇa’, Purāṇa, Vol. 1, 1959, pp. 206–12. The word hiraṇya denotes the fecundating principle which is the Vedic symbol of prāṇa for life. The other word garbha stands for womb. Both the terms put together are symbolic of the life-giving process and regeneration (V. S. Agrawala, ‘Hiraṇyagarbha’, Purāṇa, Vol. 2, 1960, pp. 285–306). Mats. Pur., 275.4–6, 15–17. R. B. Pandey, Hindu Saṁskāras, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1969, pp. 51–3, 60, 64, 70. Mats. Pur., 275.20. Mats. Pur., Chapter 276. Mats. Pur., Chapter 289. Mats. Pur., 289.12. Mats. Pur., 2.34, 142.63. Mats. Pur., 274.28, 39–40, 50. Mats. Pur., 274.6, 33–38; Agn. Pur., 28.1–5. Mats. Pur., 274.37–38, 71, 275.17–18, 277.17, 284.17. Mats. Pur., 280.1–2. Mats. Pur., 275.2–4. Mats. Pur., 274.19–23. Mats. Pur., 288.1, Chapter 289. Mats. Pur., 277.19. Mats. Pur., 278.24. Mats. Pur., 274.4, 19–23. A few of the early medieval epigraphic references to women donors can be mentioned: According to the Kadambapadraka Grant of King Naravarman (dated 1167 AD), king of the Paramāra dynasty granted six halas of land along with Mahāmāṇḍalīka Rājya Devā who donated ten and his wife later on four halas of land, on the occasion of Kārttika Pūrṇimā. Mahādānas gained popularity among queens. The Bherāghāt Stone Inscription of queen Ālhanadevī (AD 1155) records the grant of two villages to a Śiva temple on the sacred occasion of Mārgaśīrsa Śukla Ekādaśī. The Bangāvan Copper Plate Inscription of king Gōvindchandro and his queen Gōsaladevī of the Gāhaḍvalā dynasty (AD 1150) records the gift of a village to a brāhmaṇa by the queen with the consent of the king on the occasion of Kārttika Pūrṇimā. Also, king Vijayasena of the Sena dynasty along with his queen Mahādevī Vilāśadevī granted a piece of land on the festive occasion of a lunar eclipse. See H. V. Trivedi (ed.), ‘Inscriptions of Parāmaras, Chandellas, Kachchhapaghatas

194 195 196

197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214

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and Two Minor Dynasties’, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. VII, Part 2, No. 34, 1991, pp. 114–118; N. P. Chakravarti, ‘Bhopal Plates of Mahākumār Harichaṁdradeva’, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXIV, Part 2, 1937, pp. 225–235; F. Kielhorn, ‘Bangāvan Plate of Govindchandra and His Queen Gosaladevī, [Vikrama] Samvat 1208’, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. V, 1898–1899, pp. 116–118; R. D. Banerjee, ‘Barrackpur Grant of Vijayasena, the 32nd Year’, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XV, 1919–1920, pp. 278–286.

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mātaraḥ prathamaṃ pūjayāḥ pitarastadanantaram, tato mātāmahā rājan viśvedevāstathaiv ca. Mats. Pur. 17.66. In Vriddhi Śrāddha, offerings are made in the following order mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-grandfather, maternal grandfather, maternal great-grandfather, maternal-great-great-grandfather, Viśvadeva.

The socialisation of women into assigned roles begins with the ways they have been thought of within patriarchal structures in the context of different periods and social formations. This chapter attempts a close analytical look at the Purāṇas, their stories, and the ideological moorings of the stories which reveal a deliberate effort to engender a new kind of women’s identity that seemingly gave more space to women, though in a limited way, and at the same time reaffirmed orthodox patriarchal power structures. The conceptualisation of the identity of woman in the traditional literature of the period under study is inextricably linked to the relationship of man and woman and especially husband and wife. However, to understand gender issues of the time more fully, it is important to take into account the changing socio-economic environment within which the identity of women was being shaped. While varṇa was central to the social discourse of the Purāṇas, jāti (caste), vaṁśa (lineage), and kula (family) were also factored in to define social identity during the first millennium CE. Further, social organisation varied considerably from region to region. For instance, tribal communities living in large tracts of land covered by forests, in the subcontinent, mostly retained their social frameworks in varying degrees, even though some of them had come under brahmanical influence.

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There is a growing realisation that cultural practices, values, and traditions have played a crucial role in the creation of images of women and reinforcement of gender dichotomies. While there is an overall emphasis on the brahmanical ideology as far as the situation of women is concerned, there are nevertheless regional variations that have found their way into Purāṇic narratives. The aim of the present chapter is first to locate and identify the myriad images of women in these texts, especially in the five Purāṇas that are the focus of study, namely Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata, and second to comprehend the manner in which these images may have reflected, shaped, and affected the reality of women’s lives. The modern reader familiar with Hindu society today would realise that these images and ideas continue to have a very powerful influence on ordinary life. The contemporary reality is that widows are still not allowed to participate in actual marriage rituals because their presence is considered inauspicious. Widowed aunts, cousins, and friends are welcome to dress up and attend marriage receptions, but not to participate in the haldi hāth1 prior to the mangal snāna, the ritual bath of the bride in her parental home and of the groom in his. Even though the Purāṇas contain material belonging to different centuries as mentioned in the Introduction, they can still be categorised as earlier (Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Matsya) and later (Agni and Bhāgavata) works. Through the chain of analysis contained here we will attempt to distinguish between the overlaps and the subtle changes which are reflected in the texts. The aim of the present chapter is to make visible what is often invisible and analyse the delicate renegotiations that shaped the representations of gender and the identity of women in the Purāṇas. It examines womanhood in the Purāṇas closely by studying relevant passages connected to the roles of the wife, daughter, and mother. Further it also attempts to throw fresh light on the problems of patriarchy and the status of women in a polygynous set-up. It makes a gender-based analysis of rites of passage, marriage, family, pativratā, motherhood, and widowhood. By reconstructing and highlighting the various aspects of the ācāra (conduct) of women, the work aims to understand the roles and representations of women in the Purāṇic tradition.

Brahmanical codes and marginalised social categories In their present form, the Purāṇas are important codes of brahmanical rites and customs since they include material on varṇāśramadharma, ācāra, śrāddha, dāna, pūjā, tīrtha, pativratā, widowhood, niyoga, etc. The Purāṇic authors realised that to regulate social behaviour,

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brahmanical authority had to be extended and strengthened, especially among two segments of society, viz., women and śūdras. The clubbing of women with śūdras in the Purāṇic discourse suggests how both these marginalised categories were incorporated and accommodated in the changing social spectrum by giving them greater space through social and ritualistic participation. This was done through tales, legends, pūjā, and vratas. Although the Purāṇas do not anywhere explicitly state that they were composed for women and śūdras, the stories told in them clearly show that for women, subservience to husbands, and for śūdras, service to the twice-born, were the means to salvation. The dialogic intricacies of these texts woven around the characters of Pārvatī, Anasūyā, Sāvitrī, Diti, etc., are suggestive enough to allow us to infer that they are intended for a varied audience. However, a direct reference as to the texts being intended for women and śūdras is not found anywhere. A note in this regard can be taken from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, where Maitreya tells Parāśāra that this Purāṇa is as sacred as the Vedas and by hearing it, all sins are expiated, but at the same time, does not mark out women to be a part of this audience.2 In a similar vein, the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa is equated with the Vedas but does not mention anything in particular about who could read and listen to these texts.3 There have been scholarly speculations regarding the intended audience of the Purāṇas. In the words of Vijay Nath, “Portrayal of women in the Purāṇas certainly does not suggest excessive marginalisation. Rather, it bespeaks an ethos very different from that reflected by the Dharmaśāstras, and a society that was definitely more indulgent towards women.”4 Building on the same, it would be worthwhile to look at the concluding sections of the Purāṇas that assure health, wealth, and prosperity that are complicitly related to a person’s class and gender.5 We must take note of the dialogue between the sages and Vyāsa regarding Kaliyuga, in which women and śūdras are called blessed and fortunate.6 Here the emphasis is on gaining rewards from action and behaviour – which is a reference to the devoted wife and her duty towards the family for attaining salvation, evident in several Purāṇas.7 Typically, women have a dominant presence in these tales. In the Purāṇic lore, we see a rich variety of female “types” that play out their assigned roles as daughter, wife, and mother in the patriarchal world. This visibility and multiplicity itself indicates how seriously and carefully brahmanism of the period was engaged in recasting the identity of women. Let us not forget that the Purāṇas were written at a time when significant social changes were taking place and their function was to stem the tide of social disintegration and fragmentation of

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the brahmanical social order. As discussed in Chapter I, most of the Purāṇas indicate a perception of social bedlam and cultural pandemonium encapsulated in the term kaliyuga. From the perspective of the family, the term kaliyuga refers to a time when families were broken, rites were forgotten, and women were defiled.8

Marriage in the Purāṇic age The sacraments (saṁskāras) are rites of passage described in the Brāhmaṇas, Gṛhyasūtras, Dharmasūtras, Smṛtis, and Purāṇas.9 The Purāṇas refer only to a few of the many saṁskāras. Typically, saṁskāras deal with ceremonies, customs, rituals, and astrological considerations to be observed at different stages of a person’s life. The saṁskāras are, in fact, expressive and symbolic observances based on religious beliefs and social conditions. Marriage, vivāha, is the most important of all the brahmanical saṁskāras. The Gṛhyasūtras generally begin with it, because it is considered the origin and centre of all critical domestic rituals, including sacrifices. This is the saṁskāra through which both men and women enter the grḥasthāśrama, and acquire the status of householders. The Purāṇas10 make this saṁskāra essential for the householder to be able to perform the five daily observances or sacrifices (pañcamahāyajñas).11 The five mahāyajñas were: the study and teaching of the Veda (brahmayajña), offerings to ancestors (pitṛyajña), offerings made to the gods into the fire (daivayajña), offerings made to all beings (bhūtayajña), and the honouring of guests (manusyayajña/nṛyajña). The four ritual ceremonies to be performed by all householders, as mentioned in the Agni Purāṇa, are offerings to the goddess Indrāṇī (Śaciyajña), marriage, the ceremony of naming of a new-born child, and the giving away of a daughter in marriage.12 Acquiring an insight into the institution of marriage can provide us with a better understanding of the structuring of gender relations. This is due to the fact that in most societies, a woman’s identity is determined by her marital status. In the brahmanical tradition, marriage is regarded as one of the principal saṁskāras for men, but for women it is the only saṁskāra. Several concepts, images, and terms, like the taking of the girl out of her parental home (udvāha), walking in a circle around the fire, i.e., making a pradakṣiṇā (pariṇaya), bringing near and making the partner one’s own (upayama), are used to convey the idea of marriage, which is seen as a religious obligation. The person who does not marry and enter the householder stage is considered to be impious.13

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While in the traditional eight forms of marriage, there is a difference in ritual and mode, the terms polyandry, polygyny, and monogamy refer to the forms of marriage where there is a variation in the number of partners. In the Purāṇas we see a definite effort by the brāhmaṇas to define marriage and highlight its key features, which are designed to serve brahmanism’s new ideological requirements. We also see in Purāṇa after Purāṇa detailed descriptions of marriages that serve as illustrations of the ideals of marriage. The eight forms of marriage Like the Dharmāśāstras, the Purāṇas also classify the formalisation of marriage into eight types, which differ in ritual and mode.14 They, in their essence, reveal not only the tensions between varṇas, but also the tension between the earlier ideological understandings of marriage as reflected in the Dharmasūtras and Smṛits and the new evolving notions of marriage.15 In conformity with the Dharmaśāstras, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa states that the forms of marriage are eight, namely Brāhma, Daiva, Ārṣa, Prājāpatya, Āsura, Gāndharva, Rākṣasa, and Paiśāca, in descending order in terms of social standing and acceptability.16 The text also adds that a man, while entering the order of a householder, derives great benefit from a wife if he takes her observing the same religious and civil obligations, and performs all the ceremonies in her company.17 Other Purāṇas like the Agni mention only seven forms of marriage, viz., Brāhma, Ārṣa, Prājāpatya, Āsura, Gāndharva, Rākṣasa, and Paiśāca.18 The remaining three Purāṇas refer to the institution of marriage, but do not go into the complexities of the various forms. In this context, it is important to mention that where they are discussed, there is general agreement on the special characteristics of each of these forms of marriage as given below: Brāhma vivāha In this form of marriage there is the voluntary giving away by the parents of the girl, dressed in finery and precious jewellery, to a man of good and noble parentage and possessing excellent virtues. The initiative for the marriage is taken by the father, who has authority over the girl. This form of marriage finds reference in the Viṣṇu and Agni Purāṇas.19 It appears from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa that the marriage of Kardama and Devahūti is an instance of Brāhma vivāha,20 regarded as the best form of marriage as it is supposed to carry the bride’s forefathers to heaven.

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Daiva vivāha It is important to note that the Daiva vivāha mentioned in earlier texts in which a girl is given to a priest (ṛtvij) while he comes for sacrificial rites is scarcely referred to in the Purāṇas under study. There is only one passing reference to it in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, and no specific examples of this type of marriage are cited in the five Purāṇas that form the subject of study. This is, perhaps, indicative of the changing socio-religious conditions wherein the role of the sacrificial priest had begun to lose its significance in the larger social context. Ārṣa vivāha This form of marriage involves the giving away of a daughter after accepting a pair of cattle from the bridegroom. This exchange is not the sale of a daughter, however, but rather a token gesture symbolic of the creation of a relationship and is a fulfilment of an established practice. This form of marriage is considered lawful and praiseworthy on account of the fact that it is not based on purchase. The Matsya Purāṇa declares that he who gives a bride at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā according to his ability and in accordance with the Ārṣa form of marriage would never have to go to the most terrifying hell; after going to the land of the Uttarakurus, he would rejoice for an infinite period and would be married to a religious-minded wife and would beget handsome sons.21 This narration is a eulogy to the Ārṣa form of marriage and also to the sanctity of the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā. The Ārṣa vivāha ranks high in the recommended list of the forms of marriage. Prājāpatya vivāha The giving away of a girl to the accompaniment of sacred chants, mantras, in which the bride and the groom together perform their religious duties is Prājāpatya vivāha. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, on the occasion of the marriage of Devakī, his daughter, Devaka offered as dowry two hundred young and well-bedecked maids in attendance, four hundred elephants with golden chains, fifteen thousand horses, and eight hundred chariots.22 Nagñajit also gifted his daughter ten thousand cows, three thousand female attendants, and an army consisting of nine thousand elephants, chariots, and foot soldiers.23 The affectionate father Duryodhana gave as dowry horses, elephants, goldinlaid chariots, and bejewelled female servants.24 There is no specific

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word like “dowry” in the Purāṇas. The references simply are to the father having given certain things to the groom. Dowry in the modern connotation has acquired a meaning where the bride’s parents are forced to pay a particular amount in the form of gold, cash, gifts, and property, but the Purāṇas seem to consider the giving of marriage presents as the willing choice of the parents. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa we get references to the giving of śulka (wealth) in the context of marriage. The Prājāpatya form of marriage is considered lawful and meritorious. None of the Purāṇas provide actual details that may have been followed in this form of marriage. From the examples it is clear that the bridegroom was given gifts. The lists of gifts given by fathers may seem exaggerated, but they do point to the practice of giving lavish presents by those who could afford them. Āsura vivāha This form of marriage is based upon the purchase of a maiden by the suitor and has been condemned by the Dharmaśāstras in strong terms. The initiative for the marriage lies with the suitor, and the girl has no choice. The most complicated question regarding this form of marriage relates to how much the suitor had to pay. We do not find a clear answer in the texts. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa refers to the story of Satyavatī in which we are told that her father Gādhi, a chief, demanded (ayācat) a thousand horses from the brāhmaṇa Ṛcīka as the price of the bride.25 A parallel story can be found in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa in which Gādhi says,“Give me a bridal price of a thousand horses white in colour like the moon, but having one ear blue. This is not too high a demand at all as we belong to the highly aristocratic clan of Kauśikas.”26 Ṛcīka was able to marry Satyavatī only after giving the stipulated gift to her father. However, it seems that there were also some exceptions as well, as in the same Purāṇa there is a story about Kṛṣṇa refusing to pay such wealth (śulka).27 Gāndharva vivāha The union of a willing maiden and her lover constitutes Gāndharva vivāha. This is a form of marriage where the father had no influence in the choice of the bridegroom of the girl. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa refers to the union of Buddha and Ilā,28 and Purūravas and Urvaśī29 as examples. In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, there is an interesting and important discussion as to whether the Gāndharva form of marriage was acceptable for kṣatriyas. The discussion was occasioned when Dama,

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King Nariṣyanta’s son, appealed to the kings against the unrighteous conduct of three princes towards the daughter of King Cārukarman, Sumanā, when she chose Dama at her svayaṁvara.30 Many kings favoured the idea that Sumanā should belong to him who forcibly carried her away after slaying those who opposed him, as in the Rākṣasa form of marriage. Some of the kings replied that the Rākṣasa form was definitely the best for kṣatriyas, as it meant the forcible abduction of a maiden. But since Sumanā had approved Dama as her husband under her father’s authority, this was a case of Gāndharva and not the Rākṣasa form of marriage. It was also argued that a maiden, once married, loses her virginity and the marriage creates a bond upon her, and hence it was not worthy on the part of other kings to carry her away from Dama. Though the Purāṇas have instances of this form of marriage, it is difficult to say whether it enjoyed social acceptance. Rākṣasa vivāha This is also called kṣatra and is marriage by capture. This form of marriage has no pecuniary consequences because the man’s father or guardian did not have to give a bride price or endowment to the girl, and suitors did not have to give a bride price or make any payment to the girl’s father. In the Rākṣasa vivāha the girl was taken away by abduction. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa refers to many examples of this form of marriage. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is said to have abducted Rukmiṇī, and Sāmba carried away a daughter of Duryodhana at the time of the latter’s svayaṁvara.31 Similarly, the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa has instances of the Rākṣasa form of marriage when Nābhāga, son of King Diṣṭa, married Suprabhā, after having carried her off. Also, Avīkṣit used to take princesses by force if they did not accept him at their svayaṁvaras, as he did with Vaiśālinī, daughter of the king of Vidiśā, Viśāla.32 When prince Avīkṣit forcibly abducted Vaiśālinī, this act was condemned by some kings, while his mother Vīrā was full of praise declaring that a kṣatriya takes things to himself by force in the presence of mighty ones.33 Similarly, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa mentions Bhīṣma, who carried away Ambikā and Ambālikā from their svayaṁvara ceremony and offered them to Vicitravīrya.34 Disguised in the garb of a brāhmaṇa, Arjuna took away Subhadrā.35 When Kṛṣṇa carried away Rukmiṇī he had to fight many rival kings, but finally married her according to Vedic rites.36 These references make it very clear that the abduction in question was not symbolic but very real.37 This form of marriage was considered permissible primarily for members of the kṣatriya varṇa.

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All these episodes suggest clearly that some Purāṇas (Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya and Bhāgavata Purāṇas) favoured only the Rākṣasa form of marriage for kṣatriyas, while some (like Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) approved of both Gāndharva as well as Rākṣasa forms for them, but strictly disapproved of the abduction of married women. Many kings condemned abduction for the purpose of marriage, but some royal families considered it a worthy act. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa mentions that in the Gāndharva vivāha, rigidity of varṇa was not taken into account and this was one of the causes of inter-varṇa marriages. In this regard, we may cite the marriage of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā, Yayāti, and Devayānī, Purūravas and Urvaśī, highlighted in the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas.38 The themes of rivalry amongst kṣatriyas and between kṣatriyas and brāhmaṇas are present in them, though muted.39 The episodes containing references to marriage indicate unions brought about through different means – love, mutual consent, and forcible abduction. Some of them were eventually legitimised by marriage rites. Paiśāca vivāha This form of marriage is founded on deception. It is based on the overpowering or taking advantage of a girl, when she is asleep, or intoxicated and out of her senses. It is a form which has been condemned by all brahmanical texts, including the Purāṇas.40 The tying of the nuptial knot by self-choice in a svayaṁvara was a significant form of marriage where the choice of the husband rested with the girl. The Purāṇas emphasised the virginity of the bride and indicate that as soon as a girl chooses a man at her svayaṁvara, she becomes his wife and loses her maidenhood. Though the Viṣṇu Purāṇa mentions the svayaṁvara of the daughters of the king of Kāśī, Māndhātā, and Balarāma’s marriage with Revatī, daughter of Revata,41 it also makes a reference to the svayaṁvara of Sītā in the dhanuṣayajña.42 The svayaṁvara of Sītā or Draupadī did not depend upon the will of the bride. Rather she was to be given in marriage to the man who showed certain skills as a warrior. Thus it means that the father of the bride had considerable influence and his decisions prevailed. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa provides ample evidence of this form of marriage among royal families. For example, Vīryacandra’s daughter, Vīrā, chose King Karandhama.43 Similarly Sudeva’s daughter Gaurī, Vīrabhadra’s daughter Anibhā, and Balin’s daughter Subhadrā chose Avīkṣit – all at svayaṁvaras.44 In the Matsya Purāṇa, there is a celebrated instance of Devayānī’s initiative in courting Kaca, who repudiated her when she

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expressly made a proposal for marriage. She again took a bold initiative when she herself proposed marriage to Yayāti.45 In the same Purāṇa there is a recommendation that a girl could choose her own partner in life after having undergone three menstrual periods, and the approval of the state thereof also tends to suggest the maiden’s role in the selection of her companion.46 The day of the svayaṁvara was fixed in consultation with astrologers (daivajñas). The marriage ceremony followed after the maiden chose her partner from among the kings or princes assembled. In marriages of self-choice, whether the girl was allowed to take ornaments given by her mother, father, or brother with her is not very explicit. King Dama was bestowed various gifts by his father-in-law after his marriage–elephants, horses, camels, male, and female slaves and household utensils.47 While choosing her life partner, the maiden gave importance to his heroism, prowess, and fortitude, and at times she undertook religious austerities to attain a husband of her choice.48 In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, we come across many instances of marriage by svayaṁvara. There was an open competition in this form of marriage, and the girl selected the best. Rāmacandra obtained Sītā by virtue of great strength as he broke the great Haradhanu. Sītā, who was none other than Śrī, thereby became his wife, well-matched with him in points of virtue, conduct, age, form, and beauty.49 Arjuna secured Draupadī by successfully shooting an arrow at an extremely difficult target – the eye of a moving fish suspended far away near the ceiling of a royal hall.50 Other heroes like Jarāsandha, Ambaṣṭha, Śiśupāla, etc., could only manage to string the bow; they could not proceed further. The Pāṇḍavas proved their prowess both through Arjuna’s skill in archery in the actual contest for winning Draupadī’s hand, and in the fight with rival kṣatriyas like Śiśupāla and Jarāsandha.51 Like the Dharmaśāstras, the Purāṇas categorise different forms of marriage and highlight various observances associated with them, including bridal price and dowry. But the Purāṇa accounts of various forms of marriage clearly show some divergence from those of the earlier Dharmaśāstras.52 It can be seen that some forms of marriages were approved of, whereas some were expressly disapproved of. According to the Dharmaśāstras, Brāhma, Daiva, Prājāpatya, and Ārṣa vivāha were considered lawful while others were unlawful.53 The Purāṇas reiterate the same order of preference. But the reticence of the Purāṇic literature on the Daiva form of marriage, except a passing reference in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa as mentioned earlier, while giving detailed descriptions of others, is indicative of the changes and tensions that were creeping into practices related to marriage and beginning to be mentioned

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in the Purāṇas. Through a close examination of the Purāṇas, and on the strength of several examples, it can be said that in other forms of marriage, considerations of birth, money, and requisites really mattered, but the Gāndharva marriage was determined primarily through mutual attraction and consent. Increasing instances of Gāndharva, Rākṣasa, and Āsura forms of marriage mentioned in the Purāṇas are largely a reflection of social upheavals and changes taking place and affecting marriage patterns during the period. However, such forms of marriage were not necessarily legitimised by the Purāṇas. Whereas the first four categories of marriage have been given a position of privilege, the later four have not been condemned altogether. Also the Purāṇas do not openly enumerate different kinds of marriages for different varṇas, which is a significant departure from the codes of Manu.54

The importance of the institution of marriage In the brahmanical conceptualisation of the normative social model, varṇa and āśramas (the stages of life) were twin pillars. The four āśramas were applicable only to the dvijas (twice-born). The grḥasthāśrama, the householder phase of life, was considered the most important life stage.55 The Purāṇas eulogise grḥasthāśrama and dwell upon the indispensability of marriage. This section sets out to demonstrate that there is a deliberate theorisation of marriage in the Purāṇas in which interlinked concepts such as chastity, purity, the householder’s duties, and women’s status in the household were all renegotiated to confer, above all, an absolute premium on the approved forms of marriage. The underlying motive for this effort, as has been pointed out earlier, was to counter the threat to orthodox brahmanism that had emerged in this period of social change. It seems that a section of the brāhmaṇas sought to compensate themselves for the declining prestige of yajña by promoting marriage and domestic rituals. The aim was to strengthen the varṇāśramadharma and to secure the financial interests of priests primarily in the form of dāna and dakṣiṇā. Marriage was generally understood as an institution for ensuring purity of birth and descent within the patriarchal lineage (vaṁśa). It was envisaged as an important means through which lineages could be organised and maintained. It is also important to understand the focus on the male line of descent in order to gain an understanding of the roles and representations of women in these nuptial set-ups. Women were considered as mere receptacles of seed and could never acquire dominant positions in conjugal relationships. This idea reinforces the

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fact that women’s role in marriage was in the nature of reproductive beings. It was in this sense also that jāti and kinship were given emphasis so as to maintain the internal purity of the lineage within the larger framework of the varṇa hierarchy. Savarṇa marriages (where the partners belong to the same varṇa) were recommended. Inter-varṇa marriages were acknowledged, but with definite conditions attached. As we shall see below, anuloma and pratiloma marriages are mentioned in this context. Brahmanical rules of marriage We now move on to a discussion of how exogamy, endogamy, and inter-varṇa marriages are dealt within the Purāṇic texts. Rules and regulations were a critical component of a valid marriage. These directives revolved around exogamy and endogamy, and particular practices that existed at the time, and the institution of marriage was expected to operate in accordance with them. The exogamy spoken of in the ancient brahmanical texts has three aspects, viz., (1) gotra exogamy, which prohibits marriage within the same gotra, (2) pravara exogamy, which bars marriage between members of the same pravara, and (3) sapiṇḍa exogamy, which prohibits marriage of persons related to each other within a certain number of generations on the paternal and maternal sides.56 Much has been written on the issue of gotra and pravara by Indologists and anthropologists. Gotra literally means cow-pen; it refers to the clan system of brāhmaṇas, sometimes also applicable to nonbrāhmaṇas. Pravara refers to one, two, three, or five supposed ancestral ṛṣis connected with the gotra system of the brāhmaṇas. Sapiṇḍa means persons related to each other within seven generations on the father’s side and five generations on the mother’s side, though there is no consensus among various law-givers on the exact number of degrees of relationship. Sapiṇḍa relationship is of special importance in three matters, viz., marriage, inheritance, and impurity on birth and death (aśauca). The prohibition against marriage with a sapiṇḍa girl applies to all varṇas.57 However, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa reveals exceptions to this prohibition when Pradyumna, the son of Kṛṣṇa, marries his maternal uncle, Rukmīi’s daughter Rukmāvatī and their son Aniruddha marries Subhadrā, also a grandchild of Rukmī. All this seems to be a part of the representation of the customs of the time, which were more diverse than the norms laid down in the texts. The material on gotra and pravara in the Purāṇas is full of contradictions.58 The gotra was crucial to marriage and property, since

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members of the same gotra (sagotra) were not permitted to marry but could, in the absence of a direct heir, claim rights to the property. While the Matsya Purāṇa enumerates various gotras and pravaras, it also asserts that persons of a particular gotra and pravara are mutually ineligible for marriage.59 The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa states that for the sake of a householder’s status, one should marry a girl sprung from the family of a different ṛṣi, equal in stature, free from sickness, and free from deformity.60 It is possible that in places in the Purāṇas, the word gotra has not been used in a strictly technical sense, but in the general sense of family. While recommending savarṇa marriages, the Purāṇas also provide several instances of anuloma (hypergamous) and pratiloma (hypogamous) marriages, not very different from those of the Smṛtis. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa shows a favourable attitude towards anuloma unions, allowing the dvija (twice-born) to marry lower varṇa women provided they married first within their own varṇas. An instance of an anuloma union in it is that of Cyavana’s son Pramati, who marries a kṣatriya woman.61 At the same time, the Purāṇa lays down a punishment for breaking a savarṇa marriage rule, i.e., degradation to a lower varṇa. This is clearly exemplified when Prince Nābhāga, King Diṣṭa’s son, was degraded to vaiśyavata on account of his marriage with a vaiśya woman.62 Pratiloma unions among the brāhmaṇas and śūdras were held to be sinful. A śūdra who approached a brāhmaṇa woman was said to be reborn as a worm; and for begetting offspring through her an insect living within wood.63 An instance of anuloma marriage was the union of king Śantanu with Satyavatī, the daughter of a fisherman, in the Matsya Purāṇa.64 The same Purāṇa provides an example of a pratiloma union, the famous marriage of Yayāti with Devayānī. And yet, it also mentions that if a lower varṇa man wants to marry a higher varṇa girl and does so, he would be punished with death. Instances of self-contradiction are very much visible in the Purāṇas. Similarly, a higher varṇa man marrying a lower varṇa woman was to be punished with death.65 An inexplicable observation in the Matsya Purāṇa is: “If a maiden advances to marry a person of a higher varṇa, she is to be given to him, but after marriage, she is to suffer corporal punishment and is to be confined within the house.”66 Theorised norms Though the Agni Purāṇa does not dilate on varṇa, pravara, and sapiṇḍa relationships, it makes it evident that a man should not marry a woman belonging to his own gotra.67 The Agni Purāṇa also mentions, with

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specific details, that a man from the brāhmaṇa/kṣatriya/vaiśya varṇa could take his second wife from the lower varṇa, provided he took his first wife from his own varṇa.68 In general, whereas anuloma marriages were tolerated, pratiloma marriages were by and large severely condemned. However, the repeated examples of various kinds of inter-varṇa marriages highlighted in the Purāṇas themselves suggest the reality was far different from the theorised norms. That changes in brahmanical attitudes were taking place during this period is evident. Whereas Smṛti texts condemned cross-cousin marriage with the daughter of one’s paternal and maternal aunts, and of one’s maternal uncles, only permitting marriages with girls who were seventh or sixth or fifth removed from a common ancestor, some Purāṇas supported cross-cousin marriages.69 It is an important piece of evidence highlighting the subtleties of transition taking place in marriage norms during this period. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, there is evidence of cross-cousin marriages. Parīkṣit married Irāvatī, the daughter of his own uncle Uttara, and had four sons by her, the eldest of whom was Janamejaya. Pradyumna, the son of Kṛṣṇa, married the daughter of his uncle Rukmī. Also Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumna, accepted the hand of Rocanā, the granddaughter of Rukmī.70 The reference to cross-cousin marriages in the Purāṇas raises the question of the prevalence of this system. These references go against the śāstric rules on the observance of sapiṇḍa and sagotra limitations with regard to marriage, but such marriages were clearly happening. We now come to the Purāṇic references to polyandry, polygyny, and monogamy.

Polyandrous marriage Polyandry is that form of marriage in which a woman has more than one husband at a time. The most striking example of polyandry in ancient literature is that of Draupadī, the wife of the five Pāṇḍavas. Her polyandrous union is explained in the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa explains it by saying that the Pāṇḍavas were the incarnations of Indra and Draupadī was an incarnation of Indra’s wife.71 According to the Viṣṇu, Matsya, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas, Draupadī had the following sons through the five Pāṇḍava princes, viz., Prativindhya by Yudhiṣṭhira, Śruṭasena by Bhīma, Śrutakīrti by Arjuna, Śrutakarma by Sahadeva, Śatānīka by Nakula; and all these sons were known by the patronymic Pāṇḍaveya.72 Another example of a polyandrous union mentioned in these Purāṇas is that of Māriṣā, the daughter of Soma, married to the ten sons of the Pracetas family.73

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Polygyny Polygyny is a form of union in which a man has more than one wife at a time. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa refers to several polygynous marriages, as do the Mārkaṇḍeya and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. According to these three Purāṇas, Dakṣa and Prasūti had a very large number of daughters. Dakṣa gave ten daughters to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa, four to Ariṣṭanemi, twenty-seven to Soma, two to Bhūta, two to Aṅgiras, two to Kṛśāśva, four to Tārkṣa, and seven to Candra.74 The Vaṁśānucarita section of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa contains instances of kings who were polygynists; for instance, King Khanitra had three wives and King Avīkṣit and Marutta had many wives.75 Some of the polygynists and their consorts that find mention in the Matsya Purāṇa include Ajamīḍha and his consorts Nīlinī, Dhūmiṇī, and Keśinī of the Kuru family.76 Among Kṛṣṇa’s wives, those mentioned are Rukmiṇī, Satyā, Satyabhāmā, Kaikeyī, Lakṣmaṇā, Mitravindā, Kālindī, and Jāmbavatī.77 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa78 observes that multiple wives are the cause of misery to the householder. It takes note of several polygynous unions, quite a few of them are instances of sororal polygyny, which means marriage with two or more sisters. Vasudeva married the seven daughters of Devaka. The younger brother of Vasudeva married the five daughters of Ugrasena. King Bhaimasura had sixteen thousand consorts.79 Lord Kṛṣṇa had ten chief wives and innumerable consorts.80 Similarly, sage Saubhari accepted the hands of the fifty daughters of King Māndhātā.81 In the Matsya Purāṇa, there are many such examples; for instance, Satrajit had ten wives who were the ten daughters of Kaikeya.82 Kings like Yayāti, Śaśivindu, Vicitravīrya, Uttānapāda, Khanitra, and Marutta had more than one wife.83 The Matsya Purāṇa contains several references to polygyny.84 For instance, Bhajamāna had two wives, viz., Upabāhyakā and Bāhyakā, the daughters of King Sṛñjaya. Yaśodevī and Satyā were the wives of brāhmaṇas. Pāṇḍu had two wives, Kuntī and Mādrī; Sagara married Vaidarbhī and Keśinī; Śantanu married Kali and Jāhnavī, the daughter of a fisherman; Vṛṣṇi was the husband of Gāndhārī and Mādrī; Yayāti of Devayānī and Śarmiṣṭhā. The Agni Purāṇa has some references to polygyny. The two wives of Kaṁsa, Astī and Prāpti, were Jarāsandha’s daughters.85 Polygyny seems to have been prevalent among members of the higher varṇas. But it is not to be supposed that it was confined only to kings and nobles. The number of wives assigned to a person is fixed according to his varṇa. According to the Agni Purāṇa, a brāhmaṇa can take four wives, a kṣatriya three, a vaiśya two, and a śūdra one.86

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Within polygynous households, a hierarchy was established among the wives. It is likely that there would have been competition, and even enmity, as well as of course a lack of emotional security among the women in polygynous households, leading to clashes over property and land rights. The descriptions of polygynous households suggest that within the family, hierarchical relations were reinforced through conflicts and as well as solidarity among the wives. Every wife would not have enjoyed equal opportunities and privileges, be it inheritance and property rights or participation in religious ceremonies. Of course access to the husband and his attention would have been recurring issues within the household. All or any of these factors are likely to have been causes for contestation. Wives belonging to different varṇas would also have had their own anxieties and concerns. Thus the meanings, significance, and complications of diverse relationships unfold themselves within the polygynous household. This is perhaps why the Purāṇas advocate monogamy as the most preferred form of marriage, as discussed in the next section.

Monogamy – the ideal form of marriage In spite of references to polygyny and polyandry, the monogamous form of marriage – in which there is the union of one man and one woman – was preferred in the Purāṇas. In connection with the description of royal families, the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa provides several instances of monogamy, viz., of Nābhāga with Suprabhā, Vatsaprī with Saunandā, Karandhama with Vīrā, Nariṣyanta with Indrasenā, and Dama with Sumanā.87 The fact that monogamy was favoured is evinced from two dialogues in the episode about King Svarocis – one between a grey lag-goose (Kalahaṃsī) and a hen (Cakravākī), and the other between a buck (mṛga) and a doe (mṛgī). In the first dialogue, Kalahamṣī praises Svarocis before a Cakravākī that he (Svarocis) once lived in pleasure with his wives, till aroused by a conversation between two birds and by a deer’s remark. Kalahaṃsī further declares that conjugal pairs who are rich in each other’s love are rare indeed. But Cakravākī censures Kalahaṃsī, remarking that Svarocis could not be called lucky; he enjoyed one woman in the presence of others, and his mind did not dwell on all of them equally. How could Svarocis be affectionate towards several wives? He also says that neither were his wives affectionate towards him, nor he towards them. But those wives were mainly sources of amusement to him, just like attendants. Cakravākī praises the ideal monogamous union by citing her own example, saying that she and her husband were blessed

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as they loved each other, that their hearts were forever fixed in each other. She declares that a man having many wives was headed inevitably towards demerit and sin, as he discriminates among many wives in terms of house, food, ornaments, and intercourse; a man should perform his karmas, nitya (obligatory), and naimittika (required by occasion) with his one wife, and if he does otherwise, he commits sin.88 In the second dialogue, a male deer criticises Svarocis by pointing out that just as one female who follows many males is a laughing stock, so is one male, who is gazed upon by many females with lustful glances. Such a man also loses his religious merit and his deeds of righteousness (dharmakriyā) day by day, being attached to some wives and addicted to others.89 While recognising polygyny, the Dharmaśāstras and the Purāṇas both held up the ideal of monogamy. Manu and Yājñavalkya state that a husband may marry another woman if his wife drinks wine, suffers from a disease, is deceitful, and is extravagant in expenditure.90 The Purāṇas, on the other hand, do not make any categorical qualifications of this kind.

Qualifications of bride and groom While marriage was consistently constructed as a turning point of socio-ritual existence in the Purāṇas, there were attempts at various times to homogenise definitions of marriage. Such processes were characterised by a certain amount of internal tension. It would be wrong to say that prescribed procedures and practices were absent in the earlier period. But during the later periods of Purāṇic composition, traditions were more clearly delineated and structured than before. The Purāṇas, in this connection, appear to offer a very influential theoretical construct of the ideal of a conjugal relationship. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa lays emphasis on a man marrying a girl of his own varṇa and of a good family.91 Yet, it refers to many exceptions to this norm and approves of certain anuloma and pratiloma alliances. For instance, Cyavana ṛṣi married Sukanyā, a princess. The sage Saubhari married the daughters of King Māndhātā.92 Jayadratha’s wife was born of a brāhmaṇa girl and a kṣatriya male. The Purāṇa also says that in the kaliyuga, a rich and powerful man, in whatever family he may be born, will be held entitled to marry a maiden of every varṇa.93 According to the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, one who enters the householder life should marry a girl younger to him in years, unblemished in respect of family traditions and auspiciousness, and well-matched with him in all respects. She

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must be of his own varṇa, and if absolutely necessary, wives of lower varṇas may be married in the succeeding order.94 The brāhmaṇa sage Kardama married Devahūti, the daughter of Svavambhuva Manu, a kṣatriya. The brāhmaṇa sage Saubhari married fifty daughters of king Māndhātā. Sage Ṛcīka accepted the hand of Satyavatī, the daughter of king Gādhi. As mentioned earlier, sage Cyavana took the hand of Sukanyā, the daughter of King Saryāti.95 The Purāṇa clearly states that marriage should be only between persons who have compatibility in respect of birth, wealth, physical conditions, and aspirations about the future.96 The details of the negotiations of marriage are especially striking for the careful attention paid to traditions and to the minute rules of social interaction – the equal status that had to be sought in marriages as well as the importance of getting married at the right age. The prescribed marriageable age varied over time. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa states that the age of the bride should be one-third of the bridegroom’s age.97 That is, if the bride is eight years of age, the bridegroom should be twenty-four, and if the bride is twelve, the bridegroom thirty-six. The age at which a girl is considered marriageable is not specifically mentioned in the Gṛhyasūtras and Dharmasūtras. The marriage of a nagnikā, a girl of tender years who has not attained puberty, was generally discouraged because the main purpose of marriage was procreation. These texts do suggest that girls should be married off at an early age.98 On the whole, the Purāṇas follow the Gṛhyasūtras and Dharmasūtras. This may indicate the gradual emergence of the concept of early marriages in the period under study. However, there are contradictions in the Purāṇas. While the Matsya Purāṇa extols the marriage of a gaurī girl (one who has not had menstruation) as highly meritorious and pleasing to the pitṛs, it also permits post-puberty marriage at the bride’s initiative; if after getting menses for the third time in her father’s house, a woman seeks a husband for herself, she should not be punished by the sovereign.99 The presence of these contradictions reconcile brahmanical orthodoxies regarding the proper age of the bride on the one hand with the accommodation of a few variations on the other. As regards men, there is no special rule regarding the age of marriage. Interestingly, in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, we come across evidence of the marriage of an older woman with a young groom. The story in the Purāṇa runs as follows: King Jyāmagha had no issue by his wife Śaibyā, but out of fear of Śaibyā, he did not take another wife. Once, on return from a

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Thus, while the Mārkaṇḍeya and Agni Purāṇas are silent on the issue, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa prescribes proportionate ages of marriage for men and women, the Matsya Purāṇa encourages pre-puberty marriages, but does not decry post-puberty marriage for girls, and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa does not disapprove of marriage between an older woman and a younger man. The story of the king from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa suggests that such marriages must have been performed in exceptional circumstances and must not be taken at face value. It is also observed in the Purāṇas that if daughters were not given in marriage at a proper age, maidens became anxious for a groom. The fifty daughters of king Māndhātā saw sage Saubhari, and each of them desired to get him as her groom. There ensued a quarrel among them, and at last, with the consent of Saubhari, the fifty daughters of Māndhātā accepted him simultaneously as their common spouse. Parents of daughters expected their daughters to be happy and prosperous in their conjugal lives. So they desired to give their daughters in marriage to grooms of equal status. If they failed to do so they became sorrowful.101 Some of the Gṛhyasūtras state that one should select a girl endowed with good characteristics (lakṣaṇas) as a wife.102 Similarly, the Purāṇas remark that the accomplishments of a bridegroom are that he must be endowed with a good family, auspicious characteristics, learning, and good health. The Matsya Purāṇa says that one should invite a handsome, young, strong, and prosperous person of a good family and noble birth, and give one’s daughter to him.103 Most of the Purāṇas attach a lot of importance to the family, so that excellence and eminence should enter into marriage alliances. The specific reasons for marrying a particular girl are wealth, beauty, intelligence, and family. Though marriage was considered to be an indispensable ceremony for every woman, girls having certain traits were considered poorly endowed or disqualified for it. The

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Viṣṇu Purāṇa speaks of skin complexion as a factor in the selection of a bride. Girls with dark or yellow complexion were to be avoided. They were to be avoided if they had physical problems, for example if they had a deformity, were crippled, or had excess limbs. They could also be rejected for being talkative!104 According to the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa a man who desires his welfare should marry a girl endowed with a beautiful nose, marked with all the auspicious signs, and free from deformity.105 While the qualities that an ideal bridegroom is supposed to have are referred to only occasionally in the Purāṇas, the attributes of the bride are a matter of repeated focus. Rules for the selection of a bride are far more elaborate than those for selecting a bridegroom. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa makes a passing reference to a man who, after having promised his daughter to someone, gives her to another person; it is made clear that such a man is considered to be a sinner.106 In the Matsya Purāṇa, fraud and treachery in the setting up of marriage are fraught with severe consequences. One who arranges the marriage of a girl to someone without telling him her faults should be fined 96 paṇas, and one who declares a girl to be an eunuch should be fined 100 paṇas. Also, one who shows one girl and then marries off a different one should be fined 1,080 paṇas. The man who, hiding his own faults, marries a girl is considered not to have married at all and should pay 200 paṇas to the king. One who demands more money than agreed upon and promised at the time of a girl’s marriage should be fined twice the amount agreed upon. This is also the rule of the Dharmaśāstra. The Matsya Purāṇa further adds, “The man who would give in marriage to a man a girl who had been previously united with another in lawful wedlock should be liable to a fine of 1,250 paṇas.”107 The Agni Purāṇa states that a girl should be given only once in marriage, and there is no salvation for persons who indulge in violating sacred unions and are liable to be punished as thieves.108 It was considered to be the duty of the state to enforce and regulate the laws governing the institution of marriage. The mention of the state’s authority to intervene in matters relating to marriage clearly testifies to the significance that was attached to the institution. The Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, and Agni Purāṇas all highlight the role played by the state in ensuring, through regulations, that the sanctity of marriages was maintained. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, rules guiding the selection of brides takes primacy. The focus in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is not only on the attributes of the bride but also on the ritual aspects that govern marriages.

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Rites of marriage After the proper selection of the bride and bridegroom, the ceremonies began. Marriage ceremonies primarily had their origin in the religious beliefs of the people. In the beginning, they must have been very simple. But as marriage was a very important occasion in the community, many rites, practices, and customs arose, which were regulated by the community itself. In the course of time, many local differences became evident in relation to marriage ceremonies. The significance of rituals and mantras which are dealt with in detail in early texts came to be widely recognised in the Purāṇas.109 The Purāṇas refer to the lighting of the fire, offering of oblations consecrated with mantras, performing the benedictory rites, and duly celebrating the wedding of the girl by the family priest. Learned brāhmaṇas chanted mantras from the Vedas to offer protection to the bride from all adverse forces, while other priests offered oblations to the fire to the accompaniment of chants from the Atharvaveda for the pacification of inimical planets. The ceremonies were performed with a view to legitimising the marriage in the eyes of society. Particular emphasis was laid on them in the Bhāgavata and to a certain extent in the Mārkaṇḍeya and Agni Purāṇas.110 Some of the pre-marriage activities such as the bride’s ritual bath, the putting on of new clothes, and a golden belt around the waist and other ornaments (bhūṣaṇottamaiḥ) find mention in the Purāṇas. Such rituals indicate that women must have been involved with the proceedings in an active role and not merely as witnesses to the ceremonies.111 There is no reference to the yajñopavīta (wearing of the sacred thread) for women at the time of the marriage ceremony which otherwise has been glorified for men of the first three orders in most of the ancient texts. During the marriage ceremonies, the pitṛs and devas were duly worshipped and brāhmaṇas sumptuously fed, and they were requested to pronounce their blessings. The holy bath was taken on this occasion, and the bride and the groom wore new garments. Offerings of gold, silver, clothes, milch cows, and sweets made of sesame and jaggery were given to brāhmaṇas and their wives as dakṣiṇā.112 Such ceremonies had their origin in the desire to promote the fertility of the union and to ensure abundance of food in the household. Seeking blessings and warding off evil influences Other features of the marriage ceremonies are essentially religious in their origin. Gods like Maheśvara were invoked for boons and blessings. According to the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Mahādeva was worshipped

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during the marriage ceremony for the well-being and prosperity of the couple.113 Invoking various goddesses It was also the custom of some people to worship the goddess Bhavānī along with her son Gaṇeśa, like Rukmiṇī did in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa in the procession to the Devī temple.114 The worship was done with water, sandal paste, unbroken rice, clothes, and earthen oil lamps. The Agni Purāṇa states that the image of Śaci (Indrāṇī) made of clay should be brought from a potter’s house and worshipped on the banks of a river to seek prosperity.115 Indrāṇī and Gaurīpūjā were performed by the bride before kanyādāna, when she was given away by her father. The custom of beseeching of goddesses for their favours stands testimony to the fact that the agency of women could not have been altogether circumvented in the marriage rites. In furthering the sanctity of marriage, the Agni Purāṇa states that marriage rites, the Vedic mantras, and the pāṇigrahaṇa saṁskāra were applicable to maidens only. Auspicious days for marriage Since marriage was a sacrament, it was to be held on an auspicious day to ward off evil influences. The Agni Purāṇa mentions in great detail the asterisms deemed favourable to the celebration of marriage.116 They are called soumyā, pitṛya, vāyavya, savitra, three uttarās, mūla, and maitra.117 A marriage ceremony was not supposed to be celebrated if the astral conditions appeared to be inauspicious. It could be safely contracted or celebrated when the kṣetrapati or presiding planets at the time of the birth of the bride and of the groom were friendly towards each other. The effect of such a union was auspicious. As to the time of marriage, it is said that it should not be performed during the time when Viṣṇu sleeps, i.e., in the cāturmāsya, from the 11th bright day of Āṣāḍha to the 11th bright day of Kārttika; and the 12th bright day of Kārttika marks the marriage of the tulasī plant with Viṣṇu, which inaugurates the marriage season. What is likely is that there would have been substantial variations in ritual practices as people could have modified, adapted, or even rejected elements from existing alternatives. For instance, the Agni Purāṇa mentions the importance of auspicious planets. However, other Purāṇas give more evidence of worship of gods like Mahādeva as well as local goddesses like Indrāṇī and Gaurī. These references are examples of rituals and deities being

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integrated into the brahmanical framework, as explained in Chapter 1 in the section of The Divine Mother and Her Many Forms. Marriage celebrations in the life of the community As marriage was also a festive event in community life, feasts, music, dance, and other forms of amusement are associated with it. The narratives of marriage in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa say that streets were swept and sprinkled with water. Women adorned themselves with garlands, ornaments, and sandal paste. Mansions were decorated with flags and banners, and arches were erected. Sometimes it is observed that the guardian of the bride gave garments, ornaments, and other gifts to the kinsmen who assembled at the marriage ceremony. At the end of the wedding ceremony, the bride was given a hearty send-off before leaving for her husband’s home; for instance, Kaṁsa, the son of Ugrasena, desirous of pleasing his cousin sister Devakī, took the reins of the chariot himself, and led the procession of many chariots which had golden decorations. At the time of the departure of the bride, auspicious sounds of the conch, kettle drums, and mridaṅgas filled the air. When Devahūti prepared to leave her father’s house at the end of the marriage ceremony, Manu Svayambhuva held her in his arms and grew emotional showing his parental affection.118 These narratives are suggestive of the texts being inclusive and indicative of the adoption of local popular rites, their validation, and propagation by the orthodox authorities. The connection with the motive of acculturation and accommodation by the brahmanical order can hardly be missed here. The analysis of the institution of marriage in this section points us towards various interesting conclusions as have already been mentioned. In this matrix one of the things that becomes clear is the fact that such elaborate measures must have been introduced in real life and then acknowledged in the texts in response to a radical change in context and challenges to brahmanical ideology. The opening up of spaces and the involvement of women in the functioning of the society that could not be ignored, must have led to discussions on the roles that women played and by default on sexuality. The agenda of accommodation, acculturation, and to some extent the redefining of roles and functionality must also be considered as an attempt to control and regulate sexuality, especially for women. In the lines of modern French philosopher, Micheal Foucault, this would serve as a case of “repressive hypotheses”; whereby, entities that determined the power relations in a society also came up with structures and institutions that

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could effectively regulate and control subversive forces, in this case sexuality, and with spaces that could no longer ignore women. Hence, the elaborate and effective institution of marriage that seems to accommodate all prevalent eight forms, with some being preferred, yet, none totally condemned.119 In the Purāṇas, marriage was envisaged as pivotal to a woman’s social existence and an institution that was believed to ensure the welfare and prosperity of the married couple. This view was made amply clear during the marriage rites in which the role of the wife was consistently explained as being subordinate and supportive of her husband in relation to all conjugal and social commitments. For the woman, marriage was the ultimate goal which could provide her social and familial acceptability and elevate her status to one of greater respectability than that enjoyed by her as a daughter.

The family and household The institution of the family has been a basic component of society from early times. A study of the Purāṇas enables us to explore the extent to which relations within it were organised in and around particular norms. The household (gṛha) was comprised of the father, mother, sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren who were placed in hierarchically structured relationships. The word “family” is imbued with different meanings and perceptions which can be understood in terms of “types” such as patrilineal, matrilineal, patrilocal, matrilocal, etc., depending on the society under study. The family cannot be ignored because it is the microcosm of society and its internal dynamics are reflected in the social sphere in various forms of relationships. We have to emphasise that the family cannot be treated as a uniform, homogenous unit, and is open to redefinition over time and space.120 It acts as the locus of conflict and also functions as a centre of emotional bonding. “Household” is more specific in meaning than “family” and is identified with members sharing a common residence.121 Ancient texts, however, use the same words for family and household. The gṛha is generally envisaged as patrilineal in terms of kinship and property relations. It is worth drawing attention to the fact that in the household, relationships were based not simply on notions of power and property, but in ideal situations on trust, companionship, and shared interests. Ideas about domestic life, familial, and household patterns are scattered all over the Purāṇas. Amongst the texts under study, the Mārkaṇḍeya and Matsya Purāṇas provide elaborate information about the concept of the family and

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examine the interpersonal relationship of women with other members of the family unit as well as their behavioural pattern vis-à-vis each other. The other three Purāṇas – Viṣṇu, Agni, and Bhāgavata – focus on the household in such areas as wifehood, motherhood, ritual taboos, purity, and pollution, and will be discussed later, in the course of this chapter. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa refers to the family and household as gṛha and kuṭumba.122 The problems of family life are reflected in the sentiments expressed by two deer in the course of their conversation with King Khanīnetra. One deer mentions the fact of his having no offspring as the cause of his disgust for the world. The other deer said, “I have many sons and daughters and live in the midst of sorrow consequent upon anxiety for them.” This sentiment expresses the anxiety that the king himself experienced; he was in a state of perplexity about whether a man with sons is blessed or the one who has no issue.123 The position of the father (pitṛ) in the household In the familial structure, we come across broad generic terms such as father (pitṛ). The father was held in special honour and esteem. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa considers the father as the source of his children’s happiness and joy. It is evident from the speech of prince Kuvalayāśva, who points out that those sons whose fathers are alive are worthy of heaven and religious merit, and moreover blessed are those who are sheltered under the shade of trees in the form of their father’s arm without thinking whether there is wealth in their house or not. But they who have no father from their boyhood are surely deceived by providence. Touching the father, mother, cow, brāhmaṇa, good wives, preceptors, or an elderly man with the foot was considered to be a sin. A man who disregarded his parents and guru was looked upon as a sinner.124 The position of the father appears to be elevated to the zenith, where he is apotheosised. The Matsya Purāṇa describes his being the image of Prajāpati, while a teacher is said to be an image of Brahmā, and a mother that of the earth. He is also said to be the gārhapatya fire, while a mother is said to be a dakṣiṇa fire and the teacher an āhavanīya fire. It is enjoined that a father, as well as a mother and teacher, must never be disrespected. The keen interest of the state is noticeable by its explicit direction that a fallen father, mother, wife, priest, or preceptor should not be abandoned, and a man doing so should be fined 600 gold pieces. Fallen gurus are not to be abandoned. A mother too should not be forsaken by her son, even if she has committed a very serious crime,

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for she is superior to all on account of having borne him in her womb and nourished him.125 Such statements found in the Purāṇic literature refer pointedly to certain key consanguineous relationships. Wealth, fame, fathers, and sons The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa contains statements marking off the different grades of sons from the point of view of their prowess and fame. For instance, a son is considered to be middling if he sustains the wealth, valour, and renown acquired by his father; the best if he adds to the victory achieved by his father; and lowest among men if he loses the wealth, valour, and fame acquired by his father. Similarly, the son known through his own identity is called fortunate; through his father and grandfather is considered of middling merit; and if known by his maternal relatives and mother, is the worst of men.126 The son known through his father is an ordinary man. But the father who is surpassed by his son in respect of wisdom, liberality, and valour is the most fortunate man and the wise call him great among men.127 A father whose son possesses both knowledge of the śāstras and a good character is called putravān. The difference between sons and daughters is elucidated most clearly in the above discussion by glorifying and privileging the position of sons in terms of birth, wisdom, bravery, and family honour, in contrast to a daughter whose role, however meritorious, is undermined. In the context of the overwhelming patrilineal and patrilocal society of the period, the birth of a daughter was met with much less acclaim and joy than the birth of a son. Unquestioning obedience of sons – the ideal The need to uphold the ideology of the family which requires an insistence on unquestioning obedience to the male head who is expected to work for the well-being of the members of the family comes out well in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.128 The Matsya Purāṇa resonates with accounts of obedient sons like Kaca, who, at his father’s command, willingly agreed, for the sake of the welfare of his people, to proceed to the abode of the chief priest to learn the secret lore, despite the possibility of his own death. The dutiful and loving son Satyavān ungrudgingly accompanied his exiled blind father to the forest.129 The Purāṇas do not have much to say about the consent of the mother. This absence of the mother figure is suggestive of the fact that mothers were expected to look after domestic matters, the relatively

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unimportant routine daily needs of children and home. The fathers, on the other hand, were given the graver duty of deciding all that was important for the future of the child. On the other hand, we have instances of disobedient sons who had to suffer their father’s curse as a result of their disobedience. This is evident from the instance of sage Sukṛṣa’s sons explained in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. It seems that Indra came in the guise of an aged bird and met Sukṛṣa, seeking food in the form of human flesh. When Sukṛṣa asked his sons to sacrifice themselves, they immediately refused. Out of anger, he cursed his sons that they would be born as brute creatures. But subsequently moved with compassion at their entreaty, he bestowed on them perfect knowledge. Hence they were born as birds.130 Some sons did not obey the wishes of their father, for which they had to pay a severe penalty.131 The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, in a discourse on sins and punishment, clearly lays down that, the man who scorns his parents is born as an ass; one who reviles his mother and father is born as a mainā; one who scorns his brother’s wife is born as a pigeon, but for injuring her becomes a tortoise.132 The ideal for daughters: a suitable match The importance of the daughter within the household appears to be limited, because she was one who had to be given away. The Purāṇas do not make any explicit reference about the status of a daughter in the patrilineal household compared to the importance attached to sons. This fact is amply borne out in all the stories contained within the Purāṇas, wherein the major parental concern for daughters is centred on the need to find a suitable match and no more. The mores of the relations of the wife or daughter-in-law with parents-in-law and other relatives are also described in the Mārkaṇḍeya and Matsya Purāṇas.133 These Purāṇas delineate a picture wherein the wife is fully identifiable with her husband. A woman pays homage at the feet (pādavandana) of her parents-in-law. We have the example of Madālasā who every morning used to bow down respectfully at the feet of her parents-in-law. She is also seen winning over her other relatives with obedience, embracing and greeting them according to propriety and their age. Similarly, Sāvitrī had great respect for her parents-in-law, and when a pleased Yama granted her boons, she asked for restoration of the lost eye sight and kingdom of her father-in-law

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before she asked for the resuscitation of her consort. The woman, endowed with virtues, who pays homage at the feet of her parents-inlaw and is always devoted to her mother and father is said to be rich in religious merit. The three mentors (atigurus) of a woman’s religious life were her husband and her parents-in-law. She could aspire to the highest reward by serving them devotedly all her life.134 The importance that is given to the gṛha in the Purāṇas serves to stress its inherent and cardinal role in the organisation of society. This factor gels completely with the elementary purpose of the Purāṇas, which was to occupy and control the domestic realm, especially in matters of marriage and procreation, though with certain significant concessions to women.

The jewel of the household: the woman as wife When we look at the woman as wife in the Purāṇas, four points emerge. First, a whole new set of concessions are being given to women so that they become important stakeholders in varṇāśramadharma. Second, every privilege is inextricably linked to the pativratādharma. Third, whatever the hardships and challenges, the wife is voluntarily expected to live up to the ideal of pativratādharma and there are no exceptions to the rule. Fourth, the stories highlight that if a wife follows her dharma, she herself acquires divine status. This section will analyse some Purāṇic narratives which embody the points mentioned above. An integral feature of the gṛha was the wife, commonly referred to as nārī, strī or patnī,135 so much so that the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa equated the gṛha with the wife, calling her the jewel of the house (kulāṅganā).136 The importance of the wife is set out with noticeable clarity, and the Purāṇas rationalise and reinforce this description by pointing out that the wife is the means of attaining the puruṣārthas, namely dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa.137 The ideal of the pativratā An in-depth study allows us to concentrate on certain aspects and content relevant for the study of women’s portrayal in the Purāṇas. Through this section, some of the underlying presumptions, contradictions, and biases present in the traditional image of the wife are juxtaposed through a distinction between two crucial concepts – the conduct (ācāra) of women and their duties (strīdharma). This subject is significant because it will enable us to understand the complexities woven around the “women question.” The stories of various lengths

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culled from the Purāṇas show that for women, obedience to the husband takes precedence over all religious duties. The perfect woman is the pativratā, the virtuous wife, whose entire existence is dedicated to her husband. The only aim of her life is the single-minded worship of her lord, her husband. It can be suggested that the Purāṇas were written largely for the purpose of indoctrinating women to be virtuous. They were designed to be read aloud and heard primarily by women in the form of kathās and thus to become important inputs in the larger process of socialisation. An important intention of the Purāṇic composers was to bring to the attention of their intended audience important elaborations upon the proper behaviour and conduct of women. The Purāṇas do not make a demarcation between religious duties and daily tasks “obedient service to one’s husband is the primary religious duty (dharma) for women.”138 The pivot of a happy conjugal life is a good husband. The securing of a good husband is said to be conducive to happiness here and in the life hereafter. The husband, even if poor, illiterate, unfortunate, and devoid of fortune, is like a God to his wife. The woman who is blessed with a husband, several sons, and wealth is completely fortunate, and the one bereft of them is extremely unfortunate.139 The entire happiness of a woman is said to lie with her husband. Images and stories of the ideal woman Notwithstanding the concern of the Purāṇas for being able to appeal to a varied audience, they contain specific stories for women – for example, the ones about the benefits of following the path of a pativratā. The references to Pārvatī in the Satīkhaṇḍa of the Matsya and Bhāgavata Purāṇas are some of the most popular examples of the devoted wife. These Purāṇas depict how Pārvatī, through her humility and devotion, both acquired Śiva and attained the unique distinction of constituting half his body (in his Ardhanārīśvara aspect). According to the Matsya Purāṇa, “Pārvatī, well-known under the name of Umā and Capalā, attained all desires and a good husband. Pārvatī herself exclaimed that tapasyā yields fruit, after her asceticism had been accomplished.”140 The Purāṇic literature showers unending praise on this devoted wife. Similarly, in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Satī is the daughter of Dakṣa (she became Pārvatī in her next birth). After the maligning of her husband by her father, she immolates herself in the fire.141 As the Bhāgavata Purāṇa unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that the most important duty of the wife was to render service to her husband. We also find in the Matsya Purāṇa Pārvatī setting out to save the world, by winning

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Śiva through her devotion and giving birth to Skanda, whose destiny it was to save the universe from destruction.142 The goddess Pārvatī is idealised as a chaste and virtuous woman. This episode emphasises the primary role of the wife as the bearer of her husband’s progeny, particularly a son, through whom the lineage was expected to continue. In conjugal life, a wife was expected to give birth to a son for the continuation of the lineage. Satī reincarnates as Pārvatī to give birth to Skanda. The duty of the virtuous wife The four orders (āśramas) for a dvija as described in detail in numerous Purāṇas are those of the celibate student (brahmacārin), householder (gṛhasthin), forest hermit (vānaprasthin), and finally the ascetic (saṃnyāsin, yati).143 The rites and duties of the householder included under the general heading of gṛhasthadharma, persistently eulogise the householder who, after discharging his duties with truthful words, may attain heaven. The dharma of women is summarised in the role of virtuous wife (pativratā) whose duties and devotions are directed solely towards the well-being of her husband.144 The life of the pativratā allows a woman the opportunity to pursue three of the four aims of life (puruṣārthas)– religious duty (dharma), wealth (artha) and pleasure (kāma) – while striving for moral perfection leading to a fourth, salvation (mokṣa). The Purāṇas predominantly emphasise the triple goal of the householder. It is clearly laid down that a wife is her husband’s help-mate to the complete attainment of religion, wealth, and love. Men cannot perform the worship of gods and pitṛs without children; nor can they welcome guests with preparations of food without a wife. And for a woman, there is no religion (dharma), love (kāma) or offspring (santati) without a husband.145 The relationship between husband and wife was regarded as sacred. Sacrifices were to be performed for obtaining the affection and warmth of one’s spouse. Specific references to different sacrifices like mitravinda and vareṣṭi are found in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.146 Similarly, vows were prescribed for mending strained relationships and bringing peace and harmony between husband and wife.147 Also men, by performing certain ceremonies like burying an iron spike of ten fingers’ length and fortified with mantras, could get a bride of their choice and win her affection.148 In the Agni Purāṇa, Nārada describes the Agni

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rites, by which one attains all desired objects. He further specifies that a qualified person should perform all these rites in the company of his wife. Fasts, vows, ablutions, pilgrimages to holy shrines, and spiritual initiation should be duly performed by husband and wife to produce the desired effect.149 The Agni Purāṇa gives a description of the virtuous wife as follows: The wife whose heart leaps up at the sight of her husband and who casts down her eyes when looked at by him, or casts her coy and timid glances aside at the time of seeing her husband’s face but still cannot take her eyes away from it, and freely gives out all her little scores of secrets to her husband; the wife who yields both in body and mind to the wishes of her husband and nestles herself around her husband’s neck on his first return to the home, speaks nothing but the truth when asked about anything, and feels a happy thrill running through her body, shows signs of superb satisfaction on receipts of small presents, deems it a boon for her name to be uttered by her husband, should be deemed as a loving wife.150 This adds to the basic theme of the ideal marriage being founded on female devotion and fidelity to the husband. This is a distinct representation of gender politics in the Purāṇas, whereby we come across the subordination of women in conjunction with lateral equality and complementarity in representation of gender roles. Similar gender perceptions also echo in the stories of the Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata alike.151 Both texts share similar attributes of being open-ended. Words carrying the notion of chastity and devotion like pativratā and saubhāghavatī are very common in the Purāṇas. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa refers to the extraordinary powers that pativratās acquired only because they had served their husbands devotedly. Worship of the supreme – service of the husband According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, one must meditate on one’s chosen god, and the text specifies that the husband and wife should together meditate on Hari and jointly reflect on the requirements of dharma, artha, and kāma. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa enjoins the contemplation of all three together, as neither kāma nor artha conflict with dharma. It is frequently stressed that the triple goal (trivarga) of the householder can only be met through the co-operation of the wife; hence the wife is the root or the basis of that goal (mūlaṃ trivargasya).152 It is this aspect of strīdharma that helps woman earn the epithets of sadharmacāriṇī (wife

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associated with religious activities), jāyā, bhāryā, and kāntā.153 These terms have a social bearing which speak of the wife’s relation to the husband and her position in the household. Therefore, it is said that devoted wives who aspire for blessedness worship the all-pervading Supreme Being through service of him in the image of the husband with unfailing devotion.154 In addition to serving their husbands, women were supposed to perform various tasks in the course of household life. According to the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, a virtuous wife should decorate herself well, clean and smear the house with cowdung, put floral and powder designs in front of the house, burnish utensils, and thus make life pleasing for her husband. All kind of happiness and prosperity would accrue to a woman who did things according to her husband’s liking, and consistently practised modesty, self-control, truth, agreeable speech, and loving behaviour, as the occasion demanded. Content, free from greed, vigilant, well-established in the principle of dharma, artha, and kāma, she should co-operate with her husband in all matters.155 Women who possessed all these virtues were described as wise women in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.156 The devotion towards cows is a duty observed by men as well as women. The worship of cows by women was believed to ensure marital happiness as well as the birth of a son. There are lengthy passages in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa devoted to the worship of cows, and to how women were to draw the milk of cows and prepare milk products.157 Pativratā – the earthly representative of Śrī It has been clearly stated in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa that a husband is a deity for women. Vāsudeva, the consort of Śrī, resides in the hearts of all living beings and it is therefore Him that a woman serves through her husband. Clearly, Śrī is not to be worshipped like Viṣṇu or Śiva; she must, instead, be a role model for women to emulate as discussed in the introduction. At this point, we must mention the rulings of Kṛṣṇa, who had formulated a social code of conduct for wives.158 For him also, the highest duty of women consisted in attending to their husbands, parents, and children. Wives who seek the esteem of the world should not abandon their husbands, be they ill-mannered, helpless, dull, old, poverty-stricken, or incurably ill; it is only if they were depraved sinners that it was justified to desert them. In the discourse on varṇas and their dharma, the duties of virtuous and pious wives (pativratā) are mentioned as: service of the husband, doing everything in obedience to him, care for the husband’s close relatives, and observance of some

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rituals that the husband observes.159 Thus, pativratā – the virtuous wife herself – becomes the representation of Śrī in the home. Śrī herself is devoted to women, who attend to their household duties and behave with appropriate manners and obey their husbands. A wife who looks upon and adores her husband as Hari in the attitude of Śrī will in the lord’s realm attain to the bliss of Śrī in the company of her husband, who is Hari himself. Similarly, women who serve their husbands with whole-hearted devotion, as Lakṣmī serves Nārāyaṇa, will enjoy this world and the next in the company of their husbands.160 Obligations of husbands towards wives Most of the Purāṇic ideas reinforce the associations of obedience and subservience to the husband. The Purāṇas lay down in concise form some of the rules regarding the mutual obligations of husband and wife. If we examine the rules and duties precisely on the issue of ritual duties, we find that the wife is permitted to take legitimate part in the religious rituals jointly with her husband. Manu says, “to be mothers were women created, and to be fathers, men; religious rites, therefore, are ordained in the Vedas to be performed by the husband together with his wife.”161 Similar sentiments abound in the Purāṇas. As mentioned earlier, the wife is frequently referred to as sadharmacāriṇī, “one who shares in her husband’s religious duties.”162 The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa states that without a wife, a man becomes unfit to perform sacrifices or his daily duties, and thus incurs sins. Hence, of whatever temperament, the wife had to be protected.163 In this text, there is a story of king Uttama who banished his wife and was instructed as follows by a sage, A wife is a potent cause of righteousness, wealth and love among men, and in particular one who forsakes her has in sooth abandoned righteousness. A wifeless man, O King, is not fit for his own work, be he a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or even śūdra. O king. No brilliant deed did you do sir, when you did abandon your wife; for as women must not forsake a husband, so a man must not forsake a wife.164 Women’s participation in rituals – supporting roles The five Purāṇas under discussion contain mutually conflicting statements about the role of women in sacrifices. It is said at one place in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa that women have no sacrifice ordained for

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them, and they have no śrāddha or fast to perform.165 In the Matsya Purāṇa, it is stated that women by their very nature are meek and weak and cannot study the śāstras.166 However, they could participate in sacrifices as ritual partners with their husband. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, there is some evidence to show that women did, indeed, take part in sacrifices, yet all the injunctions relating to joint sacrifices are referenced largely in terms of the male, i.e., the husband.167 The constant emphasis that we see in the Purāṇas is that the sacrificer (yajamāna) was a man learned in the Vedas, who could utter the mantras, whereas the wife was a woman and therefore not learned. This is evident in the sandhyā ritual of ablution and worship described in the Agni Purāṇa. This ritual distinguishes between the arghya offering made to the sun and that made to Śiva; the former consists of offering water accompanied by mantras; the latter is mixed with kuśa grass, flowers, and accompanied by the gāyatrī mantra.168 Since the Agni Purāṇa also enjoins that women could not utter the Vedic mantras, these rituals would seem to be barred to women.169 Even if the husband and wife perform sacrifices jointly, the ritual function of the wife is totally different from that of the male: her presence is necessary, but not as a primary participant. Nowhere do we sense any autonomy given to women to perform ritual functions in the sacrifices as yajamānas. Only the wife who shares in the sacrifice and its rewards with her husband may be called patnī. According to the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, “Women, by obedience to their husband, obtain half of the entire merit painfully earned by their husbands and the husband is a wife’s supreme bliss.”170 They could act only as ancillary participants and could not carry out rituals by themselves or for themselves. Women could only undertake fasts on their own, but that was also only for the prosperity of their family. The Purāṇas are silent about the status of co-wives vis-à-vis sacrifices. It is evidently assumed that the first wife will be of the same varṇa as her husband. According to the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the agniṣṭoma should be performed by a man together with his wife. It indicates the close connection of the wife to the sacrifice. But when Yudhiṣṭhira performed the Rājasūya sacrifice, he was with his consorts, who also had the sacrificial bath. In fact, in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa we come across the term patnī-samayāja (sacrifice performed with the wife). In general terms we can say that a good wife takes her husband’s religious duties as her own.171 The ideology of pativratā tends to undermine the individuality of women because everything relates to the husband and the wife’s corresponding duty to assist him. Her religious obligations were subordinated

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to those of her husband. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, it is the patnī who should take the freshly cooked food and make the bali offerings, but without utterance of mantras.172 In praise of the pativratā, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa considers the rewards accruing to the perfect wife. It says, “A woman has only to honour her husband in her act, thought and speech to reach the same region to which he is elevated; and thus she accomplishes her object without any great exertion.”173 The Viṣṇu Purāṇa, laying much emphasis on this point, tells the story of King Śatadhanus, whose wife Saivyā was a woman of great piety. She was faithful to her husband, kind, sincere, pure, and gifted with every female accomplishment, humility, and discretion.174 We must remember that women had few means of achieving salvation other than devotedly serving their husbands. However, some vratas did give space to women to achieve salvation.175 Subversion by dialogical discourse – Sāvitrī and Dharmarāja In the context of the Matsya Purāṇa, the story of Sāvitrī is so wellknown that a brief summary is sufficient here: Sāvitrī, on becoming the wife of Satyavān, began to devotedly serve her father-in-law and mother-in-law. Her blind father-in-law was deprived of his kingdom and resided with his son and his wife in the forest. She served them with great care and they were satisfied. Satyavān, because of a curse, was to die one year after marriage in the process of cutting wood in the forest. When only four days remained for Satyavān to die, Sāvitrī with the permission of her father-in-law, kept a fast for three nights. On the fourth day, Satyavān went to fetch flowers and fruits with his father’s permission. In the forest, distressed with the overwhelming grief of her husband approaching death, she, in order not to disclose her mind, began to ask him the names of various trees and flowers. Satyavān began to tell his wife about the forest trees, plants, and animals. Suddenly he felt a pain in his head at the time of cutting wood, and being restless, told his wife Sāvitrī that he was feeling pain in his head on account of exhaustion. Sāvitrī saw Satyavān lifeless and gently followed Dharmarāja who was going away with the subtle soul of her lord, and with folded hands, Sāvitrī said to him, “To women, husband is their God, husband is their great refuge; husband is their all in all; therefore a virtuous woman should follow her lord. Father, brother and sons are the giver of limited things but a husband is the giver of things unlimited; who is there

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who does not adore her husband?” Dharmarāja, pleased with her determination and devotion, conferred on Sāvitrī three boons through which she acquired the restoration of the father-in-law’s lost sight and kingdom, and, of course, her husband’s life. The Sāvitrī episode demonstrates that devotion to one’s husband is above all obligations and Sāvitrī is the epitome of the perfect pativratā.176 In the Pativratā Mahātmya section of the Matsya Purāṇa, Sāvitrī is glorified as the destroyer of sins (pāpapraṇāśinī) who not only brought back the life of her husband but also facilitated her husband’s attainment of heaven.177 It is Dharmarāja who allows Sāvitrī to attain what may be suggested as a divine status because he eulogises the virtuous conduct of Sāvitrī and exhorts people to recite her name as the dispeller of all sins.178 Sāvitrī as a character works within the rule of the dominant ideology, but at the same time, subverts the rules by virtue of a dialogical discourse. Hence, we see how the dialogic and open-ended nature of the Purāṇas create the space where emerging social issues are accommodated and a process of acculturation takes place to appropriate diverse social groups and cultures. On the other hand, the doctrines of the Dharmaśāstras, being products of an older, more settled, and confident age, are unyielding and not subject to change. The dialogical textual form helps us to understand the intricacies of the Purāṇas as well as to address the issue in discussion. For instance, I have chosen a dialogue between Atri’s chaste wife Anasūyā and a brāhmaṇa’s wife that contains a clear explanation of the concept of strīdharma, the virtuous behaviour of women. The story is as follows: There was a brāhmaṇa, who had leprosy. His devoted and chaste wife used to revere him and did everything a wife was expected to do from morning to evening. But the brāhmaṇa was ungrateful and ill-tempered. Nevertheless, his wife, bowing before him, used to worship him as the divine. Once he was enamoured of a prostitute. Consequently, in order to fulfil his wishes, his wife was taking the brāhmaṇa to the prostitute’s house when the husband’s foot struck against the body of a sage who was afflicted with grievous pain. The sage, in turn, cursed him and declared that he would die at sunrise. At this utterance, the wife arrested the rise of the sun, and as a result, all creation was in danger. All the gods, who were fearful that the sacrifices would cease to take place with the utterances of vedic mantras. went to Brahmā and asked him to propitiate Atri’s faithful wife Anasūyā. She persuaded the

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It can be seen that the Purāṇas laid particular emphasis on the pativratādharma of a wife. In fact, through various illustrations, they show that pativratādharma could make a wife attain divine status if she followed it devotedly and religiously. The underlying idea behind the forceful reiteration of pativratādharma or strīdharma for women was to control them. Under the pativratā realm they had to “aspire for chastity and wifely fidelity which was considered as the highest expression of their selfhood.”180 It was only after attaining these virtues that women could attain divine status. Women were made to believe that they would gain power and respect through strīdharma. Strīdharma was also an ideological mechanism to bring women within the socio-religious ethos of the Purāṇas. Thus the espousal of such modes of behaviour reflect how complete subordination to the husband represents the essence of womanhood in the Purāṇas. These stories have been stressed because they address the common theme of a devoted wife, cutting across the barriers of the varṇa system. It is also important to mention here that non-observance of strīdharma by women had serious consequences – coercion to keep them on the path. The story of Renukā, the wife of Jamadagni, is relevant in this regard: Initially Renukā was so chaste that she could mould mud bowls out of wet mud and carry water in them for her husband. But one day she happened to see the image of a passing gandharva flying overhead and she thought about the attractiveness of that gandharva. This very thought destroyed her devotion towards her husband and that day she could not mould the clay bowl to carry water for her husband. The enraged husband ordered his son Paraśurāma to cut off his mother’s head, which the obedient son dutifully did. However, later on, his mother was restored to life as a result of a boon granted by his father.181 This story is a significant piece of evidence, symbolic of efforts made to keep women on the defined path of strīdharma. It is evident from the foregoing stories that the purpose of the Purāṇas was to eulogise pativratā and strīdharma and thereby socialise women into the roles of chaste and devoted wives.

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Glorification of the mother of sons Closely associated with the notion of pativratā is the image of glorified motherhood. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa declares that the wives of good men bear fruit in their sons.182 We have seen in the earlier section on the wife that she has been considered as the ornament of the house in the domestic set-up, and it is shown that by following the pativratādharma she can acquire a divine status like Sāvitrī. However, the Purāṇas make it absolutely clear that the woman’s fulfilment of her role within the house, family, and society is possible only if she is able to produce a male child. This is repeatedly highlighted, and, in the Purāṇic world, the complete woman is the one who is mother of a son, known as jananī or mātā.183 Marriage without motherhood is considered incomplete. Even Śarmiṣṭhā’s enticing activity with reference to Yayāti was impelled by this innate desire for motherhood. The birth of a son brought about an elevation in the status of the wife. Manu also gives a very high position to the mother and emphatically declares that she is a thousand times more honourable than the father.184 The Matsya Purāṇa declares that the mother is superior and under no circumstances is she to be abandoned, even if she is fallen (patitā). This trend of exaltation is carried forward in the mother being described as a goddess for men and gods.185 A thought-provoking story in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa highlights the exalted status of the mother. Madālasā instructs her son, Alarka, in the duties of a king, emphasising the necessity for self-control, prudence, the maintenance of laws, exposition of customs, understanding things permitted and forbidden, etc. Having delivered her discourse, she blesses her son and retires to the forest to practise austerities. Her son bows down before her.186 The wishes and orders of the mother were respected and fulfilled by the son even if they entailed a great risk, as highlighted in the Matsya Purāṇa.187 Diti, the wife of sage Kaśyapa, at the close of a period of austerities, gave birth to a son, Vajraṅga, who was of wonderful deeds, unconquerable, and invulnerable even in relation to the thunderbolt. He became thoroughly conversant in all the śāstras as soon as he was born and devoutly said to his mother, “Mother! Direct me what I should do for you.” Diti rejoicingly said, “Son! Indra has killed several of my sons, you should go and take revenge and kill Indra.” On hearing these words, Vajraṅga captured and brought Indra before his mother. Brahmā, the grandfather of Vajraṅga, and Kaśyapa (his father) had to intercede. And Vajraṅga thereupon freed Indra from captivity,

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remarking that he had only followed the injunctions of his mother, but that he would keep up the honour of his grandfather’s words as he was lord of devas and was his grandfather. This action of Vajraṅga suggests that when duty towards the father conflicted with that towards the mother, the word of the father prevailed, but the will of the mother was also honoured.188 Woman as mother – subordinate yet powerful The mother is counted among the three supreme elders; she is to be saluted first, then the father, and then the preceptor.189 According to the Purāṇas, the birth of a son elevated the mother to the highest position among the three elders, i.e., mother, father, and preceptor. The corollary, of course, was that a woman was incomplete without motherhood, and being the mother of a son was glorious. Mothers bearing sons earned the love, respect, and reverence of everyone. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa eulogises Devakī, who bore in her womb the protector of the universe, Kṛṣṇa.190 The Matsya Purāṇa glorifies the status of motherhood by stating that the mother should not be forsaken, even if she has committed a serious crime, for she is superior to all, on account of having borne a son in her womb and nourishing him.191 Whereas the Purāṇas present the mother as an epitome of benevolence and reverence, these texts also project her as being invested with the power to curse. In some Purāṇic passages, it is mentioned that one could avert the consequences of all curses, but the curse of the mother could not be avoided. An interesting illustration may be found in the story of Yama as depicted in the Mārkaṇḍeya and Matsya Purāṇas: Once Yama, angered by the disposition of Chāyā-Sanjñā, the substitute mother for his real mother, raised his right foot to strike her in indignation. Thereupon, she cursed him, saying that this foot would fall that very day to the earth. Yama went to his father for a remedy, but the latter pleaded helplessness, saying that all curses could be averted, but not that of a mother.192 This episode reinforces the exalted status of motherhood and the belief that the curse or a reprimand of a mother, even a substitute mother, was irreversible and could not be avoided.193 In conformity to the Dharmaśāstras, the Purāṇas make pointed reference to the need for women to be guarded and protected. The purpose was but obvious – to ensure the purity of the offspring and continuity of the lineage. It is stated that a son brings salvation to his father as well as his ancestors, saves his father from hell (put), and is therefore called putra.194

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Preference for sons, rituals, and patriarchal structures The Purāṇas repeat the beliefs of many ancient texts that the birth of a son is certainly preferred to that of a daughter. The Aitareya Brāhmaṇa declares that a daughter is a source of misery while a son is the saviour of the family.195 It was further observed that while the son is the hope of the family, a daughter occupies an ancillary and subsidiary position. The Atharvaveda echoes the general desire for the birth of a son and not of a daughter.196 The Gṛhyasūtras focus on charms, spells, and yajñas primarily for the procurement of sons. The work of Jaya Tyagi provides an interesting study. Using the Gṛhyasūtras, Tyagi notes the systematic attempts to eliminate the probability of the birth of a daughter and details the rites and rituals meant to ensure the birth of a son.197 The obsessive, almost pathological, and elaborate emphasis on the birth of sons helps us to grasp the perceptions of the patriarchal structure in this period. The keen desire for male progeny is discussed in many ways in the Purāṇas, but perhaps most fittingly through the puṁsavana ceremonies, sacraments, and mantras. The puṁsavana is an important Vedic rite observed as a vrata in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.198 It was performed in order to have male children, only undertaken during the third/fourth month of pregnancy when the moon is in a male constellation.199 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa has a special section on the duties and code of conduct prescribed for women during pregnancy. We may refer to and highlight the instructions of Kaśyapa to his pregnant wife Diti: No injury should be done to living creatures. No curse should be spoken. Nails and hair should not be cut. No unclean thing should be touched. One should not take a dip in running water. One should not get angry. One should not speak with wicked people. A garland once worn and rejected should not be worn again. One should not eat the leavings of others. The offerings made to Caṇḍikā should not be eaten. Meat preparations and food brought by a low-born man should not be taken. Food seen by a woman during her periods should be avoided. Water should not be drunk from palm cups. The mouth should not be unwashed after taking food. Hands and feet should be washed. Hair should not remain dishevelled in the evenings. One should not go to bed with feet unwashed and undried, with mind uncontrolled, naked with another in bed, or with head towards north or west. One should not be sleeping in the morning or evening twilight hours, should remain pure, unite herself with auspicious things, cow, brāhmaṇas,

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These instructions reflect the idea that a pregnant woman should remain away from negative, unhealthy, and unhygienic things to give birth to healthy progeny. The narrative adds that the unfortunate Diti could not carry out the aforesaid instructions and Indra cut her foetus into pieces and as a result, she gave birth to forty-nine sons instead of one. The mantra and stotra for the puṁsavana rite are clearly to be recited in praise of Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa.200 The need to support, care for, and shelter the pregnant woman is contained in a number of precautions laid down in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. This shows that a woman occupied a special place during her pregnancy, and she was to be taken care of by the husband with all possible means. It was the moral responsibility of the husband to provide sustenance and care during the period. This passage is also indicative of the fact that the aim of the instructions was primarily to ensure the birth of healthy progeny. In this story Diti who is being instructed by her husband Kaśyapa explicitly indicates at least to some degree that women were part of the texts’ conceived audience.201 The benefits of having valiant sons The desire for excellent, pious, and valiant sons is a very striking theme in the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas.202 As mentioned earlier, the son was believed to rescue his ancestors from the hell called “put” into which it was believed they might fall if they remained sonless. An illustration is provided by the story of King Veṇa, who was saved by his pious son Pṛthu. A son, as mentioned in the Viṣṇu and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas,203 satisfies the debt of his ancestors, whether deities or human beings. It is also stated that sons rescue their ancestors from the region of Yama. The Agni Purāṇa recognises the distinct orders of prescribed norms where the son is to perform the śrāddha ceremony for his father and grandfather. Similar norms were also to be followed in performing the śrāddha ceremonies of one’s mother and maternal grandparents.204 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa also puts forward the view that the son is the manifestation of one’s husband. While a woman becomes worthy of fame by winning the

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love of her husband, she becomes all the more so when she gives birth to a son.205 It is quite clear that the Purāṇas, and probably the society of the time as well, were not enthusiastic about the birth of a female child. This anxiety is not reflected only in the special sacraments designed for the purpose of the procreation of male children, but also in the kind of prayers that were constantly offered for sons, right from conception to the birth of a child. The prayers include the request that male children be followed by male offspring alone and never by female ones. The positive references to daughters are discussed later in this section. The Purāṇas explain that it is through the conjunction of the recitation of mantras and planetary configurations that worthy sons are born.206 Such kings as Yuvanāśva, Sīradhvaja, and Gārgya performed sacrifices to have sons. Manu and Bharata, desiring sons, performed religious sacrifices.207 The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa refers to such sacrifices to the pitṛs with offerings of flesh and performance of penance. Khanīnetra practised severe austerities and got a son by propitiating Indra.208 The yearning for valiant sons is as explicit in the Matsya Purāṇa, where the birth of a son is an event of joy and celebration, in glaring contradiction to that of a daughter, which is an event of sorrow and misery. A son is equated with ten tanks of water, and one tree is equivalent to ten sons. People who have sons and grandsons consider their own births as successful. Prācīnabarhis was blessed with many children belonging to the Havirdhāna clan.209 Vaivasvata Manu had ten powerful sons, the eldest of whom, Ilā, was born by the performance of the putreṣṭi sacrifice, but on entering the pleasure garden of Śiva, he was transformed into a woman.210 Anagha, the son of Vibhrāja, observed vows in honour of Viṣṇu to get a son proficient in the knowledge of śāstras and yoga, who might be conversant with the languages of all creatures.211 Vanrāṅga and Orva practised extreme asceticism to be blessed with sons who could conquer the devas and continue the lineage (vaṁśa).212 There is an interesting observation in the Matsya Purāṇa with regard to a śrāddha ceremony in which offerings were made to ancestors, but the wife of the man performing it was also given balls of rice to eat to ensure conception and a son as a progeny for the continuation of the lineage.213 Let us briefly summarise an incident in the Agni Purāṇa which projects the importance of the son: Daśaratha, the king of Ayodhyā, was in deep distress owing to the absence of an heir to the throne. Nārada, on paying a visit, advised him to invite Muni Ṛṣyaśṛṅga, who would bring about the realisation of his wishes. Daśaratha did accordingly and as

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prescribed, performed the putrakāmeṣṭi yajña in which the god Agni came out of the sacrificial fire, handed a cup of pudding (pāyasa), and asked the king to distribute it among his wives.214 The Agni Purāṇa also mentions that by performing the homa ceremony with a mantrarathantaram, a man is sure to be blessed with the birth of a son.215 The place of daughters – some ambiguities and paradoxes There are places where children in general are spoken of. Like the Manusmṛti, the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa uses the word santati, a word of the common neuter gender for male and female children.216 The Matsya Purāṇa lays prime emphasis on the Saptamī Vrata for the longevity of infants (bālāḥ), in which women ought to bathe on the seventh day of a bright fortnight, or on the seventh day after the birth of the child, and this vrata is the giver of great benefit to children (bālānām paramahitam).217 There is thus a significant paradox in the Purāṇas’ attitude towards daughters (duhitā, ātmajā, kanyā).218 While the Dharmaśāstras unambiguously extol the benefits of the birth of a son, the Purāṇas at times welcome and appreciate even the birth of a girl. Purāṇic narratives, as opposed to Dharmaśāstras, have greater scope of depicting different shades of experiences and embracing contradictions. A legend in the Matsya Purāṇa makes reference to the Madra King, Śakala Aśvapati, who named his daughter Sāvitrī consequent upon his constant devotion to goddess Sāvitrī.219 This would stand out as a singular example where a girl child is desired as progeny. Matsya Purāṇa makes an exception to the rule of son preference and states that a girl who is not devoid of virtues (śīla) is equal to ten sons. However, if she is not good and modest, she is a pain and disgrace to her parents and her birth is to be regretted and repented. This is clear from the remarks of Menā, the mother of Pārvatī, that it was a matter of great worry and strenuous difficulty to find a worthy mate for her daughter. All this was a reflection of gender segregation woven around the minute details of the Purāṇic stories. In the Purāṇas, we not only find references to dutiful sons but we also come across references to obedient daughters. The Matsya Purāṇa furnishes instances of loving, kind, sagacious, as well as dominating daughters. Once Devayānī and Śarmiṣṭhā were sporting in a lake and Śarmiṣṭhā wore the clothes of Devyānī. Then a quarrel ensued between them. Śarmiṣṭhā called Devayānī the daughter of a beggar. Devayānī took these words seriously and full of sorrow, acquainted her father about all that had happened. Her father Śukra threatened Vṛṣaparvan,

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father of Śarmiṣṭhā, without bothering for the consequences. Śarmiṣṭhā was a dutiful daughter. Being informed of the disastrous situation, she accepted with grace the servitude of Devayānī and decided to become her maid and ensured that her father and other kinsmen did not face insult. Śarmiṣṭhā’s strength of character, power of self-control, spirit of self-sacrifice, and obedience to her father elevated her position to that of an ideal woman. Similarly, Jayantī waited upon Śukra at the instance of her father and married him.220 Daughters were to be protected. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa emphasises that the father is the real guardian and protector of the daughter as long as she is unmarried. Parents were to keep a strong vigilance in respect of the virginity of their daughters. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa highlights tension in the context of Ūṣā, daughter of King Bāṇa, who had pre-marital relations with Aniruddha, the grandson of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who was secretly brought into the house of Ūṣā by her friend Citralekhā. Since chastity is the highest virtue, strict rules were laid down for the protection of maidens.221 The Purāṇas say a lot about the well-being of the daughter and her auspiciousness. Though the fathers were the guardians of their daughters, married daughters absconding from their husbands’ homes were not given shelter in their fathers’ homes. Sanjñā, who could not bear the powerful lust of her husband Sūrya, went away to her father’s house without informing anyone. Later on, happy relations were established between Sūrya and Sanjñā. It can be inferred from the foregoing discussion that a female child was supposed to maintain high moral standards and obey others.222 Thus, it can be seen from the time of birth, brahmanical ideology creates a sharp distinction between the male and female gender by privileging one and downgrading the other through various rituals. And yet, despite these distinctions, significant concessions were made to the female child. These concessions were invariably linked with the fertility images associated with women. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa,223 it is stated that in the body of the married and unmarried girls alike there dwells Śrī, the goddess of fruitfulness, duty, and prosperity. In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, on the ritual occasion of the Navarātra, virgin girls are seen as representations of goddesses like Kumārikā, Kalyāṇī, Kālī, Durgā, and Caṇḍikā, who were to be worshipped.224 There were numerous prayers, rituals, and sacraments mentioned in the Purāṇas for the procurement of a son, but in the Matsya Purāṇa, as mentioned earlier, there is a prayer for the birth of a daughter also. Undoubtedly, the birth of a son was seen as an event that elevated the status of a mother and was invested with religious piety. But the references from the Viṣṇu, Matsya, and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas show that

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although sons were definitely preferred, the birth of a daughter was also welcome and are indicative of a subtle departure from the traditional norms of gender preference.225

The epitome of inauspiciousness – the widow In sharp contrast to the positive images encompassed in the ideal of pativratā and the glorification of motherhood, Purāṇic tradition manifests certain other images which appear to be hostile to certain categories of women. These include widows in particular. Widowhood is inextricably associated with the idea of inauspiciousness in the Manusmṛti. It is said, A faithful wife who desires to dwell after death with her husband, must never do anything that might displease him who took her hand, whether he be alive or dead. Until death, let her be patient of hardships, self-controlled, and chaste and strive to fulfil the most excellent duty which is prescribed for wives who have one husband only.226 However, no mandate of death is imposed upon the widow. No overall approval of sati ritual By the fifth century A.D., there were some changes in the perceptions of widows, and we become witness to advocates of the custom of sati. The Viṣṇu and Markāṇḍeya Purāṇas refer to this custom, although most Purāṇas do not favour it. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Saivyā, the queen of Śatadhanus, is said to have ascended the funeral pyre of her husband.227 We are told that after the death of Kṛṣṇa, his queens embraced his body and entered the funeral pyre.228 Revatī also, embracing the corpse of Balarāma, entered the flaming pyre.229 After the death of her husband, King Bahu, the queen had a funeral pyre constructed, but the sage Aurva forbade her from undertaking this act of self-immolation because she was pregnant, and she later gave birth to a valiant son.230 The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa records two cases of sati. One was when king Khanitra’s three wives gave up their lives on the death of their husband and attained the same world acquired by the king. The second was when Indrasenā ascended the funeral pyre of her husband king Nariṣyanta.231 Though the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa refers to the sati system, exceptions to this practice mentioned in the Purāṇa are illustrative of the changes creeping into the society of the period. For instance, the

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Purāṇa mentions how King Karandhama’s wife Vīrā did not become a sati and survived after her husband’s death.232 Only two of the earlier Purāṇas, namely the Viṣṇu and Markāṇḍeya, and none of the other three, make reference to the practice of sati; there seems to be no uniformity in attitudes towards the performance of the rite nor any rigidity in its imposition. Restrictions on widows According to the Purāṇas, a widow was to lead a chaste life and restrictions were imposed on her. Essentially she was looked down upon as inauspicious. Since a widow was to lead a life of celibacy, ascetic ideals of life came to be prescribed for her. Though the five Purāṇas do not refer to the custom of tonsure of widows, the Matsya Purāṇa states explicitly that a widow could not adorn herself with ornaments.233 Continuing further, the Agni Purāṇa adds that a widow, as well as the wife of a man who is in a distant place, should never decorate herself and should live in a temple and worship the gods for her husband’s good.234 The description of the condition of widows in the Purāṇas remained largely the same as in the Manusmṛti, yet some important considerations on their behalf are discernible. For example, widows were not debarred from observing vratas as a means of achieving peace of mind in life and eventual salvation.235 Such concessions to widows cannot be brushed aside, especially when we look at the totality of the picture which was slowly reframing gender patterns and relations. Opinions on widow remarriage There is divergence of opinion on the issue of widow remarriage in the Purāṇas.236 Though this practice seems to have existed in the Vedic age, the Gṛhyasūtras are silent about it. There are no direct references in the Purāṇas to widow remarriage except in the Mārkaṇḍeya and Agni Purāṇas. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa states that a man who gives his daughter twice is verily born as a worm. It also says that if a man, after having given his daughter to someone, gives her to a second person, truly that man is divided into many portions, and will be swept along in a stream of burning corrosive.237 There is no salvation for a person who sells his daughter, and he is liable to be punished as a thief. Although the term punarbhū (remarried woman) does occur, the view of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa is that one who remarries a woman previously married is cursed to become a worm and condemned to go to hell.238 What dominates the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa is the idea that a man

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who has married a widow is a sinner. But the same Purāṇa states that the good deeds done by the son and daughter of the remarried widow bear fruits for themselves.239 Although this text also mentions that a remarried widow’s son (paunarbhavasthā) pollutes the śrāddha food and should be avoided in ceremonies to pitṛs, the necessity of having a son was stressed on religious grounds.240 However, most Purāṇas are opposed to the marriage of widows on the ground that a virtuous woman is not permitted to take a second husband. According to the Agni Purāṇa, marriage rites, the Vedic mantras and the pāṇigrahaṇa saṁskāra are applicable to maidens only. Till her death, a wife was expected to be forbearing and celibate and to observe vows; after her husband’s death, she was to practise selfcontrol and austerities. Similarly, she should never feel any inclination to dwell in the house of a stranger. Five conditions for remarriage But the Agni Purāṇa mentions five conditions or circumstances in which a woman is permitted to marry again: (1) moral degradation of her husband, (2) his death, (3) renunciation by him of all worldly pleasures, (4) his resorting to the monastery or his becoming a saṁyāsin, and (5) if he is impotent.241 Thus there are differences of opinion among and within the Purāṇas regarding widow remarriage. The ethos of the Purāṇas is clearly not in favour of widow remarriage, yet it seemed permissible for the reasons cited above. The numerous contradictions that are visibly present in the Purāṇas on this issue help us to understand that any rule will have exceptions and the fact that the Purāṇas are more inclusive in their scope allows them to depict and incorporate the exceptions to a greater degree than the Dharmaśāstras. Niyoga – commodification of widows Niyoga (levirate) refers to the custom of a wife or widow procreating a son by intercourse with an appointed male. It occurs in the Purāṇas in different contexts, but especially in the case of widows. The purpose was the regulation of procreation and thus the safeguarding of family property and the line of succession. Niyoga involved the transfer of the husband’s conjugal rights to his brother or kinsmen or to a man considered equal or superior to him. Such a practice emphasises not only the procreative role of women, but also her commodification as the bearer of seed easily transferrable to anyone. While ancient Dharmasūtras like those of Gautama allowed niyoga, Manu condemns

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it in the strongest terms though he lays down the procedure for it.242 The conflict of opinion regarding niyoga in the Sūtras, Smṛtis, and the Purāṇas may have been due to variations in practice in time and space, as well as due to the differences of opinion among their composers.243 Niyoga does not find any mention in the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. The Matsya Purāṇa, however, summarises the conditions necessary for niyoga permissible for widows:244 (a) The guru in the family has to decide who is to be appointed as the Niyoga partner. (b) The competent persons are the husband’s brother, a sapiṇḍa, or a sagotra, a sapravara, or a person of the same varṇa. (c) The widow must be comparatively young and healthy. (d) A sense of duty and not lust should be the motive force. The practice of niyoga suggests that women’s sexuality was controlled by her husband’s family members, who had complete authority over her procreative powers and progeny. The sexual contact between the widow and her brother-in-law, for instance, was regulated by the family and not by the woman herself.245 Although the practice was considered acceptable in some of the Purāṇas, it created tensions within the patrilineal set-up because such unions disturbed the hierarchical familial relationships.246 The acceptance of niyoga in some of the Purāṇas provides us with an insight into the patriarchal realities of the time. If a man died without a son, it was the sacred duty of his wife to procreate a son in her own as well as in her husband’s interest. It is very clear that these episodes reflect the desire to have a son or sons for the continuation of the family lineage. In the Matsya Purāṇa, there are a few instances of niyoga. The sons born of such unions are said to belong to Baliyakṣetra and are called kṣetraja sons. Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyāna was appointed to produce a son through the widows of Vicitravīrya and Citrāṅgada. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura were born through the intervention of Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyāna. Also, Bali offered shelter to the celebrated sage Dīrghatamas in his household and pleased him with all kinds of enjoyments and sought his services for impregnating his queen, Sudeṣṇā, and the procreation of sons. The queen must have felt embarrassed and humiliated about going to the old man. Interestingly, she sent her śūdra maid to the blind ascetic, instead. Bali reprimanded the queen. Ultimately she gave birth to five kṣetraja sons, viz., Aṅga, Kaliṅga, Puṇḍra, Suhma, and Vaṅga. The story clearly indicates that women at times tried to resist the dictates of patriarchy but in the end had to submit. Vicitravīrya and

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Citrāṅgada are said to be kṣetraja sons of the river Acchodā, known as Satyavatī on this earth, through Śantanu. Pānḍu had five sons through the grace of the gods. Bhāradavaja is described as an aurasa son of Bṛhaspati. Sāvitrī also asked for hundred aurasa sons from Yamarāja for her father who was not blessed with a son.247 Acknowledging different categories of sons Since the practice of niyoga was primarily for procreation, the Matsya and Agni Purāṇas mention different categories of sons in terms of varṇa, marital, and levirate alliances. Very interesting is the list of different kinds of sons mentioned in the Purāṇas, like sons born of a virgin belonging to the same varṇa as the man, and married through “appropriate” rituals (aurasa), those produced through leviratic unions (kṣetraja), one who was given in adoption (dattaka), one who was made a son equal by varṇa (kṛtrima), the son produced in secret (gūḍhaja), the son who was abandoned (apaviddha), born to a virgin (kānīṅa), received in marriage with the bride (sahoḍhaja), purchased (krīta), the son of a remarried woman (paunarbhava), one who gave himself on being abandoned or lost by his parents (dattātman), the son born of a śūdra wife (śaudra), and daughter’s son (putrikā suta). Similar references to different categories of sons are also mentioned in the Manusmṛti.248 Kumkum Roy, in the light of the Manusmṛti, has discussed the graded rights of inheritance of these kinds of sons.249 Although the Matsya and Agni Purāṇas mention different kinds of sons, the Matsya Purāṇa250 is completely silent about their legal and social status. The Agni Purāṇa, on the other hand, discusses their socio-legal status, clearly mentioning that the sons enumerated above, whether natural or adopted, were eligible to perform the ancestral rites of their father, and to inherit the property left to them.251 The references discussed in the Purāṇas highlight the ambivalence of the Purāṇas towards the institution of niyoga.

Property rights The Purāṇas deal with legal issues only indirectly in as much as they tell stories from which norms can be deduced. The Dharmaśāstras discuss matters regarding social conduct and legal procedure (vyavahāra) within the purview of an expert tradition. The Purāṇic narratives, on the other hand, move beyond issues relating to law and legal procedure and inclusively and imaginatively capture aspects of social reality.

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There is no doubt that the Purāṇas to some extent depict the rhythms of life and the practices and activities prevalent in their times. At the same time, they also try to mould social practice into a form considered appropriate by their brāhmaṇa composers. The Purāṇas contain detailed prescriptions regarding women’s conduct, the need for protecting women and keeping them strictly under male control, but they do not delve into “legal rights” or obligations. A survey of the conventions and norms in the Agni Purāṇa indicates that the socio-legal status of a woman was completely subordinated to that of her husband. The injunctions given in the Agni Purāṇa cannot be seen in disassociation from religious beliefs or dharma. The word dharma has meant different things to different people, but no matter how one defines it, dharma serves as a guide which bridges the spiritual and temporal worlds, laying down the privileges, duties, and obligations of individuals with respect to their gender, community, varṇa, and the particular stage of life they were in. The treatises on dharma, i.e., Dharmaśāstras defined the main aims of life in the form of dharma (duty), artha (material gain), kāma (pleasure), and mokṣa (salvation).252 In addition, rules were framed to keep women under control through socio-legal norms and traditions. Therefore it can be said that the regulations regarding women in early Indian society were largely influenced by religious sanctions, customs, and dominant brahmanical traditions. Strīdhana – women’s wealth In the Dharmaśāstras, the six kinds of strīdhana (women’s wealth) which form the separate property of a woman are the gift made to a woman before the nuptial fire at the time of marriage (adhyāgni); gift made to a woman at the time of leaving her father’s home (adhyāvāhanika); gifts made out of love (dattam ca prītikarmaṇi); and gifts made by father, brother, and mother (bhrātṛmātṛpitṛprāptam). These constituted the six-fold property of women (ṣaḍvidhaṃ strīdhanam).253 By the time the Purāṇas came to be written, the volume and quantities of movable property associated with strīdhana had multiplied manifold.254 The Agni Purāṇa mentions the gifts to be given to the girl at the time of marriage. Horses, gold, sesame, slave girls, houses, cows as well as articles which constitute the ten great gifts may be given to the bride with the bridegroom.255 This shows that the sphere of strīdhana expanded during the period of the composition of the Purāṇas.

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Ambivalence about the right of disposal The Purāṇas are ambivalent on the wife’s “own property” and that which is common to both husband and wife. It is possible that the right of custody of strīdhana lay with women, but their absolute right to disposal over it is not clearly defined. In one passage, the Agni Purāṇa mentions that a gift made by a man to his own mother is a hundred times more meritorious than a gift made to an outsider,256 probably indicating the need to keep all forms of property under the control of the family. The fact that constant efforts were made in the Purāṇas to provide for maintenance and protection of women’s property by men shows the financial and legal dependence of women on menfolk.257 The Agni Purāṇa further adds that husbands of all varṇas were to inherit the strīdhana left by their wives dying without any issue, while their daughters were to inherit such properties in the event of their having a female child; otherwise the property would revert to the father of the deceased.258 It was expected of sons to divide among themselves the liabilities of their own father, and the daughters to take upon themselves the debts incurred by their mother, in the event of their having had no son.259 Rights of the sovereign Though women were brought within the purview of property inheritance, it is the widow’s right to inherit her husband’s property or get protection from the state that finds greater mention in the Agni Purāṇa. It is stated that the king shall manage the properties of a widow who is the mother of a minor child or those who have no legitimate guardians or relations of their own to protect them in their periods of widowhood. Properties settled on widows who had been faithful wives, and who were unable out of ill health or incapacity to manage their estates to their own benefit, shall also pass to the sovereign.260 Human beings as property – the rights of kings, fathers, and husbands It is paradoxical that while on the one hand, property rights of women were being considered and discussed, on the other hand, both women and men were sometimes treated as property and disposed of accordingly. There are passages in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa which suggest that certain men and women had become the objects of gifts and were in the condition of slaves. There is reference to gifts of male and female

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slaves (dāsas and dāsīs). King Dama, who departed with his wife after his marriage, was given elephants, horses, chariots, a cow, camel, female slaves, bows, and other items by his father-in-law, the king of Daśārṇa.261 The selling of the wife and son by king Hariścandra is an instance of the wife being staked, which suggests that women could be sold in times of crisis. The king had to bestow the fee appertaining to the Rājasūya sacrifice. Hariścandra in desperation sells his wife Candramatī and gives Viśvāmitra the sacrificial fee. An old brāhmaṇa buys her and pays in proportion to her skill, age, beauty, and disposition. He also buys the son (Lohitāśva) and fixes the wages (vetana) in conformity to the Dharmaśāstras. The brāhmaṇa drags Hariścandra’s wife away by the hair.262 The story demonstrates that Candramatī, a pativratā, accepted this treatment without any resentment because a woman’s wealth lies in her husband. Hariścandra also sold his son, which also indicates the obedience of the son. It needs to be noted that such instances of gifting or selling of any member of the family, be it wife or son, generally pertained to the ruling strata where patriarchal traditions would perhaps have been stronger than elsewhere. The above example serves to illustrate two very important interventions. First that the selling of a wife, though not unheard of, and the selling of a son, though rare, are cases of extreme exception. These are results of adverse circumstances, yet they do give an opening to examine the rights that a father had over his children and wife. Second, it also serves to illustrate the rights of property that were accorded to women, which was none. Nevertheless, as explained in this chapter, the property rights enjoyed by women came by corollary of marriage and the husband.

Adultery, property, and women A theme apparent in most of the Purāṇas is the necessity of protecting both property and women. Several references show that the question of women and property continued to agitate the minds of men, and related issues were thought to be the root of all conflicts in society.263 The Agni Purāṇa clearly states that usurpation of kingdom, wife, place, country, knowledge, and power is the source of all trouble.264 To eliminate this source of conflict, a number of moral aphorisms in the Purāṇa clearly suggest that universal condemnation is the fate of those who covet the property and wives of others. There is an ambiguity in the portrayal of women as reflected in the Purāṇic world on the

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issue of adultery. For instance, in the Matsya Purāṇa there is reference to adultery in the Śarmiṣṭhā–Yayāti episode, Śarmiṣṭhā, who had escorted Devayānī to Yayāti’s court as an attendant, was gifted with beauty, nobility, and good character. After she had attained puberty, she happened to meet Yayāti alone in the Aśoka grove and made advances to him. She said, “You know me to be a beauty full of modesty and coming of good parents, I beseech you to enjoy my company.” Yayāti replied, “I know all your qualifications, but I cannot look at you with any feeling of lust, because at the time of Devayānī’s marriage Śukra enjoined on me not to invite you to my bed.” Śarmiṣṭhā however convinced Yayāti and said, “One’s own husband and the husband of her companion are equal; and as you are the lord of my companion, you must also take me as wedded to you.” She said, “King! Save me from immortality by your righteousness. I shall lead the life of the highest virtue after getting a child through you. King! A woman, a servant, and a son, all these three have been said to be poor; for the wealth acquired by them belongs to their master. I also take my meals with Devayānī and live as a maid dependent on her, and therefore receive me also. I am worthy of your support.” Hearing the words of Śarmiṣṭhā, the king accepted her.265 Adultery committed by women was usually presented as a matter of abhorrence in the Purāṇas. It was a sinful act and a matter of disgrace for the whole lineage, as elaborated by King Saryāti in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.266 Yet, the Purāṇa composers, like the early Dharmaśāstra writers, took the view that an adulterous wife should be abandoned only if she continued to go astray. Representations of women in the Purāṇas convey striking images of wayward women which co-existed with the pativratā image of women in the changing socio-religious order. However, the section on sins will clearly indicate that not only women who became adulterous could go to hell, but even men who were promiscuous could suffer the same fate. In cases of sexual assault on women, the Purāṇas suggest that women who were victims of such assault were not to be abandoned. For instance, Mamatā, despite being sexually assaulted by her brother-in-law, was not abandoned by her husband. Similarly, Tārā’s abduction by Soma made her husband enter into a war and he recovered her.267 Adulterous men did not always find favour in the Purāṇas. In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa,

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adultery is regarded as the greatest evil which destroys the religious acts and life of a man. A wise man should not resort to other men’s wives. Nothing indeed is so short-lived in this world, as a man’s intercourse with another’s wife.268 In the Matsya Purāṇa, there is an instance of moral transgression on the part of sage Dīrghatamas who sought to enter into a promiscuous relationship with his younger brother’s wife, after being told about the dharma of bulls (godharma) by a bull: Dīrghatamas settled himself in the house of his brother, leading a life of total celibacy. While dwelling there, he learnt from the bull the dharma of promiscuous intercourse without regard for relationship. At that time, a bull happened to walk upon the sacrificial grass (kuśa grass), whereupon Dīrghatamas caught the bull by its horn so tightly that it was impossible for it to free itself from the firm grip. Being impressed by the valour of the sage, the bull asked for its freedom and granted the sage a boon. On granting freedom to the bull, the sage advised him that he should not encroach on others’ rights. In reply the bull said, “Sire, to us, this is neither sin nor theft, we have no fixed rules to dictate to us what to drink and what not to drink, what should be done and what should not be done and whom we should approach for sexual intercourse and whom not.” The sage, on hearing this doctrine (godharma), let the bull loose and impressed with the teachings of godharma, he approached his younger brother’s wife. The lady said, “You, going against nature, are behaving like a bull and without having regard for the rules of prohibited relationships in sexual behaviour, following the natural laws of beasts, you have committed incest.” With these words she threw him into the Gaṅgā but did not kill him because of his blindness and old age.269 This story is of a woman who had the strength to protect herself from adulterous advances on the part of a man. Also, the significance of the depiction of women in this manner lies in the fact that in the Purāṇas, a more active and independent women’s agency achieved textual expression. The dialogic structure makes space for various social concerns to be discussed in the tales and teachings. Embedded in narratives collected over centuries, one often comes across paradoxical representations of women. However, once we look at the Purāṇic literature as a whole, certain tendencies and orientations do become visible. So far we have tried to identify these predominant

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tendencies and patterns in the domestic sphere within the household. In the next chapter, we will try to understand women’s representations in other arenas. The dialogic discourse of the Purāṇas is responsible for creating the space in which a process of accommodation and acculturation could take place. Unlike the Dharmaśāstras, which were neither flexible nor open-ended, the Purāṇas were relatively more open-ended and were in a process of addressing an evolving social matrix. The emerging matrix included marginalised groups, women, and tribals, and therefore, it must have been a daunting process of inculcation, spread in time over several centuries and across a geographical terrain that was diverse to say the least. This is the reason why the Purāṇas are rife with contradictions and polar oppositions when it comes to stories and anecdotes. Each was in a process of addressing a specific issue within a particular context, and therefore, the crux of the message would be metaphorical yet specific. This fact emphasises that instead of taking the texts on face value, it is more important to undertake a literary analysis of the Purāṇas and interpret the examples and contradictions as such. It is precisely these gaps and fissures in the narrative that provide us with the material to undertake a top-down approach and attempt to address and place the “women question” within the familial domain.

Notes 1 In this ritual a paste of turmeric and sandalwood is applied to the bride/ groom by all suhāgins, married women whose husbands are alive. During the event the women sing traditional folk songs of blessings for the couple about to be married. 2 Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.12. 3 Mārk. Pur., 134.14–33. 4 Nath, The Purāṇic World, p. 103. 5 Mārk. Pur., 134.14–33; Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.29–40, 54–56; Mats. Pur., 291.17; Agn. Pur., 364.71. 6 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.2, 8, 35. 7 Mārk. Pur., 134.14–33; Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.2, 8, 35. 8 Viṣ. Pur., 6.1; Mats. Pur., 273.26–29. 9 Pandey, Hindu Saṁskāras, pp. 25–78; H. N. Chatterjee, Studies in Some Aspects of Hindu Saṁskāras in Ancient India, Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1965, pp. 1–15; K. Roy, ‘Marriage as Communication: An Exploration of Norms and Narratives in Early India’, in K. Roy (ed.), The Power of Gender and the Gender of Power: Explorations in Early Indian History, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 223–40. 10 See for instance, Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.13; Agn. Pur., 154.4. 11 J. Jolly (trans.), Hindu Law and Custom, Calcutta: Greater Indian Society, 1928, pp. 330–1; P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and

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12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

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Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1941, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 696–704, 741–6; G. Flood, ‘Hinduism’, in Jean Holm and John Bowker (eds), Rites of Passage, London: Pinter Publishers, 1994, pp. 70–84. Agn. Pur., 154.4. D. Sharma, ‘The Evolution of the Concept of Marriage’, Journal of the Assam Research Society, Vol. 17, 1963, pp. 75–84; M. R. Sharma, Marriage in Ancient India, New Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 1993, p. 1. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.24; Mārk. Pur., 130.19–35; Mats. Pur., 106.8–9. L. Sternbach, ‘Forms of Marriage in Ancient India and Their Development’, Bhāratīya Vidyā, Vol. 12, 1951, pp. 64–125; U. M. Apte, The Sacrament of Marriage in Hindu Society From Vedic Period to Dharmaśāstras, New Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1978. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.24. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.26. Agn. Pur., 154.9–12. Viṣ. Pur., 4.1.70–82; Agn. Pur., 154.9–12. Bhāg. Pur., 3.22.8–26. Mats. Pur., 106.8–9. Bhāg. Pur., 10.1.31–32. Bhāg. Pur., 10.58.50–51. Bhāg. Pur., 10.68.50–51, 9.18.29–30, 3.22.22–24. Viṣ. Pur., 4.7.12–16. Bhāg. Pur., 9.15.5–7. Bhāg. Pur., 10.58.40. Viṣ. Pur., 4.6.33–34. Viṣ. Pur., 4.6. Mārk. Pur., 130.19–35. Viṣ. Pur., 5.26.10–12. Mārk. Pur., 110.23, 119.20. Mārk. Pur., Chapter 120. Bhāg. Pur., 9.22.23–24. Bhāg. Pur., 10.86.2–12. Bhāg. Pur., 10.54.53, 53.55–56. Bhāg. Pur., 10.52.18. Viṣ. Pur., 4.6; Mārk. Pur., 130.19–35, Chapters 119–121; Bhāg. Pur., 9.20.15–16, 18.19–23, 14.17–25. Roy, ‘Marriage as Communication: An exploration of Norms and Narratives in Early India’, p. 235. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.24–25. Viṣ. Pur., 3.18.64, 86–90, 4.2.77–87, 92–93, 1.70–82. Viṣ. Pur., 4.4.12–13. Mārk. Pur., 119.1. Mārk. Pur., 119.16–19. Mats. Pur., Chapter 30. Māts. Pur., 227.127–128. Mārk. Pur., 130.60–63. Mārk. Pur., 130.19, 120.23–24, 121.36–37, 46. Bhāg. Pur., 9.10.6–7, 1.15.7. Bhāg. Pur., 10.83.19–20.

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51 Bhāg. Pur., 10.83.19–26. 52 The Smṛtis contain several views about the suitability of these eight forms of marriage to various varṇas. All mention that the first four are approved forms and other forms were condemned and worst were the Paiśāca and Āsura (Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 521–2). 53 ‘Lawful’ and ‘unlawful’ in this context mean in accordance with or contrary to dharma. 54 Manusmṛti, III.23–26. Manu makes interesting but contradictory observations that the first six forms of marriages are meant for brāhmaṇas, the last four are for kṣatriyas and Gāndharva, Āsura, and Paiśāca forms are for vaiśyas and śūdras, but at the same time disapproves that Āsura, and Paiśāca are not for any varṇa. 55 P. Olivelle, The Āśrama System: History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 56 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 466–78, 481–500. 57 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 479–95. 58 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, p. 452. 59 Mats. Pur., 50.8, Chapters 195–203. 60 Mārk. Pur., 25.17–20. 61 Mārk. Pur., 110.33–34. 62 Mārk. Pur., 110.23, 26, 31–35. 63 Mārk. Pur., 15.15–16. 64 Mats. Pur., 50.45, 46.20. 65 Mats. Pur., 227.131. 66 Mats. Pur., 227.130. 67 Agn. Pur., 154.8. 68 Agn. Pur., 154.1–3. 69 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 463–4. 70 Bhāg. Pur., 1.16.3, 10.61.23–26. 71 Mārk. Pur., Chapter 5. 72 Viṣ. Pur., 4.20.41–42; Mats. Pur., 50.51–56; Bhāg. Pur., 9.29–31. On polyandry in ancient India, see A. S. Altekar, The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Age (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2009, pp. 112–14; S. D. Singh, ‘Polyandry in the Vedic Period’, in Kumkum Roy (ed.), Women in Early Indian Societies, New Delhi: Manohar, 1999, pp. 176–89. 73 Viṣ. Pur., 1.15.73. 74 Viṣ. Pur., 1.7.22–31, 1.15.103–104, 4.2.96; Mārk. Pur., 47.19–21; Bhāg. Pur., 6.6.1–2. 75 Mārk. Pur., 101.3–4, 128.45–48. 76 Mats. Pur., 48.16, 49.45–46, 70, 50.1, 17–20, 6.1. 77 Bhāg. Pur., 10.83.5–7, 12, 15, 17, 40–43. 78 Bhāg. Pur., 11.9.27. 79 Bhāg. Pur., 9.24.23–25, 45–53. 80 Bhāg. Pur., 10.59.42–45, 10.83. 81 Bhāg. Pur., 9.6.43. 82 Mats. Pur., 45.19, 44.49–50, 48.105. 83 Viṣ. Pur., 4.10.4, 1.11.2–3; Mārk. Pur., 115.20, 119.19, 128.44–47. 84 Mats. Pur., Chapter 31, 50.42–47, 46.11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 45.1, 46.8, 10.

Women’s identity and Purāṇic patriarchy 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117

118 119

120

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Agn. Pur., 12.27–28, 18.31. Agn. Pur., 154.1–3. Mārk. Pur., 113.7–8, Chapters 119, 130. Mārk. Pur., 62.7–21, 23–28. Mārk. Pur., 62.23–28. Manusmṛti, IX.13; Yājñavalkya. S., I.73. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.19, 25. Viṣ. Pur., 4.1.62, 18.24, 2.96. Viṣ. Pur., 6.1.12. Bhāg. Pur., 11.17.39. Bhāg. Pur., 3.22, 9.6.40, 43–44, 15.5–7. Bhāg. Pur., 10.60.15. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.16, 19–22. Tyagi, Engendering the Early Household, pp. 127–8. Mats. Pur., 227.127–128. Bhāg. Pur., 9.23.35–38. Bhāg. Pur., 9.6.43–44. Tyagi, Engendering the Early Household, pp. 125–6. Mats. Pur., 227.16–22. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.17, 19–22. Mārk. Pur., 31.77–78. Mārk. Pur., 14.68. Mats. Pur., 227.14–22. Agn. Pur., 153.3. Apte, The Sacrament of Marriage in Hindu Society From Vedic Period to Dharmaśāstras. Apte has undertaken a detailed study of the use of chants in marriage ceremonies. Mārk. Pur., 19.61–64; Agn. Pur., 154.13; Bhāg. Pur., 10.53.12. Bhāg. Pur., 10.53.11. Mārk. Pur., 19.63; Bhāg. Pur., 10.58.29, 53.10–13, 3.22.14. Mārk. Pur., 48.57–61. Bhāg. Pur., 10.53, 4.2.11, 24.11, 10.52.42, 53.45–49. Agn. Pur., 153.12. Agn. Pur., 121.7–8, 154.13–19. Some remarks must be made about the times auspicious for marriage. The 27 nakṣatras are arranged in three groups of nine each, each group being assigned to devagaṇa, manuṣyagaṇa, and rākṣasagaṇa. From the nakṣatra and zodiacal signs at the time of birth in the case of both the bride and the bridegroom, certain astrological calculations were made which were auspicious for marriage and other ceremonies (Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 511–4). Bhāg. Pur., 10.53.8–9, 54.56, 83.37, 1.33, 3.22.23–24. M. Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction (trans.) Robert Hurley, New York: Pantheon Books, 1978, pp. 23–4; C. Gordon (ed.), Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972–1977 (trans.) Colin Gordon, Leo Marshall, John Mepham and Kate Soper, New York: Pantheon Press, 1980). See K. Roy, ‘Defining the Household: Some Aspects of Prescription and Practice in Early India’, in Roy (ed.), The Power of Gender and the Gender of Power, pp. 70–85.

154 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165

Women’s identity and Purāṇic patriarchy Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India, pp. 193–4. Mārk. Pur., 22.4, 10. Mārk. Pur., 117.9–10, 16–17, 36–37. Mārk. Pur., 22.7–10, 16, 14.59–60. Mats. Pur., 211.20–21, 26, 210.11, 227.147–148. Mārk. Pur., 19.96–98, 102–103. Mārk. Pur., 19.94–98, 102–103, 18.23–26. Mārk. Pur., 110.13–14. Mats. Pur., 25.14. Mārk. Pur., Chapter 3. Mats. Pur., 24.57, 65. Mārk. Pur., 15.2–3, 12. The daughter-in-law is mentioned as śrūṣā in Mārk. Pur., 23.2–3; and snuṣā in Mats. Pur., 208.16. Mārk. Pur., 23.2–3, 125.2; Mats. Pur., 210.23. Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.35; Mārk. Pur., 20.33, 45. Mārk. Pur., 20.35. In terms of linguistics, the words that are used to denote the wife are seen in association with her relation to the husband. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.26; Mārk. Pur., 19.69–77. Mārk. Pur., 20.33; Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.29. Mats. Pur., 154.163–166. Mats. Pur., 154.425–426. Bhāg. Pur., 4.4. Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.29; Mats. Pur., 154.261–426. Viṣ. Pur., 3.9.7–10; Mārk. Pur., Chapter 25; Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.13–24. Viṣ. Pur., 3.10.26. Mārk. Pur., 19.69–77. Mārk. Pur., 69.8–9. See chapter IV on Vratas, Rituals, and the Purāṇic Social Hierarchy. Agn. Pur., 260.20–25. Agn. Pur., 24.32–34. Agn. Pur., 224.9–12. A. Malinar, ‘Arguments of a Queen: Draupadī’s Views on Kingship’, in Broadbeck and Black (eds), Gender and Narrative in the Mahābhārata, pp. 79–96. Viṣ. Pur., 3.9.7–10, 10.26; Mārk. Pur., 19.72. Bhāg. Pur., 4.25.61, 9.22.27–28. Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.29. Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.26–27. Mārk. Pur., 20.34. Bhāg. Pur., 1.6.9, 10.9.1–4, 8.29–31. Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.25. Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.27. Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.27–29. Also see, I. J. Leslie, The Perfect Wife: The Orthodox Hindu Women According to the Stridharmapaddhati of Tryambakayajvan, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989. Manusmṛti, IX.96. She is also known as kulāṅganā (jewel of the house). Mārk. Pur., 66.36. Mārk. Pur., 68.9–11. Mārk. Pur., 16.62.

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166 Mats. Pur., 154.156–157. 167 Bhāg. Pur., 10.84.43–47, 75.18–19, 8.16.8. There are references to Vasudeva’s sacrifice at Syāmantapañcaka and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya sacrifice which were performed jointly by husband and wife. 168 Agn. Pur., 72.38, 73.15. 169 Agn. Pur., 153.11. 170 Mārk. Pur., 16.62–63. 171 Bhāg. Pur., 10.75.18–19. 172 Viṣ. Pur., 3.11.105. 173 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.28. 174 Viṣ. Pur., 3.18.53–54. 175 See chapter IV for more details. 176 Mats. Pur., Chapters 208–214. 177 Mats. Pur., 213.12–13. 178 Mats. Pur., 208.3. 179 Mārk. Pur., 16.14–39, 60–70. 180 Chakravarti, Theorizing Feminism, p. 74. 181 Chakravarti, Theorizing Feminism, pp. 75–6. 182 Mārk. Pur., 8.24. 183 Mārk. Pur., 20.40–41. 184 Manusmṛti, II.145. 185 Mats. Pur., 211.21, 26. 186 Mārk. Pur., Chapters 24–28. 187 Mats. Pur., 146.42–44. 188 Mats. Pur., 146.46–53. 189 Mats. Pur., 211.21. 190 Viṣ. Pur., 5.2.20. 191 Mats. Pur., 227.148. 192 Mārk. Pur., 103.27–30; Mats. Pur., 11.4, 15, 18. 193 Mārk. Pur., 103.25; Mats. Pur., 11.4, 15, 18. Sanjñā got from Sūrya three children – Manu, Yama, and Yamī. The heat of Sūrya, her husband, became unbearable to her and so she created a substitute in her exact form, i.e., Chāyā. Sūrya did not know of this, and taking her to be Sanjñā, he produced three children – Sani, Tāptī, and Savarṇimanu – but after knowing the truth, Sūrya brought Sanjñā back. 194 Viṣ. Pur., 1.13.42; 4.19.13. 195 Aitareya Brāhmaṇa (trans.) A. B. Keith, Harvard Oriental Series (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1971, Vol. 25, VIII.15. 196 Ath. V., VI.11.3. 197 Tyagi, Engendering the Early Household, pp. 157–63. 198 Bhāg. Pur., 6.18.45–46. 199 Hence, the timing of the ritual would lean more towards a deliberate attempt to invoke divine providence in seeking male progeny. 200 Bhāg. Pur., 6.18.47–54, 60–76. 201 For further details see Brian Black, ‘Eavesdropping on the Epic: Female Listeners in the Mahābhārata’, in Broadbeck and Black (eds), Gender and Narrative in the Mahābhārata, pp. 53–78. 202 Viṣ. Pur., 1.13.42; Mārk. Pur., 118.2–10; Mats. Pur., 154.153; Agn. Pur., 18.7–10; Bhāg. Pur., 3.14.11. 203 Viṣ. Pur., 4.19.13; Mārk. Pur., 3.40, 72.7–12. 204 Agn. Pur., 115.9–15.

156 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241

242 243 244

Women’s identity and Purāṇic patriarchy Bhāg. Pur., 3.14.11. Mārk. Pur., 72.7–12. Viṣ. Pur., 4.5.28–29, 5.23.2, 4.1.8; Mats. Pur., 49.27–31. Mārk. Pur., 118.2–10, 72.7–12, 97.3–7. Mats. Pur., 154.506–13, 4.46–48. Mats. Pur., 11.40–42, 45–46. Mats. Pur., 21.11. Mats. Pur., 147.15. Mats. Pur., 16.54. Agn. Pur., Chapter V. Agn. Pur., 261.16. Manusmṛti, III.259, IX.3; Mārk. Pur., 117.31, 118.37, 38; Bhāg. Pur., 10.62.29. Mats. Pur., 68.3–5, 14. Mārk. Pur., 117.16, 26, 31. Mats. Pur., 208.8. Mats. Pur., 27.10, 29.6, 47.114. Bhāg. Pur., 10.62.21–30. Mārk. Pur., 103.11; Bhāg. Pur., 10.62.29. Viṣ. Pur., 1.8.34. Mārk. Pur., Chapter 89. Mats. Pur., 208.8. Manusmṛti, V.156, 158. Viṣ. Pur., 3.18.61. Viṣ. Pur., 5.38.2. Viṣ. Pur., 5.38.3. Viṣ. Pur., 4.3.29–33. Mārk. Pur., 115.20, 131.37. Mārk. Pur., 125.35–36. Mats. Pur., 210.21. Agn. Pur., 222.20–23. Some of the vratas undertaken by widows has been discussed in Chapter IV. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 612–7. Mārk. Pur., 14.68. Mārk. Pur., 14.68, 15.13. Mārk. Pur., 47.50. Mārk. Pur., 28.27. Agn. Pur., 154.4–6; The Parāśarasmṛti and Nāradasmṛti have a section which refers to the fact that a woman is permitted to marry again in any of the following exigencies, for example, if information about her first husband is not forthcoming, he has died, or has become an ascetic, or has lost his virility, or has become degraded. Parāśarasmṛti (ed.) K. L. Joshi (trans.) M. N. Dutt, New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2006, IV.26; The Nāradasmṛti (ed. and trans.) Richard W. Larivierre, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 2003, Nāradasmṛti, 12.97. Manusmṛti, IX.64–66. For further details see Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. II, Part I, p. 601. Mats. Pur., 14.18–21, 48.25, 77–78, 49.30, 50.45–47, 212.27.

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245 Chakravarti, Theorizing Feminism, p. 43. 246 Roy, ‘Defining the Household: Some Aspects of Prescription and Practice in Early India’, p. 74. 247 Mats. Pur., 50.45–47, 58.78, 14.18–19, 50.49–50, 48.25, 49.30, 212.29. 248 Manusmṛti, IX.166–177. 249 K. Roy, ‘The Politics of Reproduction in Early India: Controlling and Contesting Conceptions’, in Roy (ed.), The Power of Gender and the Gender of Power, pp. 174–5. 250 Mats. Pur., 50.45–47, 14.18–19, 50.49–50, 48.25, 49.30, 212.29. 251 Agn. Pur., 256.11. 252 J. D. M. Derrett, Hindu Law, Past and Present, Calcutta: Gouranga Press, 1957; W. F. Menski, Hindu Law: Beyond Tradition and Modernity, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 72–3, 97. 253 Manusmṛti, IX.194. 254 Agn. Pur., 209.22–27. 255 Agn. Pur., 209.24. 256 Agn. Pur., 209.32. 257 See A. D. Mathur, Medieval Hindu Law, Historical Evolution and Enlightened Rebellion, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 63. 258 Agn. Pur., 256.30–36. 259 Agn. Pur., 256.4. 260 Agn. Pur., 223.17–21. 261 Mārk. Pur., 130.62–63. 262 Mārk. Pur., 8.53–58, 64, 79–87. 263 R. S. Sharma, Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, 2nd rev. edn., New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1995, p. 69. 264 Agn. Pur., Chapter 227. 265 Mats. Pur., 31.6–27, Chapter 32. 266 Bhāg. Pur., 9.3.21, 10.29.26, 60.47–48. 267 Mats. Pur., 23.29, 47. 268 Mārk. Pur., 31.62–63. 269 Mats. Pur., 48.40–57.

3

Women outside the family circle Not bound, not free

ānvikṣikī trayīvāṛṛtā daṇḍanīti tvaṃ eva ca saumyā saumyairjagadrū paistvayaitad devi pūritam. Vis. Pur. 1.9.121. You are the science of dialectics, the three Vedas, Vārtā, the science of Law. O goddess, this universe is filled with your gentle and fierce forms.

In the previous chapter the subject under consideration was the concept of the ideal woman in the Purāṇas, a married householder. Moving away from the domestic sphere, this chapter examines women, who, though without any independent agency, are not householders; they are women-without-husbands. This category consists of widows, girls, and women, who for various reasons are not married or are unmarriageable. The norm of equating the ideal womanhood with the function of a householder poses a significant problem for those women who cannot either become householders or cannot remain in that status.1 Courtesans, prostitutes, brahmavādinīs, tapasvinīs, and yoginīs as a group are discussed in this chapter in contrast to women who are householders. In comparison to household women, yoginīs and brahmavādinīs have an enhanced ritual status and prostitutes have relative economic independence. However, all these categories of women are looked down upon; they never receive unambiguous respect. The varṇāśramadharma that elucidated the four stages of life was a significant determinant for social organisation. Each āśrama depicted involved the carrying out of a ritual and as such was of particular importance to the traditional household. Going by convention,

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women were not entitled to enter any of the stages (except that of the householder), and therefore, the texts do not mention any initiation by any mentor, which was a prerequisite for entering any of the āśramas. The conventional threshold saṁskāra for being accepted by a guru and entering student life known as upanayana is also denied to women, since it was believed that the institution of marriage itself was as same as the upanayana.2 As we have seen in the previous chapter, the Dharmaśāstras contain the duties primarily centred on pativratā and family life and propounded as ideal for women. The Purāṇas are not very different in this regard.

Inherent impurity – woman as the Śūdra Women were generally treated as impure beings by the Purāṇic texts owing to the duty of childbirth and the cycle of menstruation. One of the important consequences of such a depiction and treatment was that due to such an inherent impurity, women were barred from performing and participating in religious rituals as per the conventions of the age. There is enough evidence in the texts that apart from the limited status of the householder, women were for all effective purposes relegated to the position of the śūdra. This made space for a girl to be given lessons in domestic duties keeping her away from Vedic learning, while a boy was expected to be conventionally guided by his guru. A young girl, on the other hand, was supposed to enter the house of the in-laws to both learn and carry forward her duties, taking her husband as the guru.3 By the terms of social organisation, a woman’s place in the home and society was essentially woven around the notion of strīdharma. This makes an overreaching and consequential presupposition that householdership is the only mode of life prescribed for an ideal woman. In contrast, no distinctive or even separate dharma was prescribed for women who were not householders. The Purāṇic tradition does not directly discourage prostitution as an institution nor does it actively put a stop to the acquisition of yogic knowledge by interested women. But the fact remains that these paths were considered inappropriate for the “ideal” woman. While we find evidence that prostitutes and yoginīs were incorporated in the Purāṇic narratives, several contradictions that appear in them indicate the existence of latent tensions in situating these women in the existing societal framework. Some clarity in this regard also comes from the dialogic structure of the Purāṇic texts and the politics of incorporation and accommodation, whose agenda was to include within the fold women who were considered to be “deviants” from the prescribed path.

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Acknowledgement and ambiguities – women outside traditional society As is elucidated in Chapter II, the Purāṇic texts made space for women belonging to all strata of society with an eye towards the anticipated audience for these texts, be it wives, daughters, prostitutes, or yoginīs. This is in sharp contrast to the extraordinary marginalisation of women that we see in the Dharmaśāstras. Going by the conventional depiction of women as subordinate, inferior, and meek, first in her natal house and then in her husband’s; such a depiction of a free-thinking woman who is articulate and accomplished, stands in contrast by all measures. To typify the non-householder women must have been an uphill task for the compilers and composers of the Purāṇic texts, representing as they did a society that followed a conservative order, but also one that was going through great transformations. This chapter, as has been mentioned, deals with a representation that is located on two interrelated planes, inside the household and outside domestic walls.4 Although the Purāṇa texts are encyclopaedic in content, there are very few depictions of women who veered away from their traditional roles. The reason that the Purāṇas give textual space to such women, but do not eulogise them, as they consistently declare, is that one was supposed to observe the duties of one’s own varṇa and not to deviate. If women digressed from the existing norms they would have had to renounce their family lives, which was an outcome definitely not desired by the Purāṇic composers. The ambiguities surrounding gender and varṇa illustrated in this chapter are illustrative of the profound ambivalence that the Purāṇas under study have about women in the public realm. Although the texts are very vocal in standing by a conservative and orthodox ideology, moral concerns and doubts are very evident in the tales and narratives that are based on women outside the approved social structure. The fact that yoginīs have not been represented significantly in the texts or given much space leads us to argue that they must have posed a significant threat to the orthodox patriarchal order. This is even more possible given the projected audience of the texts, which consisted of women and marginalised groups, and any instances of deviations from prescribed roles would have stood apart as dangerous examples that could be followed. Hence, it is apparent that these female ascetics may have been a threat to the patriarchal set-up, which had to ensure that dabbling in knowledge, especially religious or the kind that dealt with the scriptures remained a male domain.

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In terms of methodological intricacies that the status of the yoginīs presents, we may fall back on Stephanie W. Jamison who in her work “Women Between the Empires” and “Between the Lines” articulates a methodological principle that has already been discussed in the introduction to this work. Focusing on women in ancient India, she argues that their history must be reconstructed not so much by extracting the “meaning of lines” but rather, from our insightful reading of what lies “between the lines.” As such, the status of the yoginīs presents us with an opportunity both because of the unique position these women occupied in the social hierarchy as well as their conspicuous “absences” from the texts under consideration here. Equality between a man and a woman is not an issue debated in the Purāṇa literature. It appears that a symbiotic relationship between male and female was taken for granted, at least in the context of marriage. This symbiotic relationship was structured on the basis of the subordination of woman and the presumed superiority of man. Progeny is a central expectation through the marriage rituals. In the Manusmṛti, it is stated that “for women, the marriage saṁṣkāra is Vedic saṁskāra and service to husband is equal to living at a gurukula and housework constitutes agnihotra for her.”5 The Purāṇas repeatedly mention that women are bhāryā, i.e., dependent on their husbands.6 They reiterate the extraordinary powers that pativratās acquired only because they served their husbands devotedly. Women are generally discussed within the confines of the domestic realm of the house, where service to their husbands formed their chief obligation. The image of an independent woman thus rarely exists in these texts. Self-reliance is seen as the quality of men; a woman is always dependent on others. We have mentioned earlier that women were considered to be under the care of their fathers, husbands, and sons in the different stages of their lives. In the Vedic texts, there are learned women who even had the revelation of the mantras. Women were occasionally known as independent scholars, poets, artists, or religious teachers, but such cases were few and exceptional rather than the norm. In the Purāṇas, we occasionally encounter women in certain roles outside the household. Yoginīs – women with power and knowledge In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Menā and Dhāriṇī, the two daughters of the pitṛs (viz., Agniṣvāttas, Barhiṣadas, Anagnis and Sāgnis) and Svadhā, Dakṣa’s daughter, are said to be yoginīs (women with ascetic powers and knowledge of yoga).7

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The term yoginī is subject to many different interpretations, including associations with cults and temples, yet in its simplest form it refers to the female counterpart of the yogī – one who has mastered the science of bodily and spiritual discipline. It is in this basic sense that yoginīs figure prominently in Purāṇic literature.8 The Mārkaṇḍeya and Matsya Purāṇas refer to women acquiring knowledge in the field of yoga. Sage Atri’s wife Anasūyā obtained a boon from the gods that she may attain the knowledge of yoga along with her husband for deliverance from affliction.9 A Nāga king Aśvatara, on being granted a boon by Lord Śiva asked that Kuvalayāśva’s deceased wife Madālasā should be reborn as his daughter and be of the same age as when she died and that ultimately she should become a yoginī.10 In the Matsya Purāṇa, Pīvarī, a yoginī, pleased Hari by her penance and asked for a husband who possessed yogic knowledge and had control over his senses. Also Arundhatī, after worshipping Pārvatī, attained the highest yogic knowledge. Menā also became the mother of three daughters Umā, Ekaparṇā, and Aparṇā, who were described as being devoted to the practice of yoga and rigorous penances.11 Just as there were female practitioners of yoga, there were also practitioners of austerities (tapa). There are some references to women of royal families retiring to the forest as hermits in the company of their husbands, like king Kuvalayāśva’s queen, Madālasā. Likewise, king Karandhama went to the forest accompanied by his wife Vīrā. On practising arduous penances, both gained Indraloka. King Nariṣyaṇta departed for the forest according to the saṁskāra of vānaprastha. His wife Indrasenā also went with him and is described as a tapasvinī.12 These women do not appear as independent renunciants or ascetics because they pursued the higher goal of spiritual liberation (mokṣa) only alongside their husbands. In the Matsya Purāṇa, Sannati, the wife of Brahmadatta, was said to be devoted to the study of the philosophy of brahman (brahmavādinī).13 Education, art, culture, and women Moving beyond the realm of asceticism and spiritual knowledge, we encounter women who were proficient in the arts and learned in various aspects of culture. The Purāṇas do not have much to say on the formal education of women. There is almost no evidence that women, even after undergoing severe austerities were given the opportunity of being a part of brahmanical sacraments like men.14 It is only in the Mārkaṇḍeya

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Purāṇa that the worship of nine kumārīs or virgin girls in the Navarātra pūjā is extolled. It will not escape notice that, in keeping with strict rules about ritual purity, this custom mandates that the nine young girls who were to be worshipped were ones who had not yet reached puberty. Women did not have the privilege of residing in the house of a guru for formal education in the Vedas.15 To further illustrate this point, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa states that since women and śūdras did not have access to the Vedas, sage Veda Vyāsa composed the itihāsa known as the Mahābhārata for them.16 Significantly, certain women in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa are found to be experts in art, painting, dance, singing, and possessors of spiritual knowledge for bhakti.17 The glories of Kṛṣṇa were expressed in the hymns in his praise sung by women like Kuntī, the wife of Kalīya Nāga, and the gopīs of Vraja, which associates women with poetry and musical skills.18 Some women like the gaṇikās were well-versed in erotic science (ratiśāstra). Despite the mention of such accomplishments in the Purāṇas, these aspects of women’s contribution to society were not given any prominence owing to the fact that such qualities were beyond the ideals of womanhood sought to be enshrined in the texts. We do not come across resonant debates such as those between Gārgī and Yājñavalkya, Sulabhā, and King Janaka. It would seem that the Purāṇas, focusing on the propagation of varṇāśramadharma and the ideology of pativratādharma for the domestic sphere, avoided glorifying women’s intellectual and philosophical accomplishments in any way.19 For the most part, since the Purāṇas elucidate the appropriate duties in the life of a woman, strīdharma, the only status presented as appropriate for a woman is that of a member of a household. Most of the available accounts mentioned in the foregoing sections clearly indicate that women’s religious practices are necessarily connected to rites carried out by the male members of the family. The presence of the woman, wife, and mother of the household’s children, may add grace and beauty to an occasion, may in fact be essential at all major rituals, but her role is of a junior partner to her husband, the actual doer. She has no autonomy. Though some women may have become ascetics, yoginīs, or acquired skills in various art forms, the majority of the women in the Purāṇic world lived in a ritually constructed domestic sphere as daughters, wives, and mothers. Most women seem to have been educated only in the pativratādharma. References to the direct involvement of women in the wider social canvas or the public sphere are negligible in the Purāṇas under study.

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Prostitution in Purāṇic society – signs of ambivalence We have explored the representations of women as daughter, mother, and wife in the previous chapter. But when it comes to prostitutes, the Purāṇas portray women in the context of pleasure and beauty, bringing out a distinction between the pativratā and prostitute, and such a woman is generally referred to as veśyā. Though the Viṣṇu and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas do not contain any information on prostitution, in the Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas, the institution of prostitution appears well-established and well-placed to merit being mentioned several times in the narrative. The fact that some Purāṇas are silent about prostitutes, whereas some discuss them, reflects a certain amount of tension which the Purāṇic authors would have faced in depicting these categories of women. Since the Dharmaśāstras only look upon them as unwelcome, but unavoidable, and a social stigma, the Purāṇas seem to be ambivalent on this issue. In the process of absorption and assimilation, the Purāṇic writers were still open to the idea of reaching out to such categories of women. Prostitution is an old institution and dates back from the time of the Ṛg Veda where the term nṛtu, denoting a female dancer, is used.20 Various terms like gaṇikā and veśyā have been used as synonyms even in certain scholarly works. However, our study of the usage of these terms in the Purāṇas shows that there was a clear cut difference between the gaṇikā and the common prostitute. In the Purāṇas we get references to different terms for prostitutes like kalyaṇī, kāminī, paṇyastrī, vārāstrī, veśyā, etc.21 Veśyā is a generic term for different categories of prostitutes. The institution of devadāsī does not fall within the purview of the five Purāṇas under study. However, it was supposed to be a semi-religious order of women, who were in perpetual service to god as both penance and deliverance, and they cannot be compared with prostitutes.22 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa makes a distinction between different categories of prostitutes which included a lower order of prostitutes (puṁścalī) who lived by selling their physical charms and had no cultural accomplishments to their credit; prostitutes (vārayoṣitā) engaged to sing and dance during celebrations held in honour of the birth of a child in the homes of wealthy people; and the accomplished prostitute (gaṇikā) who belonged to an elite group.23 This nomenclature also signifies the social, economic, and financial hierarchy of various categories of prostitutes and probably their patrons. The example of Piṅgalā in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa illustrates the prostitute’s greed and lust for making money as well as her ability to

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transcend these propensities. According to the story, there lived a wellknown prostitute named Piṅgalā in the city of Videha. Once, dressed in all her finery, she stationed herself outside the door, ready to receive her clients who wanted her services in privacy. Potential clients came and were sent away, as she expected the arrival of a man still more wealthy and capable of making her a much more handsome payment. Finally, disturbed by her own excessive desire for worldly pleasures, she was overcome by a sense of futility as well as a longing for something more in life. She realised that ignoring the soul, she had been pursuing sensual pleasure and money, which in the end only gave her sorrow. She freed herself from the delusions in which she had been trapped and ultimately began her spiritual journey.24 The prostitute is associated with numerous wiles that make men succumb to her will. There is an instance in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa where a śūdra woman (vṛṣalā), being intoxicated with wine, felt no inhibitions in discarding her garments at will. Seeing her in that state, a brāhmaṇa named Ajāmila fell in love with her. To fulfil her wishes, Ajāmila not only lost his ancestral property, but virtually abandoned his virtuous wife. Further, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa refers to the beauty of the prostitute and her being an object of lust, sale, and purchase.25 Pretending to be faithful to those who do not seen through their deceit, these prostitutes are shown going about freely looking for new lovers to trap. Purāṇic view on the origins of the institution The Purāṇic view of the origin of the institution of prostitution requires further examination. There are some explanations in the Matsya Purāṇa that include instructions on the conduct of prostitutes as well.26 It is said that once, thousands of demons (dānavas) were killed in their war with the devas. Indra commanded the widows of the innumerable demons to lead the life of prostitutes and remain devoted to the kings and devas, and that all of them would attain prosperity according to their fate. He added that they should satisfy those who came to them with adequate sums of money, even if they be poor, but they should not give pleasure to arrogant men. They should give away cows, gold, land, and grain according to their means in charity on the sacred days for worshipping the devas or the ancestors. The Matsya Purāṇa also has a special chapter on the right conduct of prostitutes (paṇyastrī sadācāra). It gives an account of how the wives of Kṛṣṇa came to be reduced to the status of prostitutes. Once the daughters of Agni were sporting in the Mānasa Lake when the celebrated sage Nārada happened to come by. Without offering

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due obeisance to Nārada, they asked him how they could get Kṛṣṇa as their husband. He told them that they would get him by giving two bedsteads and golden domestic utensils on the twelfth day of the waxing phase of the moon in the months of Caitra and Vaiśākha. However, for their negligence in not offering respectful greetings to him because of their haughtiness and vanity, he also cursed them that they would be separated from Kṛṣṇa.27 The Dharmaśāstras28 and the Purāṇas strictly prohibited the consumption of food cooked by prostitutes. The Agni Purāṇa, in particular, expresses strong condemnation of this act. If someone were to eat boiled rice smelt by a cow, or that had been offered to one’s ancestors, partaken of by a śūdra, or a dog, or prepared by a fallen woman (patitā), he would be required to undergo rituals of penance.29 A brāhmaṇa who visited a prostitute for even a single night could regain his purity only by living on alms and constantly repeating his prayers for three consecutive years. Some injunctions regarding the prostitutes’ daily business have been laid down in the Agni Purāṇa: If a customer pays a prostitute’s fee in advance, but at the appointed time she goes off to another man because he pays more, then she must repay the first man double of what he gave her.30 Similarly according to the Matsya Purāṇa, if a man takes a prostitute to a person on the pretext of taking her to some other individual, he had to be fined one gold māsaka. If a man, after engaging a prostitute, does not indulge in sex with her, the king was supposed to make him pay her double her fee and levy a similar amount on behalf of himself. A prostitute who, after receiving her fee, did not receive the visitor and went elsewhere, was expected to pay the visitor double the fee and a similar sum as a fine to the king.31 The text further reinforces the point by stating that a visitor who had sexual intercourse and yet had not paid the fee should be made to pay it to the prostitute and a similar amount as a fine to the king. Such statements suggest that the stigma attached to prostitution in society rendered the women in the occupation vulnerable to powerful men who acted in connivance with political elites and full social sanction. Though prostitutes were looked down upon in society, they were able to perform certain religious activities and are actually mentioned as donors in the Purāṇas. The strong financial situation of some of them is apparent from the fact that they could make large donations and give valuable gifts at religious observances. Dāna by this category of women was made out of their personal resources. The Matsya Purāṇa reveals that besides giving alms of cooked meals to beggars and religious mendicants, they undertook works of public utility and charity.32

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The Matsya Purāṇa mentions that there was a prostitute (veśyā) named Līlāvatī who was devoted to Śiva. She gave to her preceptor (guru) trees of gold. In the house of Līlāvatī there lived a śūdra servant named Śauṇḍa, a goldsmith by profession. He had made beautiful golden trees and images of devas with faith and artistic skill. He did not charge anything for his labour because the objects he made were meant for religious purposes. The wife of the goldsmith fixed those trees artistically on a mount, after polishing them well. After a long time, when Līlāvatī died, by virtue of her benevolence she was liberated from her sins and sent to the kingdom of Śiva, and the śūdra and his wife obtained health, wealth and a kingdom.33 Similarly, in the Anaṅgadāna Vrata undertaken by prostitutes, the sage Dālbhya, a brāhmaṇa, instructed prostitutes on how to perform this vrata and give gold coins, land, and grain in charity.34 This confirms the superior pecuniary position of some prostitutes. It may be noted that the Agni Purāṇa refers to the royal coronation ceremony in which the presence of a prostitute along with clay from her house was required at the ritual tying of the sacred protective cord on the king.35 Such references show that in certain ritual contexts, auspiciousness was associated with prostitutes who, it was believed, could bring luck and prosperity even to the sovereign of the state. Though belonging to the class of prostitutes, the gaṇikā appears to have been treated with special consideration in the texts. In fact, it was only when a woman had achieved intellectual heights and preeminence in the arts that she won the coveted title of gaṇikā. Clearly, gaṇikās, even though compared unfavourably to chaste wives and sometimes reviled as degraded and not deserving of respect, were considered important intellectual and cultural counterparts to elite men in society. Gaṇikās enjoyed a relatively high position in society vis-à-vis common prostitutes and other ordinary women in society. In the Dharmaśāstras the prostitutes were not considered worthy of being allowed to participate in any religious activity or ritual. In this sense they lived a life of complete exclusion from society. However, in the Purāṇas, one notices some marked departures vis-à-vis the Dharmaśāstras in socio-religious attitudes towards these women. Viewed as auspicious and as harbingers of good luck, prostitutes could observe vratas, give dāna, and undertake pilgrimages, tīrthayātrās. Such extensive depiction and discussion of prostitution and prostitutes in the texts have certain implications that invite an effort at

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deconstruction. The connected facts that several categories and subcategories of women have been clearly defined and differentiated from each other and that general descriptions of the roles that each group was supposed to perform can be found in the Purāṇic texts, seem to suggest an attempt to regulate and institutionalise a section of women who had found the means to earn a living. This aspect of life was both an economic reality and an expression of sexuality in the public sphere that the custodians of social power would rather not have confronted; they thus made attempts to curb, regulate, and dominate it. Hence, the discussion in this section brings us back to the “repressive hypothesis” suggested by Michael Foucault and discussed in the chapter on “Women’s Identity and Purāṇic Patriarchy.” The Purāṇas clearly define the existence of a woman only in terms of her relationship with a man. A wife’s status was linked to qualities of modesty, devotion, and compassion for her husband, while the prostitute’s position was seen purely in terms of her profession, accomplishments, and clientele. Whereas the wife, confined to the domestic realm, lived with restrictions and exclusion, the prostitute, received adulation and admiration, on the one hand, and disgrace and social stigma on the other. Thus, both the veśyā and pativratā were both forced to live up to the framed concepts of the male-dominated world. The portrayal of women’s nature and behaviour Though the epic tradition describes the nature of women as strīsvabhāva, women’s nature, the Purāṇas discuss it in the context of behaviour and conduct (ācāra) of women. Women are often typecast as corrupt, clever, and shrewd in the Purāṇas. Several supposedly inherent weaknesses of women are identified and used to categorise them as naturally weak and meek, but also sly and vicious. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa states that none can know the intention of a woman. Her face may be smiling like an autumnal lotus, her words may be sweet to hear, but her heart can be nonetheless as sharp as a razor’s edge. For a woman who seeks her selfish ends, love is a mere pretence. For her selfish purpose, she can bring about the death of anyone – husband, son, or brother.36 Such degrading references can also be culled from the Rāmāyaṇa, which states, This has been the nature of women (ever) since creation began; they cling to men who prosper and desert him who runs into difficulty. Women are innately described as unfaithful, promiscuous, and fickle (calasvabhāvāḥ).37

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Similar portrayals are common in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and in the Mahābhārata in Bhīṣma’s discourse to Yudhiṣṭhira on the nature of women (strīsvabhāva).38 The prime reason for domesticating and subjugating women to male control is the notion that they are sinful by nature. The fact of birth as a female was considered a mark of sinfulness and inferiority in previous incarnations. It is apparent that the negative portrayal of women’s conduct and behaviour, along with the perception of them as inherently sexual beings, was in conflict with the idea of strīdharma, or the role of the devoted wife. The idea of strīdharma thus became critical for controlling women’s sexuality and for transforming their behaviour in accordance with established patriarchal priorities. There is another dichotomy in the perception of women in the Dharmaśāstras as well as the Purāṇas. On the one hand, the Purāṇas brand women as shrewd and sly; on the other, they represent them as auspicious beings who bring luck and prosperity to their families. It was absolutely clear, however, that what was termed as “improper” conduct of women had to be suppressed and the path of devotion, virtue, and loyalty towards their husbands had to be taught to them. To ensure that women did not get influenced by improper ācāra, strīdharma was projected as the norm in the Purāṇas, as the duty and only path open to women. The ideal of strīdharma or pativratādharma represents one of the most successful ideologies ever constructed by any patriarchal system. By setting up the ideal of strīdharma and instructing women to live up to it, the Purāṇas made it possible to achieve the patriarchal goal of keeping women under control, generation after generation, for thousands of years. Wifely attributes acceptable within the Purāṇic social framework were internalised by women who believed that they gained power and respect by following the path of strīdharma. Against this setting, it is significant how the Purāṇas prescribe a distinctive code of conduct to be observed by different groups of people, including women. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa clearly lays down the duties of the four varṇas and āśramas. This was further augmented by kalidharma related to kaliyuga.39 Similar perceptions and attitudes are put forward in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. For men, this Purāṇa amplifies in great detail each individual man’s own duty (svadharma), determined by the qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas, as being the best course for attaining salvation. In this way, one who followed the duties of dharma was supposed to have jñāna and bhakti generated in him. Such privileges were not at the disposal of women, and they had to follow the path of strīdharma prescribed

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for them, regardless of their varṇa or stage of life. The alternative, it was made clear, was certain doom. Theoretically, a woman can help a man in achieving the three religious goals, dharma, artha, and kāma.40 She must, however, remain his subordinate. This is the reason that the Purāṇas reinforce the appropriate behaviour of women and emphasise their role of devoted wives. Although certain areas of tension and conflict emerge in relation to the behaviour (ācāra) of women and duty of women (strīdharma), the Purāṇas upheld the ideal of pativratādharma. Women and concepts of impurity Certain dimensions associated with women and impurity received an avowal and an endorsement in the Matsya, Bhāgavata, and Agni Purāṇas. The subject of taboos arising out of impurity related to death, menstruation, and sin (pātaka), and the subject of sin-expiation (prāyaścitta) finds special mention in these three texts.41 Although these topics were treated briefly in the Smṛti texts, they were re-oriented with detailed exposition in the Purāṇas under study. As mentioned before, the authors of the Purāṇas are found to have adopted a more accommodative attitude towards subordinated sections of society, especially women and śūdras. The Purāṇic understanding of impurity (aśauca) is reflected in multiple rituals connected with birth, death, vratas, and of course, purification. Though the Smṛtis appear to be very stringent on this matter, the Purāṇa composers make broad generalisations. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa dwells in detail on the general rules relating to religious worship, eating, social behaviour, marriage, and sacrifices. This section touches on taboos intimately connected with the female body. Such taboos are part of the institutionalised ways in which women are made to feel degraded, impure, and inferior. The menstrual taboo is very important from the religious point of view. The broad generic term used for menstruation is udakyā. Women, the bearers of the discharge of blood, were equated with śūdras and unclean creatures like crows. They were considered cursed and subjected to severe restrictions. Thus women were considered impure during menstruation and so could not participate in rituals at that time. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa states, “A woman during menstruation should be avoided by all varṇas for four nights.”42 Such taboos and the debarring of women from the sacred sphere had a significant role to play in the construction of a gendered society. If they looked at menstruating women, wise men were expected to purify themselves

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afterwards through sacrifices, prayers, sacred objects, gazing at the sun, by touching a cow, etc.43 Expiation (prāyaścitta) was prescribed for both men and women in the interest of their families. As mentioned in the earlier section on marriage, women played a supportive role in the religious activities of men. These included the life-cycle sacraments (saṁskāra), the only exception being marriage (which was said to be the Vedic saṁskāra for women).44 By and large, the physical taboos related to the female body restricted her role in the religious sphere. As narrated in the Taittirīyasaṃhitā, when Indra killed Viśvarūpa, the son of Tvaṣṭṛ, he transferred one-third of the “stain” of murdering a brāhmaṇa (brahmahatyā) to women. The text relates that this took the form of women’s menstrual periods. Therefore Indra’s curse caused women to become even more impure than they already were considered to be.45 N. N. Bhattacharya in his analysis of menstrual rites in ancient India has pointed out that male initiates and learned men were seen as pure and sacrosanct, whereas menstruating women were stigmatised; such men were expressly told not to come into contact with them. The Purāṇas take forward the message of the Dharmaśāstras, setting out the rites of passage for men and making it clear that for women the only saṁskāra suitable is marriage. Much discussed in the Purāṇas, the very idea of menstruation is enmeshed in extremely strong taboos. Judging by the extent of discussions on this subject, it is evident that the compilers of the Purāṇas did a thorough study of related common customs, including rules of seclusion. By documenting popular beliefs and practices they were able to fit them into their own tight theoretical framework.46 The idea of the impurity of menstruating women is reinforced in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, which says, A wise man should never converse with a woman hated by the populace, or with a widow. One should cast remnants of food, ordure, urine, and the water used for washing the feet outside the house. Without taking five piṇḍas one should not bathe in another man’s water, one should bathe in holy ponds, and in the Gaṅgā and lakes and rivers. After touching or holding conversation with the blasphemers of the gods, pitṛs and holy śāstras, sacrifices, prayers and other sacred objects, one should purify one’s self by gazing at the sun. After looking at a menstruous woman, a śūdra, an outcaste or a dead body, the unrighteous, a woman recently delivered of a child, an eunuch, and persons of low varṇa, and on those who give away children, and on the paramours of other men’s wives, the wise must indeed perform this purification of themselves.47

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The Agni Purāṇa deals with impurities associated with childbirth, which is supposed to disqualify men and women from undertaking all sorts of religious and sacrificial rites. In such a connection, brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya men and women would be pure again in three and six days respectively, while a vaiśya and a śūdra would be absolved of the impurities in six days.48 The Agni Purāṇa further dwells on the period of the continuance of the impurity which follows upon miscarriage of a foetus in one’s family. This period of impurity for brāhmaṇa men would be three days in the event of the miscarriage having taken place in the fourth month after conception. If it took place later, the period would be for ten days. In case of kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra men, the period of uncleanliness lasted for four, five, and eight days respectively. However, in case of women, an impurity of twelve days was to be observed in connection with a miscarriage irrespective of the varṇa.49 This shows that impurity in the case of women lasted for a longer duration than for men. What was happening was that critical natural processes that took place in the female body like menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth were seen as sources of impurity and thus turned into reasons for disqualifying women from undertaking all sorts of religious rites and social obligations, for varying periods. As we shall see further, some of these impurities and taboos could be cleansed through rituals of purification, which were far more elaborate for women than for men.

Pātaka: women and sin Though pātaka is a theme evident in the Atharvaveda, Śātapatha Brāhmaṇa, and Dharmaśāstra texts, more detailed and vivid descriptions are given in the Purāṇas.50 There is increasing mention of different categories of sins in the Purāṇas, and their number varies from Purāṇa to Purāṇa. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa states that a person reviling the gods, the Vedas, dvijas, good and truthful men, the guru, devoted and virtuous wives, and persons sacrificing or practising austerities, would be guilty of sin.51 The enumeration of sinful acts and their classification into several grades varies. Normally, there is no general agreement about the classification of major sins (mahāpātakas) and minor sins (upapātakas). The notion of sin is connected with the idea of hell (naraka). According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, the various hells are raurava, sukara, rodha, tāla, viśasana, lavana, vimohana, rudhirāmbha, vaitaraṇī, taptakumbha, andhatāmiśra, śālmali, asipatravana, kālasūtra, tamas, avīcī, tāmiśra, andhakūpa, among others. It further says that one who

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commits adultery with the wife of his preceptor is dispatched to the tāla hell. Those who commit incest with their sisters or daughtersin-law, or sell their chaste wives, are sent to different hells according to the nature of their offences.52 S.A. Dange has listed nearly a hundred different kinds of narakas mentioned in the Purāṇas.53 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa54 in fact has a special section on twenty-eight hells, where sinners are subjected to suffering for their purification. This Purāṇa mentions that the persons who deprive others of their son, wealth, wife, etc., are thrown into the Tāmiśra hell. Also, one who deceives a husband is put in andhatāmiśra, losing her senses and sight. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa classifies these hells according to the sinful acts committed by people. The Purāṇas must have had a good amount of success in instilling fear in the minds of people by describing the tortures in various hells. There is a clear overlap between impurity, taboos, and sin. The Agnī Purāṇa is explicit about the variegated character of sins that arise from association with women in an impure state. It mentions that a man should not eat boiled rice prepared by women in their menses or by a mad person; nor should he partake of the food polluted by the touch of mahāpātakīs. Similarly, a man should not eat food prepared by a prostitute (veśyā), an eunuch, a cursed man, a weaver, or a woman who lives with her paramour. There is also a concept of deadly sins (mahāpātakas). There are five of them: killing a brāhmaṇa, drinking wine, stealing gold weighing more than eighty ratis, having sexual contact with the wife of an elder or of a superior person, and being in the company of a person who has committed one of the deadly sins. Similarly, to cohabit with a woman who is related by bonds of consanguinity, or with an unmarried girl of tender years or with a woman of a very low varṇa or with the wives of one’s friend is considered as abominable as cohabiting with the wives of one’s superiors. A man loses his varṇa by killing a cow, by adultery, by deserting his preceptor, father, and mother, by promiscuous intercourse, by taking many wives, by killing many women, and by mixing with men who speak irreverently of women; in all these cases the mahāpatakī goes to hell.55 A thematic analysis of the Purāṇas clearly reflects a change in attitude towards the śūdras and women. The idea put forth was that suffering and torture were for those who were disrespectful to parents, wives, or gurus or those who violated varṇāśramadharma. The Purāṇa composers utilised the concept of hell connected to expiation as a potent mechanism of social control both over men and women. Through frightening stories, injunctions, and rituals for redemption

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presided over by brāhmaṇa priests the Purāṇas were able to project the same brāhmaṇas as saviours without equal. Against the background of changing socio-economic contexts, new meanings were given by the Purāṇic composers to old themes.

Prāyaścitta (expiation of sins) The atonement of sins (prāyaścitta) receives extensive coverage in the Viṣṇu and Agni Purāṇas.56 Many of the rites such as chanting (japa), observing the prescribed vratas (sacred vows), pilgrimage (tīrthas), bathing in holy waters, and ritual gift offerings (dāna) strengthened the position of the sacerdotal priestly class. However, the composers of the Purāṇas adopted a more indulgent and tolerant approach towards different social classes for the observance of the brahmanical code. According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, “Severe penances have been laid down for great crimes, and light ones for ordinary offences; for them who are penitent after having committed many offences, the greatest penance is remembrance of Hari.”57 The Agni Purāṇa prescribes different kinds of expiatory rites. For instance, the upapātakīs, or men who have committed lesser sins, were supposed to perform the Candrāyaṇa Vrata. The penance known as Indu Vrata was to be performed for the atonement of a sin due to one’s presence at the marriage ceremony of a couple belonging to different varṇas. Similarly, a man having sexual relations with the wife of his own friend, or a sister of his own father or mother, or having defiled a wife of his own father, was to practice Gurutalpa Vrata. A man having sexual relations with a woman in her menses should practise Kṛccha Santāpana. A brāhmaṇa unknowingly having physical relations with a caṇḍāla woman, accepting gifts from her, or having sexual relations with an unmarried girl in her menses would become pure by living on alms and mentally reciting the proper mantra for three years.58 The Purāṇas, further, give more details on how a husband was to treat his wife who had fallen from the path of chastity by engaging in illicit relations with other men. For such sins, women had to undertake expiatory rites for their purification. Similarly, “fallen” women, or those who had been touched by a caṇḍāla or other low caste men, were to perform trirātra penance. A brāhmaṇa visiting a prostitute for one single night only becomes pure by living on alms and constantly repeating his prayers for three consecutive years. In the Agni Purāṇa, purificatory rites are conceived and constructed for women who might have touched certain men and objects during their menstrual courses.59

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In the case of a breach of these proscriptions, expiations were provided for both men and women. The Purāṇa composers, by sanctioning means of atonement for serious infringement of conventional norms, were trying to make the social classes adapt themselves to the brahmanical moral code. Besides these means of penitence, the Agni Purāṇa suggests a code of conduct that fell within the legal purview. It says, A man should not speak with another man’s wife when forbidden to talk, nor should he commit adultery. A king should not punish a girl who chooses her own husband but should pass a capital sentence on a man of lower varṇa found guilty of indulging in incest with a woman of his varṇa. A man defiling a woman belonging to a superior varṇa or who tries to lure girls of lower orders is to be fined. Also, if he commits any forbidden act like visiting a widow of easy virtue, destroys the foetus begat by him in the womb of a woman, or deserts a wife or sister, he should be liable to five hundred paṇas. If a person brings about miscarriage of a foetus by means of a weapon, he should be liable to a fine of the uttama class, whereas for accidentally killing a woman, he should be liable to a fine of uttama or madhyama according to the superiority of varṇa. Such fines are applicable also to women accused of putting poison in the cup of a man and bringing about his death. A man by forcibly taking a woman and exposing her to public view is liable to pay hundred paṇas. Also, a woman conversing with a person at a forbidden place is also to be inflicted with punishment.60 The fact that the Purāṇas offered numerous modes of expiation to men and women indicate the eagerness of the composers to sanction atonement for transgressions and to provide women more inclusiveness than they had previously enjoyed.

Women in kaliyuga The very sources that project women as beings who are inherently wicked, sly, and promiscuous are caught in their own web of contradictions. This is evident in the statements about women in kaliyuga. The Purāṇas assert that women are innately blessed and fortunate in the kaliyuga. Section VI of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa begins with an account of the dissolution of the universe and comes to an end with the destruction of the Yādavas and the commencement of the kaliyuga. As mentioned earlier, the four ages are the kṛta, tretā, dvāpara, and

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kali, encompassing altogether twelve thousand years of the celestials. The first, kṛta, is that age which is created by Brahmā, the last is kali in which the four virtues associated with dharma (dharmasya catuṣpāda) are satya, dayā, śānti, and ahiṃsā, are annihilated.61 According to the description of the kaliyuga, people will not observe varṇa rules, the laws that regulate the conduct of husband and wife will be neglected; people will consider all texts as śāstras; men of all levels will consider themselves to be brāhmaṇas; and cows will be held in reverence only because they give milk.62 Women will be greedy, fickleminded, and short-statured, will pursue their own desires, and will be selfish and outspoken. They will have many children (bahuprajāḥ) and will be indecent and immoral in their conduct (śīlācāravivarjitāḥ).63 This lamentation is followed by an intriguing story of how the sages go to Veda Vyāsa to clear their doubts about the four ages. They see that the illustrious sage is immersed in the water of the Gaṅgā and when he rises up, he exclaims, “Excellent is the Kali age.”64 Again he dives and when he rises up the second time, he says, “Blessed are the śūdras.” Again he sinks down and on rising up says, “Women are the most happy and who can be more fortunate than them?”65 When his bathing rituals are over, the sages ask Vyāsa to explain why the kaliyuga is excellent. Vyāsa’s reply to the sages is that the fruit of penance, continence, and silent prayer practised in the kṛta age for ten years, in the tretā for one year, and in the dvāpara for a month is obtained in one day and night in the kali. He adds that the reward which a man obtains in the kṛta age by practising meditation, in the tretā by sacrifice, in the dvāpara by adoration, he receives in the kaliyuga by merely reciting the name of Keśava.66 The śūdra is blessed because he has only to serve the twice-born and obey their commands, and similarly women, through their obedience to their husbands, are equally blessed.67 Vyāsa states that in the kaliyuga, women and śūdras are the most blessed (sādhudhanyāḥ). He further goes on to say that in the kaliyuga, dharma is fulfilled with very little effort, by śūdras through the diligent service of the twice-born and by women through the slight effort of obedience to their husbands. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa is very explicit when it says that a woman has only to honour her husband in act, thought, and speech to reach the same region to which he is elevated, and she thus accomplishes her object without any great exertion.68 And that is why Vyāsa considered that in kaliyuga, the śūdra and women are the most fortunate. Though the Purāṇas gave concessions to śūdras and women to undertake tīrthas and vratas, they reinforced the Dharmaśāstric traditions that śūdras could attain salvation only

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by serving the twice-born (dvijasuśrūṣā) and women only by being devoted to their husband (patisuśrūṣā).69 These apparent concessions clearly demonstrate that for the Purāṇa composers, service to their husbands is the prime religious observance for women. We can conclude that the Purāṇa composers placed themselves in an ideological impasse. In the process of delineating roles for women, they tried to overcome the qualms and predicaments they were facing in the changing social order through parables and tales woven around the myth of the kaliyuga. At one level, condemnation was heaped on women due to the physical taboos surrounding them like menstruation, impurities related to childbirth, and perceptions of their inherent nature. On the other hand, women were pictured as devoted wives, the epitome of chastity, purity, and virtue through which the performance of pativrātadharma was ensured. The tensions and anxieties in the Purāṇic texts in depicting women not just in their conventional roles of wives and mothers, but also in unconventional ones like those of yoginīs and prostitutes, marks a clear departure from the early brahmanical texts. If we read between the lines, this would suggest a society in transition, with fringe groups laying claim to social spaces and such a tension in the Purāṇas would mean that these groups could no longer be ignored. Whereas, they stand as testimony to the various new roles that women now exercised, they also prove how the dominant brahmanical ideology now made space for socio-political participation for such women, especially prostitutes. The brāhmaṇas, perhaps in panic mode, increasingly realised that somehow women had to be incorporated into the brahmanical concepts of an ideal social order. Therefore, certain concessions were given to women which, when looked at closely, were clearly designed to reinforce brahmanical ideology, varṇaśrāmadharma and patriarchal authority. Women and śūdras were actively included within the ambit of brahmanical ritual and practice in a departure from older norms, yet the position and role of women was not radically altered. Such is the ingenuity of the Purāṇic renegotiations of the role of women in the brahmanical framework. As we have seen in the treatment of women-related issues such as marriage, family, domestic life, wifehood, motherhood, widowhood, property rights, and women outside the household, the Purāṇic renegotiations allow the narratives to capture and juxtapose different and at times even contradictory perceptions. Some of these contradictory perceptions (between and within specific Purāṇas) may reflect regional differences in social practices. The chief value of the Purāṇic narratives thus lies in the fact that their inclusivity gives textual expression to varying shades of experience

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which otherwise would have been lost to us, in the blind glare of the dominant brahmanical orthodoxy.

Notes 1 Denton, Female Ascetics in Hinduism, pp. 41–2. For details see section on the ‘Ideal Wife and Widows’ in Chapter II, “Women’s Identity and Purāṇic Patriarchy.” 2 The details can be seen in the Chapter II, in the section on “The Duty of the Virtuous Wife.” 3 “The nuptial ceremony is stated to be the Vedic sacrament for women (and to be equal to the initiation), serving the husband (equivalent to) the residence in (the house of the) teacher, and the household duties (the same) as the (daily) worship of the sacred fire.” Manusmṛti, II.67. 4 For a larger discussion on women’s question, see Malinar, ‘Arguments of a Queen: Draupadī’s Views on Kingship’, pp. 79–80. 5 Manusmṛti, II.67. 6 Mārk. Pur., 19.69, 71, 73, 76. 7 Mārk. Pur., 49.32. 8 V. Dehejia, Yoginī Cult and Temples: A Tantric Tradition, New Delhi: National Museum, 1986, pp. 11–63. Reference is also made to the yoginī image making of the Agni Purāṇa which implies female deities of yoginī Kaula cult. 9 Mārk. Pur., 16.90–91. 10 Mārk. Pur., 16.90, 21.66–67. 11 Mats. Pur., 15.6–9, 7.3, 146.25, 154.289, 13.7–9, 16, 60–64. Some of these may have been cultic yoginīs. 12 Mārk. Pur., 33.10, 125.33, 131.7–8. 13 Mats. Pur., 20.27. 14 Manusmṛti, II.66.67. Manu makes a clear distinction in the rites associated with men and women. He mentions that some rites have to be performed on women but without the recitation of sacred mantras. The attempt to distinguish between rituals on the basis of gender must have been a deliberate attempt to keep women away from education and learning. 15 Bhāg. Pur., 10.23.42. 16 Bhāg. Pur., 1.4.14–25. 17 Bhāg. Pur., 3.25–33. 18 Bhāg. Pur., 1.8.18–43, 10.32.1–19, 33.8–9. 19 R. Vanita, ‘The Self Is Not Gendered: Sulabha’s Debate With King Janaka’, National Women’s Studies Association Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2003, pp. 76–93. 20 S. N. Sinha and N. K. Basu, History of Marriage and Prostitution: Vedas to Vātsyāyana, New Delhi: Khama Publishers, 1992, p. 10. 21 Mats. Pur., 70.1, 19, 60; Bhāg. Pur., 1.11.20, 9.14.38, 10. 47.7, 75, 15, 11.8.22. 22 V. R. R. Dikshitar, The Purāṇa Index, 3 Vols. (first published, 1951–1955), Madras University Historical Series 49, Madras University, Madras (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1995, Vol. 1, p. 806; The Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa generally lays down that the woman who attached

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23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

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body and soul to one husband is called pativratā, one who lends herself to two paramours is a kulaṭā, to three is a dharṣiṇī, to four is a puṁścalī, and one who gives herself to five men is a mahāveśyā (R. Pandey, ‘Purano Mein Varnit Vesyaon ki Stithi’, in Tripathi (ed.), Position and Status of Women in Ancient India, Vol. 1, pp. 331–50). Bhāg. Pur., 1.11.20, 9.14.38, 10.47.7, 75.15, 11.8.22. Bhāg. Pur., 11.8.23–27, 30–31. Bhāg. Pur., 10.42.9–10, 47.7; 6.1, 6.2.21–27. Mats. Pur., 70.26–32, 60. Mats. Pur., 70.1, 20–23. Manusmṛti, IV.209; Yājñavalkya. S., I.160–165. Agn. Pur., 168.10. A fallen woman (patitā) can refer to prostitutes. Agn. Pur., 227.45. Mats. Pur., 227.143–146. We do not know about the extent to which such prescriptions were actually implemented. Mats. Pur., 70.26–32, 60. Mats. Pur., 92.24–29, 31. Mats. Pur., 70.24–29, 60, 2–59. Agn. Pur., 218.16. Bhāg. Pur., 6.18.41–42. Śrīmad Vālmikī Rāmayāṇam (trans.) N. Raghunathan, Bangalore: Vigneshwara Publishing House, 1981, Vol. 1, Canto CXVII, pp. 430–1. Anasūyā praises Sītā’s fidelity. The Mahābhārata, Critically edited by V. S. Sukthankar (ed.), R. N. Dandekar, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1966; Anuśāsanaparvan, Vol. 17, Part 1, XIII.38.24. Viṣ. Pur., 6.1.10, 20. Bhāg. Pur., 7.11.31–35. Mats. Pur., Chapters 16–18; Bhāg. Pur., 7.14.14–26; Agn. Pur., Chapters 170–174. Mārk. Pur., 31.80–86. Mārk. Pur., 32.29, 33–34. Manusmṛti, II.67. The Veda of the Black Yajus School entitled Taittirīyasaṃhitā (trans.) A. B. Keith, Part 1, Kāṇḍas, I–III (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1966, II.5.1, II.5.4; Also see F. M. Smith, ‘Indra’s Curse, Varuṇas Noose, and the Suppression of the Women in the Vedic Śrauta Ritual’, in I. Julia Leslie (ed.), Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992, pp. 18–44. N. N. Bhattacharyya, Indian Puberty Rites, second rev. ed., New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1980, pp. 7, 13–19. Bhattacharyya has discussed in detail the taboos related to menstruating women which comes out very clearly even in the Purāṇas. This must have been a thoughtful attempt by the Purāṇic writers to keep women away from socio-religious activities like uttering of mantras and reading of the Vedas. On the notions of menstrual and natal pollution and the ways in which reproduction was gendered, see Roy, ‘The Politics of Reproduction in Early India, pp. 157–67. Mārk. Pur., 32.29, 33–34. Agn. Pur., 157.1–5.

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49 Agn. Pur., 158.1–3. 50 Manusmṛti, IV.87–90; Bhāg. Pur., 5.26. Parāśarasmṛti (ed.) K. L. Joshi (trans.) M. N. Dutt. This Smṛti has devoted chapters 4–12 on a description of sins and their purifications along with penitential rights. 51 Mārk. Pur., 31.96–97. 52 Viṣ. Pur., 2.6.31, 39. 53 Dange, Encylopaedia of Purāṇic Beliefs and Practices, pp. 750–4. 54 Bhāg. Pur., 5.26. 55 Agn. Pur., 168.1–12, 173.31–34, 168.24–28, 28–38, 169.15–24, 33–38, 41, 170.30–45, 173.40–49, 50–54, 227.40–45, 258.1–4. 56 Viṣ. Pur., 2.6; Agn. Pur., Chapter 168. 57 Viṣ. Pur., 2.6.40. 58 Agn. Pur., 168.9, 24, 35, 36, 170.21, 41, 42. 59 Agn. Pur., 169.15–24, 39–41. 60 Agn. Pur., 227.40–45, 258.1–4, 9–17, 26–32, 60–71. 61 Viṣ. Pur., 6.1.8. 62 Viṣ. Pur., 6.1.10–12, 23. 63 Viṣ. Pur., 6.1.21, 28–32. 64 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.6–7. 65 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.7–8. 66 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.17. 67 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.22–24, 35. 68 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.28. 69 Viṣ. Pur., 6.2.34–35.

4

Vratas, rituals, and the Purāṇic social hierarchy

vidyāḥ samastāstava devi bhedāḥ strīyaḥ samastā sakalaṁ jagacca tvayaikayā pūritambayaitat kā te stutiḥ stavyaparā paroktiḥ. Mārk. Pur. 88.5. O Goddess, all sciences emanate from you; so are all women without exception in the world, endowed with various attributes. By You alone, the Mother, this world is filled. What praise can there be for You who are an epitome of transcendental expression.

Purāṇic religious practices included vrata, pūjā, dāna, and tīrtha, religious vows, including fasting, ritual prayer, charity, and pilgrimage, all of which expanded the possibilities for women’s participation in the overall life of the community. Vratas, which included elements of pūjā and dāna for their completion, were perhaps the most important practice. They therefore deserve detailed analysis. Kane’s History of Dharmaśāstra has collated some of the data from various sources about the vratas. However, this chapter offers a comprehensive documentation and analysis of the vratas mentioned in the five Purāṇas that are the focus of this study, with special emphasis on the aspect of gender. We will attempt to focus on those ideas underlying the vratas that offered women a new way of contributing to the growth and prosperity of the family. Through this chapter, I also want to highlight the fact that the Purāṇas have nothing to say about “institutionalised asceticism”1 and the attainment of mokṣa, the ultimate goal of the Vedic religion. The focus of the Purāṇas was on order in society and its foundational institution, the family, as well as the safeguarding of the brahamanical ideology.

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The significance of religious rituals prescribed for women The religious rituals prescribed for women were clearly society and family oriented. For them the benefits of carrying them out were linked to and dependent on the prosperity bestowed on their families, good fortune (saubhāgya), and health (ārogya). The average woman in the Purāṇic age was supposed to be selfless, and this view was neatly carried over to the religious life, which “required the conscientious submersion of her individuality.”2 Men, on the other hand, were offered more individual centric rewards such as freedom from rebirth (punarāvṛtti) and the purging of all sins (niṣpāpa). In theory, for becoming an ascetic it was expected of both men and women that they would renounce worldly attachments.3 However, renunciation was not the goal that the Purāṇic composers wished to put in front of women. Giving women greater agency as by allowing them to be part of an order of ascetics working to attain spiritual salvation would also have meant relaxing the orthodox duties of a women in relation to procreation and the care of the family, which in the Purāṇic universe was the only legitimate path for them. Hence it can be seen that the very model that Michael Foucault uses to draw upon the relationship between institutions, knowledge, and power is working in the reverse order when we talk of isolated references of female ascetics in the Purāṇic tradition. There is, however, the same Foucauldian model of institutionalisation at work when we talk of the various forms of vratas and rituals. These fasts and other rituals were in part a spiritual activity that could be undertaken in the individual capacity within the household, even by women. At the same time, they served to regimentalise behaviours and to keep a check on religious activity. In other words, as this chapter shall reveal, the highly specialised and detailed schematics of the vratas point towards the institutionalisation of behaviour in the spiritual realm, which in part could have led to a specific religious agency centred around women in the attempt to control them. Women’s roles as visualised in the Purāṇic vratas sought to undermine their individuality by exercising full control over their bodies and minds by prescribing a synergic set of ritual formulations, behavioural patterns, and purificatory rites. Women were thus conditioned to think in a particular way. Through the texts of the Purāṇas, we shall try to understand from the point of view of women’s experience the ideological biases woven around the prescribed rituals.

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Strīdharma and strīvrata To understand the significance of the vrata tradition, we have to see the connection between the duties of women (strīdharma) and the popularity and practice of sacred vows among women (strīvrata). For both men and women, multiple rewards like wealth, good health, beauty, and liberation are promised at the end of textual prescriptions for most sacred vows. From the contemporary viewpoint, religious observance and vows remain the most important of all duties that are formulated in the classical strīdharma. The endurance of hardships that is directly proportional to the severity of the vow, of self-denial and perseverance determines the character of a woman, even in the present day. The length of time that the vows are to be observed are often determined by extra-terrestrial elements like the lunar cycle or planetary positions. Though undertaken in an individual capacity, many of the vratas are social in nature and involve mass chanting or singing, telling of spiritual stories, and moral parables that are symbolic in nature and serve to instruct the populace, as well as to hold out the promise of salvation. Although the Purāṇas focus largely on men as participants in rituals, their discussion of the domestic sphere refers to women’s primary role as caretakers of the family within the four walls of the house. The domestic ideology reinforces this image by glorifying women’s roles within the household and family and in religious activities. The conception of “domesticity” implies not only the rethinking of the location of religion; even more importantly, it prompts us to pay attention to the intentions and interpretation of religious activities performed by men and women.4

Meaning and classification of vratas Vrata becomes the most generic term in the Purāṇic tradition for rules according to which a fixed standard of behaviour, involving restrictions as well as prescribed actions, is thought to produce specified results for anyone who undertakes it. The etymology of the word vrata has been a subject of debate.5 In the Ṛgveda, it implied a command, law, obedience, or duty. W.D. Whitney and F. Max Muller have attempted to specify the Vedic meaning of the term vrata.6 Muller states that the word was derived from vṛ (to protect) and meant “what is protected, set apart.” Kane derives the word vrata from the root vṛ (to choose), and choosing involves intentionality.

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Vṛ also means “to will,” and when the suffix ta is added, the meaning of the word can mean “to will for a sacred or noble cause.” Thus, the general meaning of the vratas appears to be “an act of will” undertaken by the worshipper with the aim of being conferred with divine blessings.7 It is interesting to note the changing meaning of the term vrata as found in the other Vedic Saṁhitās, the Sūtras, Smṛtis, and Purāṇas. The Atharvaveda is particularly rich in passages where vrata means to resolve to undertake a religious observance.8 In the Brāhmaṇa texts, the term vrata came to acquire different meanings, including an appropriate course of conduct or the sacrificer staying at night near a Gārhapatya fire or fasting. In all the Saṁhitās other than the Ṛgveda, and in the Brāhmaṇas and Upaniṣads generally, the ordinary sense of vrata is two-fold: (a) a religious observance which had to be strictly carried out by the person who had undertaken it, and (b) a special kind of food which one had to eat or drink, called āmikṣā (a mixture of hot milk and curd) when engaged in a religious undertaking.9 In the Gṛhyasūtras and Dharmasūtras, the word vrata is used in two ancillary senses. One is the proper course of conduct for a person. The other meaning of vrata is upavāsa (fasting), practised, for instance, by the yajamāna passing the night near the Gārhapatya and other fires, or his reducing his intake of food or abstaining from it altogether.10 In the Mahābhārata, a vrata is a religious undertaking or a vow in which one had to observe certain restrictions related to food or general behaviour.11 It was also applied to a course or pattern of conduct not necessarily religious. Nicholas Sutton has discussed ritual acts such as bathing, celibacy, fasting, righteous conduct, and moral behaviour as advocated in the Mahābhārata for gaining svargaloka.12 The Smṛtis devote long passages to the description of vratas.13 Expiations involved the observance of several strict rules and came to be called vratas in the Manu and Yājñavalkya Smṛtis.14 In the Pūrāṇas the notion of vratas underwent a considerable transformation because many complex details were introduced into the tradition. The Pūrāṇas treat at great length the subject of vratas and contain about 25,000 verses on the subject. According to Kunal Chakrabarti, in the Purāṇas, the vrata is called tapas (austerities) because it causes hardship to the performer and is called niyama (rule) since therein the performer has to restrain and control his senses while performing it.15 Also, several rituals that go into the making of

Vratas, rituals, Purāṇic social hierarchy

185

a vrata – such as ritual bathing (snāna); vow (saṁkalpa); worship of the deity in whose honour the vrata is undertaken; oblations (homa); fast (upavāsa); feeding brāhmaṇas, maidens, and married women; gifts to brahmanas (dakṣiṇā); offering flowers to the deities; pūjā; and the observance of certain rules of conduct during the period of the vrata find explicit mention in the Purāṇas under study. For instance, the Agni Purāṇa states that one who undertakes a vrata must bathe everyday, should subsist on a limited quantity of food, and should worship and honour his guru, gods, and brāhmaṇas.16 The five Purāṇas that form the subject of this work all deal with vratas to a greater or lesser extent.17 The maximum number of vratas are found in the Matsya, followed by Agni, Bhāgavata, Viṣṇu, and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas. The detailed treatment of sacred vows (vratas) in the Pūrāṇic literature provides us with an opportunity to study these rites which have been the primary vehicle available to both men and women for the recognised and approved pursuit of religious duties and aims within the Hindu tradition. The growing importance of vrata ritualism in the Purāṇas can be analysed from the proliferating number of vratas. These vows could be of a purificatory or expiatory nature or could be for boons, for preserving the family and maintaining its stability, material welfare, good health, fame, learning, progeny, puṇya (spiritual merit), and salvation (mokṣa). The five Purāṇas under study, namely the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata, classify the observance of vratas into different categories. Some vows came within the broad purview of the kāmya category of vratas which were meant for the fulfilment of specific desires such as that of begetting a son. Kāmya literally means “based upon desire.” Some vratas like the Ekādaśī Vrata were dutyborn, and therefore, obligatory (nitya). In the traditional classification, some vratas (naimittika vratas) are considered to be “without desire” (niṣkāmya karma), that is, rites (vrata karma) done for their own sake, without attachment to any kind of reward or outcome. Such rituals are observed for reasons of duty or spiritual discipline, or out of sheer devotion to a god. An important point noticeable in the Purāṇas is that the largest number of vratas are tithi vratas, meaning that they are associated with specific days of the lunar calendar. Some are in the waxing phase of the moon, the bright fortnight (Śuklapakṣa), and others in the dark period (Kṛṣṇa pakṣa). Practically every day of every month of the year was associated with some vow or the other such as the first

186

Vratas, rituals, Purāṇic social hierarchy

day (pratipadā), the second (dvitīyā), third (tṛtīyā), fourth (caturthī), fifth (pañcamī), sixth (śaṣṭhī), seventh (saptamī), and eighth (aṣṭamī). Vratas on the ninth day are called mahānavamī. Many vows were observed on the tenth day (daśamī), eleventh day (ekādaśī), twelfth day (dvādaśī), thirteenth day (trayodaśī), fourteenth day (caturdaśī), and fifteenth day, i.e., the full moon day (pūrṇimā). While in the Matsya Purāṇa, a greater number of saptamī and ekādaśī vows are recorded, the Agni Purāṇa gives a very extensive list of vows on the basis of lunar days (tithis). Another classification may be based on the duration of the vratas which could be observed for a day, a fortnight (pakṣa), season (ṛtu), movement of the sun in the northern and southern hemisphere (ayana), months (māsa), nakṣatra, year, or years. The Purāṇas repeatedly refer to vratas and utsavas. There is no rigid demarcation between the two. What are called utsavas have an element of religious rites, and many vratas are celebrated as festivals. Another basis for understanding the sacred vows in the Purāṇas is the social background and gender of those who were supposed to perform them. Some vratas were performed by men and women together, and some were observed independently by men and women, including śūdras. A look at vratas in the historical perspective To provide a perspective to the history of the vratas, we will focus separately on the accounts in the Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa Though the Viṣṇu Purāṇa does not deal with vratas at great length, the mention of the zodiacal signs at various places shows that at the time of its composition, these signs were quite familiar and were in wide use. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, the topic of vratas is inextricably linked with the discussion of time (kāla) and date (tithi). Since knowledge of astronomy and astrology expanded during this period, provisions were made in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa for vratas and associated religious rites to be observed on certain days or in certain favourable astrological conditions identified as auspicious days leading to the accumulation of spiritual merit (anantapuṇyāḥ). The vratas and special days mentioned in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa are tabulated below.

Table 4.1 Types and Significance of Vratas in Viṣṇu Purāṇa S. No.

Auspicious days

Significance

Reference

1

When the sun moves in the northern and southern directions it is known as Uttarāyaṇa and Dakṣiṇāyana.

Viṣ. Pur., 2.8.27–31. (p. 137)

2

When the sun is in the first degree of kṛtī and the moon in the fourth of Vaiśākha or viceversa, that equinoctial season is called Mahāviṣuva. The lunar eclipse is known as Somaparva.

These are astrological divisions of the year based on the movement of the sun and help people seeking to attain liberation to gain religious merit. Certain days are pinpointed in conjunction with planetary movements also for undertaking vratas and dāna. Generosity at equinoxes is always fruitful to the donor. At this time devout persons should make offerings to the gods and manes and gifts to brāhmaṇas. At the time of the lunar eclipse bathing in rivers, utterance of mantras, and dāna are most important. At the time of the solar eclipse bathing in rivers, utterance of mantras, and dāna are most important. This day is auspicious for religious deeds. On this occasion the householder should venerate gods, kings, brāhmaṇas, aged persons, and holy people. On such days men are to engage in the worship of gods as laid down in the śāstras, in meditation (dhyāna) and prayer (japa). He who acts otherwise is believed to be doomed and certain to go to hell.

3

4

The solar eclipse is known as Sauraparva.

5

The fourteenth lunar day is Caturdaśī.

6

The eighth lunar day is Aṣṭamī.

Viṣ. Pur., 2.8.76–79. (p. 140)

Viṣ. Pur., 2.12.22. (p. 150) Viṣ. Pur., 2.12.22. (p. 150) Viṣ. Pur., 3.11.118– 119. (pp. 203–204)

Viṣ. Pur., 3.11.119. (pp. 203–204)

(Continued)

Table 4.1 (Continued) S. No. 7

8

Auspicious days

Significance

Reference

When two kalās remain, the moon enters the orbit of the sun and lives in a ray called amā which is Amāvasyā. During this period the moon is first immersed for a day and night in the water, then it enters the branches and shoots of trees (vīrutsu vasati), and then it proceeds to the sun. The occurrence of eclipses is called Uparāga.

The rays of the sun through the development of plants sustain men and animals and satisfy the pitṛs.

Viṣ. Pur., 2.12.8–9. (p. 150)

Reading of the Vedas is not to be undertaken and act, speech, and thought should be concerned with the well-being of all living beings. These are the first days of the four yugas, i.e., kṛta, tretā, dvāpara, and kali. They are described by the sages as being very auspicious (anantapuṇyāḥ) for propitiating the ancestors. -do-

Viṣ. Pur., 3.12.36. (p. 207)

9

The third lunar day of the month of Vaiśākha is Vaiśākha Śukla Tṛtīyā. This is also celebrated as the festival of Akṣaya Tṛtīyā.

10

The ninth of Kārttika in the bright fortnight is known as Kārttika Śukla Navamī. The thirteenth of the dark half of Nabha (summer) is Kṛṣṇa Tryodaśī. The fifteenth of the dark half of Māgha is known as Māgha Pañcadaśī which is Māghī Amāvasyā.

11

12

Viṣ. Pur., 3.14.12. (p. 212)

Viṣ. Pur., 3.14.12. (p. 212)

-do-

Viṣ. Pur., 3.14.12. (p. 212)

It is a festive and sacred day for propitiating the manes.

Viṣ. Pur., 3.14.12–13. (p. 212)

S. No.

Auspicious days

Significance

Reference

13

Kārttika Pūrṇimā Snāna is the ceremonial bathing festival in Kārttika Pūrṇimā.

Viṣ. Pur., 3.18.57. (p. 227)

14

The festival of Śakrama.

15

Govardhana Pūjā, worship of Mount Govardhana.

16

Jyaiṣṭha Śukla Dvādaśī, the twelfth of the bright half of Jyaiṣṭḥa.

There is a reference to the story of King Śatadhanus and his wife Saivyā, who were observing a fast (upoṣita) in the name of the god Viṣṇu on Kārttika Pūrṇimā after bathing in the river Bhāgirathī. But the king, on entering into a conversation with a heretic (pāṣaṇḍa), died. This story clearly suggests that while fasting, one should not enter into contact with heretics. The festival is celebrated by the inhabitants of Vraj for the rich harvest of grains bestowed by Indra. Kṛṣṇa tells the people of Vraj that cattle and mountain are gods. He made the cowherds understand that offerings and prayer should be made to the mountain Govardhana instead of to Indra. Brāhmaṇas were to be fed with milk and after offering worship to the mountain, the cowherds circumambulated the cows decorated with garlands of autumnal flowers and worshipped them. The promise of prosperity for the man who bathes in the river Yamunā on this day, keeps a fast (upoṣita), and worships Śrī Acyuta.

Viṣ. Pur., 5.10.18–26. (p. 339) Viṣ. Pur., 5.10.38–39, 44–46. (pp. 340–341)

Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.33–40. (pp. 454–455)

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Vratas, rituals, Purāṇic social hierarchy

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa devotes considerable space to Navarātra or Durgotsava, which is contained in the section called the DevīMāhātmya. The attributes and the beneficence of the Devī are extolled in this Purāṇa. The Devī-Māhātmya describes the appearance of the Devī and her receiving different weapons like the trident from Śiva, discus from Viṣṇu, and vajra from Indra and her victory over the demons Mahiṣāsura, Caṇḍa, Muṇḍa, Śumbha, and Niśumbha. It is stated that hearing or reading the Devī-Māhātmya with faith would lead to success in worldly endeavours. The first to the ninth of the bright half of Āśvina is celebrated as the Durgāpūjā festival, otherwise called Navarātra. Some of the works provide that it must be celebrated in both Śarad (Āśvina Śukla) and Vasanta (Caitra Śukla), but it is the Durgotsava of Āśvina that is celebrated in grand style.18 The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa mentions a vrata which enables the devotee to vanquish all enemies, and which confers benefits on all people. It also states that by listening with devotion to the greatness of Devī at the great annual pūjā performed in autumn, a person is freed from all troubles and is endowed with wealth. Significantly this vrata could be performed by persons belonging to any of the four varṇas. In the Navarātra pūjā, nine kumārīs or virgin girls are to be worshipped. These nine girls are named Kumārikā, Trimūrti, Kalyāṇī, Rohiṇī, Kālikā, Caṇḍikā, Śāmbhavī, Durgā, and Subhadrā. Different results ranging from longevity to victory, prosperity, and riches are said to be obtained in this Kanyāpūjan. Incidentally, the Purāṇa mentions the words stoṣyate yaḥ (he who praises), which may suggest that men were also supposed to take part in the worship of the nine kumārīs. This vrata had to be performed with great concentration of mind.19 As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to make a distinction between a vrata and utsava. But the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa discusses the auspicious days in which the Durgotsava was celebrated as a grand festival (mahotsava). The vratas in this Purāṇa basically consist of hearing or reading the text, and the details in the following table reinforce the notion that one who devoutly hears about these vratas, or reads the Devī-Māhātmya for the good of others, gets whatever he or she desires.

Table 4.2 Types and Significance of Vratas in Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa S. No.

Vrata/Utsava

Significance

Reference

1

The eighth day of Āśvina, which is the eighth day of the festival of Navarātra, when the goddess Durgā is worshipped is celebrated as Āśvina Śukla Aṣṭamī.

Mārk. Pur., 89.2. (p. 403)

2

The ninth day of the bright half of the festival of the Navarātra when Durgā is worshipped is Āśvina Śukla Navamī. Durgā is worshipped on the fourteenth day, i.e., Āśvina Śukla Caturdaśī.

The goddess (Devī) Durgā in the Devī-Māhātmya promises that no ill-fortune will ever touch those who celebrate the destruction of Madhu and Kaiṭabha, the slaughter of asura Mahiṣa, and the slaying of Śumbha and Niśumbha and listen to Devī-Māhātmya on the eighth day of the lunar fortnight with intent mind. The goddess says that with her blessings all calamities (upasargāḥ) will be quelled.

This is a day on which the goddess bestows the beneficent results (śubhāṁ gatim) of reading and listening to the Devī-Māhātmya. At the great annual worship performed in autumn time, those who listen with faith to the Devī-Māhātmya shall be delivered from every trouble and will be blessed with riches (vitta) and sons (putrāḥ). The Goddess says that the reading of the DevīMāhātmya shall bring tranquillity and peacefulness in children and bestow clarity of mind.

Mārk. Pur., 89.2–3. (p. 403)

3

4

The ceremonies with fire and offerings of bali are done in Śaratkāla Vārṣikī Mahāpūjā.

5

When planets are fully eclipsed (Grahapīḍasu).

Mārk. Pur., 89.2–3. (p. 403)

Mārk. Pur., 89.11. (pp. 403– 404).

Mārk. Pur., 89.15. (p. 404).

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Vratas, rituals, Purāṇic social hierarchy

The Matsya Purāṇa The Matsya Purāṇa deals with the subject of vratas at great length and the number of vratas increase by leaps and bounds. This text has 1230 verses on vratas (chapters 54–92, 95–101). It is stated in the Matsya Purāṇa that in the case of women who have commenced a vrata of long duration, the vrata may not be suspended. If they happen to undergo menstruation in the midst of the vrata or become pregnant or deliver a child, women should get the rites performed by another person during that period, but physical acts such as chanting, meditation, and fasting may be done by themselves. This twopart rule was designed to lay stress on the impurities associated with the female body and also on how they could be mitigated by the undertaking of physical hardships. In effect, we observe a duality in this regard; the concern about keeping women engaged seems to have been serious, but at the same time the conviction that they were impure at various times never lost its grip. As a consequence women were expected to and did undergo hardships, which require some examination. An important matter highlighted in the Matsya Purāṇa relates to the vratādhikāriṇah (persons entitled to engage in vratas). Persons of all varṇas, including women and śūdras, were entitled to perform vratas.20 This Purāṇa also spells out the procedure and details of how different vratas were to be observed by men and women. The bulk of the vratas given below are classified on the basis of month, tithi, and nakṣatra, along with other auspicious days. Most of the vratas practised by women were kāmya, performed with the desire of getting rewards in this world or sometimes in the next world or both. Vratas in the Matsya Purāṇa are prescribed as the best observances for all to reach Brahmaloka, Viṣṇuloka, Śivaloka, and Sūryaloka. Table 4.3 Types and Significance of Vratas in Matsya Purāṇa S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 1

Madana Dvādaśī Vrata: The fast begins in the month of Caitra on the 12th day of the bright fortnight in which Kāmadeva and his wife Ratī are the objects of worship. On the completion of this worship, sandal and incense should be offered and then

Reference

The performer becomes Mats. Pur., liberated from evil and 7.7–29. passes away in peace (pp. 30–33) and goes to Viṣṇuloka.

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance

2

3

4

5

prayers should be accompanied by music (gītamvādyam) and a number of brāhmaṇas should be offered a meal. Sage Vasiṣṭha advised Diti to observe Madana Dvādaśī fast, which she did and became the mother of 49 sons. Nakṣatrapuruṣa Vrata: The devotee should get an image of Lord Vāsudeva and worship it from the month of Caitra, at the time when the moon is in the Mūla asterism (nakṣatra). Worship of the 27 nakṣatras is to be carried out for 26 successive days. Brāhmaṇas wellversed in the Sāmaveda are to be given the image of Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī, along with clothes, garlands, and jewels. Ādityaśayana Vrata: It is done for Śiva on the conjunction of the moon with the particular asterism, Hasta. On this day images of Umā and Maheśvara should be worshipped. This vow was first observed by Vasiṣṭha, Arjuna, Kubera, and Indra. Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī Vrata: The eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa. On these auspicious days Śiva or Śaṅkara is worshipped under different names.

Reference

In the conversation between Lord Śiva and Nārada, this vow was prescribed for widows (vidhavā) and is believed to result in gradual emancipation (karmamukti). For married women (saubhāgyavatī) it leads to the attainment of wealth, health, life, beauty, luck, and prosperity.

Mats. Pur., 54.6–7. (pp. 259– 262)

Husband and wife who observe this with devotion attain divine felicity, and are free from disease (roga), grief (śoka), and suffering (dukha). It liberates pitṛs from naraka to reach heaven (divam). One who observes this fast attains Śivaloka. This was especially performed by men. As gifts a brāhmaṇa is supposed to be given five gems and a cow with different kinds of cloth. Pauśa Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: It is the This gives peace to men. eighth of the dark half of Pauṣa in which Śambhu is worshipped.

Mats. Pur., 55.3–33. (pp. 263– 266)

Mats. Pur., 56.1–6. (pp. 266– 268)

Mats. Pur., 56.1–6. (p. 267) (Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Māgha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: It is the eighth of the dark half of Māgha, which is a festive day and celebrates the worship of Maheśvara. Phālguna Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: The eighth day of the dark lunar phase of the month of Phālguna is auspicious for the worship of Mahādeva. Caitra Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: The eighth of the dark half of Caitra is auspicious for the worship of Sthāṇu. Vaiśākha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: This is the eighth day of the dark half of Vaiśākha. On this day Śiva is worshipped. Jyaiṣṭha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: The eighth of the dark half of Jyaiṣṭha is a festive day for the worship of Paśupati. Āṣāḍha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī Vrata: The eighth day of the dark half of Āṣāḍha. On this auspicious day Ugra is worshipped. Śrāvaṇa Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī Vrata: This is the eighth day of the dark half of Śrāvaṇa. On this occasion Śarva (Śiva) is worshipped. Rohiṇīcandra Śayana Vrata: The observer of this vow is to worship the image of Rohiṇī and the moon in gold. Brāhmaṇas are to be gifted with eight white pearls, white clothes, milk, rice, sugarcane, and fruits.

Reference

Gives emancipation from Mats. Pur., evil deeds. 56.1–6. (p. 267)

Believed to give peace Mats. Pur., and victory. 56.1–6. (p. 267)

-do-

Mats. Pur., 56.1–6. (p. 267)

One enjoys happiness.

Mats. Pur., 56.1–6. (p. 267)

One goes to the realm of Mats. Pur., Śiva. 56.1–6. (p. 267) -do-

Mats. Pur., 56.1–6. (p. 267)

-do-

Mats. Pur., 56.1–6. (p. 267)

This ordinance is very dear to the pitṛs. Women (nārī) observing this fast are liberated from the cycle of rebirth (punarāvṛtti). Śūdras may observe this with extreme devotion.

Mats. Pur., 57.3–7, 26–27. (pp. 268– 271)

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 15

Saubhāgyaśayana Vrata: Observed on Caitra Śukla Tṛtīyā according to prescribed rites. The fish incarnation of Viṣṇu explains how Pārvatī came to represent fortune, luck, and longevity. Offerings had to be made to the brāhmaṇas and their wives.

16

Ananta Tṛtīyā Vrata: This is observed on the third of the bright half of Bhādra, Vaiśākha, and Mārgaśīrṣa (Agrahāyaṇa). Goddess Gaurī and her manifestations are worshipped, and then dakṣiṇā is given to the guru and brāhmaṇas. Rasakalyāṇī Vrata: The third day of the bright fortnight in the month of Māgha. This vrata is performed according to ancient rituals in which the goddess Gaurī is worshipped and brāhmaṇas are offered a feast.

17

18

Ārdrānandakari Tṛtīyā Vrata: The third day of the bright fortnight whenever the moon is in the following asterisms: Pūrvāṣāḍha, Uttārāṣāḍhā, Rohiṇī, Mrigaśirā, Hasta, or Mūla. Śiva tells Nārada about this vrata in which the goddess Bhavānī is supposed to be worshipped along with her consort Mahādeva.

Women and unmarried girls (kumārī) after devoutly worshipping Śiva, give golden images of Śiva and Pārvatī, clothes, etc., to brāhmaṇas and their wives. This vrata was generally aimed at the fulfilment of all desires. This vrata was also significant for attaining the realm of vīdyādharas in heaven. This vrata or Gaurī vrata promises endless merit (akṣayakāraka) and the attainment of Śivaloka. It is to be performed by the poor (vittahīna), married women (nārī), maidens (kumārī), and widows (vidhavā). Particularly beneficial for married women, widows, and maidens as they derive good luck (saubhāgya) and health (ārogya). Another reward is that one goes to the realm of Pārvatī. One also attains the benefit of performing 1,000 Agniṣṭoma sacrifices. Through the grace of goddess Pārvatī women attain longevity and health. In the end, the wife rejoins her husband and goes to the region of Pārvatī (Gaurīpada).

Reference Mats. Pur., 60.10–12. (pp. 280– 286)

Mats. Pur., 62.4–8. (pp. 293– 297)

Mats. Pur., 63.1–27. (pp. 297– 300)

Mats. Pur., 64.1–6. (pp. 301– 304)

(Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 19

Akṣaya Tṛtīyā Vrata: This is observed on the third day of the bright fortnight in the month of Vaiśākha, and Viṣṇu is worshipped with unhusked rice (akṣata) and offerings made to brāhmaṇas.

20

Sārasvata Vrata: It is observed in honour of goddess Sarasvatī on Sunday, and brāhmaṇas should be fed with cooked rice, milk, and sugar. Candra or Sūrya Grahaṇa: When these eclipses take place, the observer should get blessings invoked by brāhmaṇas and worship Candra or Sūrya with white flowers and sandal paste and mantras should be recited.

21

22

Saptamī Vrata: This vrata involves the worship of the sun god reciting Vedic hymns on the seventh day of the lunar fortnight, or in the seventh month after the birth of a child. Seven brāhmaṇa women, along with their husbands, should be worshipped with garlands and ornaments. The image of Dharmarāja made in gold and placed on a copper vessel should be given to the preceptor.

This vrata is the giver of sweet speech (bhāratī), prosperity, intelligence (mati), skill in all arts and sciences (vidyā-kauśala), conjugal union (abhedascātidampatya), and deep and lasting friendship. It gives the same benefit as performing a Rājasūya sacrifice. One who worships Sarasvatī goes to the region of Brahmā. This vrata is particularly for men, but the benefits go to women also. This vrata, prescribed for men only, liberates one from all sins (sarvapāpa), and one goes to the realm of Indra, attains highest bliss (paramasiddhi), and becomes free of the cycle of rebirth (punarāvṛtti). This vrata is a giver of long life, good health, and growth to children (bālavivardhana). It could be performed by men and women both. It is considered especially efficacious for women whose children die in infancy.

Reference Mats. Pur., 65.1–7. (pp. 304– 305)

Mats. Pur., 66.1–18. (pp. 305– 307)

Mats. Pur., 67.1–24. (pp. 307– 309)

Mats. Pur., 68.25–42. (pp. 311– 314)

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance

Reference

23

Bhīma Dvādaśī Vrata: Observed in honour of Viṣṇu and was performed by Bhīmasena in the month of Māgha.

Mats. Pur., 69.19–26, 56–60. (pp. 317– 321)

24

Anaṅgadāna Vrata: This is to be performed on a Sunday when the Hasta, Puṣya, or Punarvasu asterism is visible. The worshipper should approach Kāmadeva offering incense, flowers, sandal, and eatables. Later, brāhmaṇas should be honoured with their wives with gold threads, gold rings, bangles, garlands of flowers, incense, and paste. In a conversation, Brahmā narrates to Śiva that he had heard of the efficacy of varṇāśrama as well as good conduct prescribed by the Dharmaśāstras. Aśūnya Śayana Vrata: In this, Viṣṇu is to be worshipped on the second day of the dark fortnight in the month of Śrāvaṇa. The worshipper should give away the image of Lakṣmī and Viṣṇu to brāhmaṇas.

25

26

Aṅgāraka Vrata: It is described in the course of a conversation between Yudhiṣṭhira and the sages. This is performed in honour of Mars, the son of the earth. Bhauma (Mars) is to be worshipped, and a milch cow, with golden horns and silver hoofs should be given away to a brāhmaṇa in charity.

This dispels all sins and enables men to attain the realm of Brahmā. However, prostitutes (veśyā) could also perform this vrata to become apsarās (celestial beings) This vrata is to be observed by prostitutes. It enables the worshipper to go to the region of Mādhava. It is said that this vrata gives everlasting prosperity to the prostitutes.

A married woman or widow who performs this vrata is rewarded with residence in heaven. The vow ensures that a husband and wife do not suffer separation (viraha), grief, disaster, or pain. It enables the worshippers to go to the region of Viṣṇu. Sage Pippalāda describes this vrata, observed by śūdras without utterance of mantras, as the giver of health and prosperity.

Mats. Pur., 70.2–59. (pp. 322– 328)

Mats. Pur., 71.2–18. (pp. 329– 330)

Mats. Pur., 72.1–45. (pp. 330– 336)

(Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 27

28

29

30

31

Śukrapūjā: This is the worship of the planet Venus with rituals and is performed at the beginning of a journey or its end. A silver image of Śukra is to be given to a brāhmaṇa versed in the Sāmaveda. Kalyāṇa Saptamī Vrata, also known as Vijayā Saptamī: This falls on the seventh day of the bright fortnight. The sun is worshipped on the altar with different articles given to brāhmaṇas in charity. Viśoka Saptamī Vrata or the sorrow- destroying vrata: This is performed on the sixth day of the bright fortnight of Māgha. The worshipper should have a lotus made of gold and worship it by pronouncing arkāya namaḥ. Then the lotus, a pair of red clothes, a pitcher of water, and a milch cow are given to brāhmaṇas in charity. Phala Saptamī Vrata: This is performed in honour of the sun god on the seventh day of the bright fortnight of Mārgaśīrṣa. On Aṣṭamī a fruit made of gold, a lotus, and some utensils should be offered to brāhmaṇas. Śarkarā Saptamī Vrata (Gift of sugar): In the month of Vaiśākha, on the seventh day of the bright fortnight, the worshipper should recite the Vedic mantras relating to the sun and listen to the Purāṇas.

One attains all desires. Pippalāda explains this as a way to pacify the malignant aspect of Śukra.

Reference Mats. Pur., 73.1–11. (pp. 336– 337)

The reward is the des- Mats. Pur., truction of all sins and 74.7–20. endless merit (ananta- (pp. 337– phaladā). 339)

One who reads or listens to this vrata attains bliss and becomes unified with Brahmā.

Mats. Pur., 75.1–13. (pp. 340– 341)

One goes to the realm of the sun, becomes free from all diseases (rogavarjita), and liberates one’s ancestors, as well as successors for 21 generations, from bondage. It is the giver of the same benefit as the Aśvamedha sacrifice and one goes to the region of the sun.

Mats. Pur., 76.1–13. (pp. 341– 343)

Mats. Pur., 77.6–17. (pp. 343– 345)

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 32

33

34

35

36

37

Kamala Saptamī Vrata: On the seventh of the bright half of Vasanta, the observer worships the sun god in the form of a golden vessel and gives it to brāhmaṇas. Mandāra Saptamī Vrata: The performer fasts on the sixth of the bright half of Māgha, feeds brāhmaṇas, procures mandāra flowers, and prepares a golden image of the sun. Śubha Saptamī Vrata: A person should observe this vow on the bright fortnight in the month of Āśvina and worship a milch cow with incense, flowers, and sandal paste. A vessel of copper, an ox of gold, etc., should be given to brāhmaṇas. Viśoka Dvādaśī: This falls in the month of Āśvina. The person should worship Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa offering white lotus flowers. Aśoka Dvādaśī Vrata: In this, the image of Guḍadhenu is worshipped with mantras and ten sorts of cow are given away.

Maheśvara Vrata: It is also known as Śiva Caturdaśī. In the month of Mārgaśīrṣa on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight the performer worships Śiva along with his consort Umā. Then brāhmaṇas are given a pitcher full of water and white garments.

Reference

The devotee goes to all seven lokas and enjoys the company of gandharvas and vīdyādharas.

Mats. Pur., 78.1–11. (pp. 345– 346)

This vrata is for men and women both. It is likened to a torch that dispels all sins (sarvapāpanāśin). One goes to heaven and resides there for a kalpa. By this vrata one attains bliss and the region of Viṣṇu (Murāri).

Mats. Pur., 79.1–15. (pp. 346– 348)

By observance of this vrata, separation from dear ones ceases to be painful and the vrata also confers prosperity. The virtuous performer of this vrata (dharmavit) achieves prosperity and is freed from grief and pain. A married woman observing this vrata with music (gīta) and dance (nrṭya) also obtains prosperity. The performer gets the benefit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice, a long life, and prosperity. The woman who observes this vow with the permission of her husband (bhartāram pṛcchya) attains bliss.

Mats. Pur., 80.1–14. (pp. 348– 349)

Mats. Pur., 81.3–27. (pp. 350– 353) Mats. Pur., 82.2–18, 26–30. (pp. 353– 356)

Mats. Pur., 95.5–37. (pp. 394– 398)

(Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 38

39

40

41

42

Reference

This vrata should be observed to the best of their ability by women and poor men too. It is the giver of everlasting boons.

Mats. Pur., 96.1–25. (pp. 398– 401)

Nandikeśvara describes this vrata to Nārada. It is the giver of peace and health. The woman who is devoted to her husband (bhartṛ), god (deva), and preceptor (guru) and observes this vow reaches the solar region. Sūrya Saṅkrānti Vrata: This One attains the realm of vrata is observed on the day Indra. of the equinoxes and the sun god is worshipped. Gifts have to be given to brāhmaṇas. Viṣṇu Vrata: This vrata is The person is liberated performed on the tenth day from all sins, and hunof the bright fortnight in the dreds of ancestors are months of Kārttika, Caitra, also freed and are Vaiśākha, Mārgaśīrṣa, Phāl- always born as a devoguna, and Āṣāḍha. Lord tee of Viṣṇu or Śiva. Viṣṇu is worshipped with This vrata may be perofferings of white sandal formed by very poor and flowers. Golden images men. of the different incarnations of Viṣṇu are given away. Vibhūti Dvādaśī Vrata: This One who observes this vrata is observed in the vrata remains in heaven month of Māgha and alms for hundreds of years are given to brāhmaṇas. and attains prosperity (vibhūti) and nirvāṇa.

Mats. Pur., 97.2–20. (pp. 401– 403)

Phalatyāga Vrata: It commences on the third, twelfth, eighth, or fourteenth day in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa after invoking the brāhmaṇas. Golden images of Śiva and Dharmarāja, along with those of a bull and a cow, are given to a brāhmaṇa couple (sapatnikāya viprāya). Ādityavāra Vrata: In case of the asterism Hasti falling on Sunday, the individual worships the sun god and gives away a milch cow in charity.

Mats. Pur., 98.1–15. (pp. 404– 406)

Mats. Pur., 99.1–21. (pp. 406– 408)

Mats. Pur., 100.1–37. (pp. 408– 413)

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

The worshipper becomes unified with Śiva. Nandikeśvara discusses 62 vratas (discussed below) as explained by Lord Śiva which dispel great sins (pātaka). Rudra Vrata: The person The observer attains doing the vrata has only one Śivaloka. meal a day for a year and gives away one bull of gold and a cow of sesamum to brāhmaṇas. Līlā Vrata: One who gives The person attains away a bull and a blue lotus Viṣṇuloka. made of gold, as well as a vessel of sugar, obtains the rank of Viṣṇu. Prīti Vrata: This vrata begins -doin the month of Āṣāḍha.

Deva Vrata: The worshipper has his meal only in the night for a year and gives away a cow, a trident made of gold, along with a pair of clothes to a brāhmaṇa.

Reference Mats. Pur., 101.2–3. (p. 413)

Mats. Pur., 101.4. (p. 413)

Mats. Pur., 101.5. (p. 414)

Mats. Pur., 101.6. (p. 414) Gaurī Vrata: This vrata is One goes to the realm of Mats. Pur., observed in the month of Pārvatī. 101.7–8. Caitra and gifts are given to (p. 414) brāhmaṇas and their wives. Kāma Vrata: This should be The reward is residence Mats. Pur., observed on the tenth day of in the realm of Viṣṇu till 101.9–10. Pauṣa. One gives away a the end of the kalpa. (p. 414) golden Aśoka tree to a brāhmaṇa. Śiva Vrata: This vrata is One attains Rudraloka. Mats. Pur., observed during the four 101.11–12. months of Āṣāḍha, and a (p. 414) brāhmaṇa is given a pitcher full of honey. Mats. Pur., Saumya Vrata: One gets One attains salvation. 101.13–14. three flowers of gold made (p. 415) according to his means and gives them away in charity invoking the pleasure of Śiva and Viṣṇu. (Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 51

52

53

54

55

56

57

Saubhāgya Vrata: This begins from Phālguna. At the conclusion of this vrata the person should give a bedstead and a house to a brāhmaṇa couple and invoke the pleasure of the goddess Bhavānī. Sārasvata Vrata: The performer maintains the vow of silence in the evening for a year and in the end gives clothes and a bell to a brāhmaṇa. Sampadā Vrata: The performer worships Lakṣmī and keeps a fast on the fifth day of every month for a year, and at the end of it gives away a cow, along with a lotus of gold. Āyur Vrata: One washes the floor in front of an image of Viṣṇu or Śiva for a full year and then gives away a cow with a pitcher of water to brāhmaṇas. Kīrti Vrata: The worshipper takes only one meal a day and worships the pipal tree, the sun, and Gaṅgā together. At the end, a brāhmaṇa is gifted a golden tree with three cows. Sāma Vrata: The observer should make an altar, bathe an image of Śiva or Viṣṇu with ghee, and at the end of the year, give away a lotus of gold to a brāhmaṇa versed in the Sāmaveda. Vīra Vrata: One takes one meal on the ninth day of a month and gives a virgin clothes embroidered with gold, and a golden lion to a brāhmaṇa gets a handsome form.

Reference

The performer’s reward Mats. Pur., is residence for a hun- 101.15–16. dred kalpas in the realm (p. 415) of Pārvatī, equivalent to endless happiness.

This vrata is the giver of beauty (rūpa) and learning (vidyā) and the performer goes to the domain of Sarasvatī. It is the destroyer of all evils (pāpa). One goes to the kingdom of Viṣṇu.

Mats. Pur., 101.17–18. (p. 415)

Mats. Pur., 101.19–20. (p. 415)

It fulfils all desires. One Mats. Pur., is born as a king on this 101.21–22. earth ten thousand (p. 415) times.

It gives the benefit of the Mats. Pur., Aśvamedha sacrifice. 101.23–24. One attains fame and (p. 416) prosperity.

One attains Śivaloka.

Mats. Pur., 101.25–26. (p. 416)

It is the giver of prosper- Mats. Pur., ity to women. The male 101.27–28. worshipper attains a (p. 416) handsome form as well as the realm of Śiva.

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 58

59

60

61

62

63

64

Pitṛ Vrata: The individual takes milk on each full moon day for a year, and after performing śrāddha, gives away five milch cows along with pitchers of water to brāhmaṇas. Ānanda Vrata: The observer offers water to the needy from the month of Caitra and later gives a water jar (manikā) with grain, clothes, gold, and a pot containing sesamum to a brāhmaṇa. Dhṛti Vrata: One bathes in pañcāmṛta consisting of five ingredients: milk, sugar, clarified butter, curd, and honey for a year and gives these ingredients along with a cow to a brāhmaṇa. Ahiṃsā Vrata: The performer abstains from eating meat for a year and gives away a cow or deer of gold. Sūrya Vrata: In the month of Māgha one bathes early in the morning and worships a brāhmaṇa and his wife with offerings of garlands, ornaments, and clothes. Viṣṇu Vrata: One bathes early in the morning and feeds brāhmaṇas for a period of four months starting from Āṣāḍha and gives away a cow in the month of Kārttika. Śīla Vrata: One should abstain from flowers and ghee from one solstice to another. Brāhmaṇas are to be fed with rice cooked in sugar and milk.

The devotee Viṣṇuloka.

Reference attains Mats. Pur., 101.30. (p. 416)

One becomes a king at Mats. Pur., the end of the kalpa and 101.31–32. goes to the domain of (p. 417) Brahmā.

One attains Viṣṇuloka.

Mats. Pur., 101.33–34. (p. 417)

One reaps the fruits of virtues and becomes a king at the end of the kalpa. One resides in the realm of the sun.

Mats. Pur., 101.35. (p. 417)

One attains Viṣṇuloka.

Mats. Pur., 101.37. (p. 417)

Mats. Pur., 101.36. (p. 417)

This vow is the giver of Mats. Pur., modesty (śīla) and 101.38–39. health (ārogya). (p. 417)

(Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

Dīpti Vrata: For this vrata one abstains from oil, gives light to the needy, a lamp, and a trident of gold to a brāhmaṇa. Rudra Vrata: One takes for a year barley soaked in cow’s urine and on the third day of the month of Kārttika gives away a cow to a brāhmaṇa. Dṛḍha Vrata: One refrains from the use of sandal, incense, etc., in the month of Caitra and gives away pearls and white clothes to brāhmaṇas. Kānti Vraṭa: One gives up flowers and salt during Vaiśākha and gives away cows to brāhmaṇas. Brahmā Vrata: The observer offers a golden globe of the universe weighing more than 12 tolās to brāhmaṇas, libations to the fire, and offerings to a brāhmaṇa couple. Dhenu Vrata: The devotee consumes only milk for one day and gives away a statue of a “two-faced cow” (ubhayamukhī) i.e., a cow half delivered of her calf, made of a big lump of gold, to brāhmaṇas. Kalpa Vrata: The performer should subsist on milk for three days and then get a kalpa tree of gold, weighing more than 4 tolās with a heap of rice for charity. Bhūmi Vrata: One fasts for a month and gives away a beautiful cow to a brāhmaṇa.

Reference

The person goes to the Mats. Pur., realm of Śiva. Later he 101.40–41. is reborn as a man of (p. 418) greatness. It is the giver of everlast- Mats. Pur., ing happiness. One is 101.42–43. born in the realm of (p. 418) Pārvatī. One goes to the region Mats. Pur., of Varuṇa. 101.44 (p. 418)

One attains Viṣṇuloka Mats. Pur., 101.45. and fame (kīrti). (p. 418) One attains Brah- Mats. Pur., maloka and liberation 101.46–48. from the cycle of (p. 418) rebirth.

This liberates one from Mats. Pur., the cycle of rebirth 101.49. (punarāvṛtti) and one (p. 418) attains the highest bliss.

One is unified with Mats. Pur., Brahmā and is freed of 101.50. all sins. (p. 419)

One goes to the realm of Mats. Pur., Viṣṇu. 101.51. (p. 419)

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

Dharā Vrata: One should live on milk for one day, give an image of earth made of gold weighing more than 20 palas to brāhmaṇas. Mahā Vrata: The observer should give away a cow made of molasses on the third day of Māgha or Caitra to brāhmaṇas. Prabhā Vrata: The observer gives a pair of tawnycoloured (kapila) cows to a brāhmaṇa after fasting for a fortnight. Prāpti Vrata: One lives only on one meal a day for a year and gives away a pitcher of water and eatables to brāhmaṇas. Sugati Vrata: On the eighth day of every month for a year, the devotee has only one meal, in the evening, and gives away cows in charity. Vaiśvānara Vrata: One gives fuel to brāhmaṇas during the rainy season, along with a cow. Kṛṣṇa Vrata: On the eleventh day of each month, the performer has his meal in the night and makes gifts to brāhmaṇas at the end of the vrata. Devī Vrata: One should give away a pair of cows after subsisting on milk for a year in this vrata. Bhānu Vrata: The observer should give away a milch cow at the end of a year.

Reference

One resides in Śivaloka. Mats. Pur., 101.52. (p. 419)

One resides in the realm Mats. Pur., of Pārvatī. 101.53. (p. 419)

He goes to Brahmaloka Mats. Pur., and becomes a monarch 101.54. of kings. (p. 419)

The performer of this Mats. Pur., vrata resides in the 101.55. domain of Śiva. (p. 419) One attains Indraloka.

Mats. Pur., 101.56. (p. 419)

One attains maloka.

Brah- Mats. Pur., 101.57. (p. 420) Mats. Pur., One attains Viṣṇuloka. 101.58. (p. 420)

One attains the realm of Mats. Pur., Lakṣmī. 101.59. (p. 420) One goes to the domain Mats. Pur., of the sun god. 101.60. (p. 420) (Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance

Reference

82

Mats. Pur., 101.60. (p. 420)

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

Vaihāyaka Vrata: On the fourth day of each month one has his meal at night only and gives an elephant made of gold to brāhmaṇas. Phala Vrata: One abstains from larger fruit (mahāphala) during Caturmāsa, and gives away the same fruits made of gold along with a pair of cows to brāhmaṇas. Sūrya Vrata: One keeps a total fast on the seventh day of each month for a year and then gives away a lotus of gold and a golden vase to brāhmaṇas. Viṣṇu Vrata: The observer keeps a total fast on the twelfth day of each month and at the end gives cows, cloth, and gold to brāhmaṇas. Vārṣa Vrata: In the month of Kārttika one performs vṛṣotsarga and for a full year has only one meal a day. Prājāpatya Vrata: On the conclusion of Candrāyaṇa observance the devotee gives away a cow and feeds brāhmaṇas. Trayambaka Vrata: On the fourteenth day of each month one lives on a single nightly meal and feeds brāhmaṇas. Ghṛta Vrata: The observer should keep a continuous fast for seven nights and give away a pot of ghee to a brāhmaṇa.

One attains Śivaloka.

One goes to the realm of Mats. Pur., Viṣṇu. 101.62. (p. 420)

One attains Sūryaloka.

Mats. Pur., 101.63. (p. 420)

One attains Viṣṇuloka.

Mats. Pur., 101.64. (p. 420)

One goes to the realm of Mats. Pur., Śiva. 101.65. (p. 421) One goes to the realm of Mats. Pur., Śiva. 101.66. (p. 421)

One attains the realm of Mats. Pur., Śiva. 101.67. (p. 421)

One goes to the region Mats. Pur., of Brahmā. 101.68. (p. 421)

S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

Indra Vrata: One sleeps in the open (ākāśa) during the rainy season and then gives away a milch cow to brāhmaṇas. Kalyāṇa (Śreyo) Vrata: On the third day of each month one eats only raw food.

Reference

One goes to the region Mats. Pur., of Indra. 101.69. (p. 421)

This vrata is believed to bestow all happiness. One is liberated from the cycle of rebirth and goes to the realm of Śiva. Aśva Vrata: The devotee One resides in heaven fasts for a day and gives a and becomes king of chariot with the horses made kings (rājarāja). of gold weighing more than 8 tolās. Hasti Vrata: One should One resides in Satyaobserve this fast and give loka. away a chariot with a pair of elephants to brāhmaṇas. Sukha Vrata: At the end of One becomes the Lord his yearly fast the devotee of yakṣas. gives away a cow to brāhmaṇas. Varuṇa Vrata: The devotee One goes to the realm of passes the night in water and Varuṇa. in the morning gives a cow to a brāhmaṇa. Candra Vrata: One should One goes to the realm of give away a moon of gold at the moon. the end of Candrāyaṇa Vrata to brāhmaṇas. Rudra Vrata: On the eighth One goes to heaven. and fourteenth days in the month of Jyaiṣṭha the devotee gives away cows to brāhmaṇas in the evening after warming himself with five fires (pañcatapa).

Mats. Pur., 101.70. (p. 421)

Mats. Pur., 101.71. (p. 421)

Mats. Pur., 101.72. (p. 421) Mats. Pur., 101.73. (p. 422) Mats. Pur., 101.74. (p. 422) Mats. Pur., 101.75. (p. 422) Mats. Pur., 101.76. (p. 422)

(Continued)

Table 4.3 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days Significance 98

99

100

101

102

103

104

Bhavānī Vrata: One makes a canopy in a temple of Śiva on the third day of every month and gives away a cow to brāhmaṇas at the end of the year. Pavana Vrata: In the month of Māgha, one wears white garments in the night and on the seventh day of the month, gives away cows to brāhmaṇas. Dhāma Vrata: In the month of Phālguṇa one maintains a fast for three nights and gives away a good house to brāhmaṇas. Indra Vrata: One should give to a brāhmaṇa and his wife ornaments and cows along with grain after observing the fast. Soma Vrata: One gives away a vessel of salt in the name of the moon and at the end of the year gives cows in charity to brāhmaṇas. Śiva Vrata: On each Pratipadā (first day of a fortnight) the devotee has only one meal and gives away tawnycoloured (kapila) cows to brāhmaṇas. Viśva Vrata: On the tenth day of every month one has only one meal, and after a year, gives away ten coins made of gold.

Reference

One goes to the region Mats. Pur., of Śiva. 101.77. (p. 422)

One resides in heaven.

Mats. Pur., 101.78. (p. 422)

One attains happiness Mats. Pur., and Sūryaloka. 101.79. (p. 422)

One attains liberation Mats. Pur., 101.80. (mokṣa). (p. 422)

One goes to the realm of Mats. Pur., Śiva. 101.81 (p. 422)

One attains Agniloka.

Mats. Pur., 101.82. (p. 423)

It is said that one who Mats. Pur., reads or narrates about 101.83. this vrata remains the (p. 423) lord of the gandharvas for a period of one hundred manvantaras.

Vratas, rituals, Purāṇic social hierarchy

209

The Agni Purāṇa The Agni Purāṇa21 discusses the following ten virtues that must be cultivated by any person contemplating performing any of the vratas, forbearance (kṣamā), truthfulness (satya), compassion (dayā), charity (dāna), purity of body and mind (śauca), curbing the organs of senses (indriyāṇigraha), worship of images (devapūjā), making offerings to the fire (agniharaṇa), contentment (santoṣa), and not depriving another of his property (asteya). This ten-fold dharma is declared common to all vratas. In this Purāṇa, the most important tithi is ekādaśī in the month of Āṣāḍha. A voluminous literature has grown around ekādaśī in the Purāṇas. The vrata kept on growing in popularity to such an extent that separate names were invented for the 24 ekādaśīs of the twelve months of the lunar year. The restrictions that the person observing this fast are many. Women play an important part in these vratas. They also sing and play musical instruments as part of the rites. Most of the vratas in the Agni Purāṇa as illustrated in the following table deal with tithi vratas, māsa vratas, nakṣatra vratas, and saṅkrānti vratas. They were to be performed by men and women both, and some of them were said to have been performed by kings, gods, and sages. The Agni Purāṇa also stresses that vratas were to be observed not merely for atonement of sins, but for more concrete benefits of prosperity and salvation (bhukti-mukti). Table 4.4 Types and Significance of Vratas in Agni Purāṇa S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

1

Pratipadā Tithi (the first phase of the moon’s waxing): Occurring in the months of Kārttika or Caitra, it is held sacred to Brahmā. The God of Fire describes the vrata to be performed on a Pratipadā Tithi. Offerings of thickened milk are offered to the deity while repeating the Gāyatrī mantra. Dhānya Vrata: This is to be observed in the month of Māgha to honour the fire-god. The vratī should observe a fast and offer libations of ghee to the fire in the night.

It grants prosperity (bhukti) and salvation (mukti).

Agn. Pur., 176.1–3. (p. 474)

It bestows all good things (sarvabhāga) in life to the worshipper.

Agn. Pur., 176.4–5. (p. 474)

2

(Continued)

Table 4.4 (Continued) S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

3

Śikhi Vrata: On the Pratipadā Tithi the devotee takes only one meal.

Agn. Pur., 176.6. (p. 474)

4

Yama Vrata: It is undertaken in the bright fortnight of Kārttika. For a year, the twin gods, the Aśvins, are worshipped and the devotee lives on a diet of flowers. The vrata should be undertaken in the light fortnight of Kārttika. The god of death is worshipped, and the devotee observes a fast on all Dvitīyā Tithis. Aśūnyaśayanam Vrata: This should be performed in the Dvitīyā Tithi in the month of Śrāvaṇa. The goddess Lakṣmī is worshipped.

Such a vow, when observed, bestows on the performer the characteristic divinity of the fire-god (Vaiśvanarapada). The devotee attains beauty and enjoyment (svarūpasaubhāgya) in this life and the next.

The man who performs this vrata with his wife enjoys all the good things of the world and attains salvation after death. Husband and wife remain united. This was to be performed by husband and wife together to attain salvation.

Agn. Pur., 177.3–7, 8–13. (p. 475)

This vrata was performed earlier by gods and kings. The performer attains all that he desires.

Agn. Pur., 177.15–19. (p. 476)

5

6

7

Kānti Vrata: This should be practised in the bright fortnight in the month of Kārttika. For a year, the performer fasts in the day and takes his meal in the night on the occasion of each Dvitīyā Tithi. Viṣṇu Vrata: The devotee bathes for four consecutive days in the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Pauṣa. Offerings should be made to Viṣṇu and the moon god.

Agn. Pur., 177.1–2. (p. 475)

Agn. Pur., 177.14. (p. 476)

S. No. 8

9

10

11

Vratas

Significance

Reference

Gaurī Vrata: This should be performed on the occasion of Lalitā Tṛtīyā. On the day of the third phase of the moon’s increase, in the month of Caitra, the god Hara married Gaurī. The feet of the divine pair are worshipped. Then eight goddesses and the pair of Umā-Maheśvara are offered white flowers and ghee. At the close of the vrata, a bed, holy thread, ghee, a golden bull, and images of Umā and Maheśvara are given to a brāhmaṇa. Saubhāgyaśayana Vrata: This should be undertaken on the day of the third phase of the moon’s waxing phase in the months of Bhādra (Nabhasya), Vaiśākha, or Mārgaśīrṣa in which the goddess Lalitā (Gaurī) is worshipped and twenty-four brāhmaṇas sumptuously feasted. Damanaka Tṛtīyā: This is also performed on the day of the third quarter moon. Gaurī is worshipped with an offering of a damanaka plant which belongs to the sunflower family. Ātma Tṛtīyā Vrata: This is performed on the day of the third quarter moon in the month of Māgha. Goddesses such as Gaurī, Kālī, Umā, Bhadrā, Kānti, Sarasvatī, Vaiṣṇavī, Lakṣmī, Prakṛti, and Nārāyaṇī are worshipped.

The vratī enjoys all comforts of this world and attains salvation.

Agn. Pur., 178.2. (pp. 476– 478)

The vratī enjoys all good things of the world, i.e., luck (saubhāgya), health (ārogya), beauty (rūpa), and longevity (āyu).

Agn. Pur., 178.21–23. (p. 478)

The performer enjoys all good things (saubhāgya) of the world.

Agn. Pur., 178.25–27. (p. 479)

One attains heaven.

Agn. Pur., 178.27–28. (p. 479)

(Continued)

Table 4.4 (Continued) S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

12

Caturthī: It is undertaken in the month of Māgha. The vratī should observe a fast and worship the god Gaṇa (Gaṇeśa). On the day of Pañcamī, the vratī should offer boiled rice mixed with sesamum seeds to the god. Caturthī Vrata. It is also known as Avighnā Caturthī. It is to be performed in the months of Māgha, Bhādra, Phālguna, and Caitra in honour of god Gaṇeśa. Ṣaṣṭhī Vrata: This is to be performed in the month of Kārttika. The vratī should eat only fruits on the day of the vrata, and offer argha and other oblations to the deity. Skandaṣaṣṭhī Vrata: This is to be performed in honour of god Skanda on the day of the sixth phase of the moon’s increase in the month of Bhādra. Kṛṣṇaṣaṣṭhī Vrata: It should be undertaken on a tithi occurring in the month of Māgha.

A man attains everything (sarva) by worshipping god Gaṇeśa.

Agn. Pur., 179.1–2. (pp. 479– 480)

One achieves the realm of Gaṇeśa.

Agn. Pur., 179.4–5. (p. 480)

One attains enjoyment and salvation.

Agn. Pur., 181.1. (p. 480)

It gives (mukti).

salvation

Agn. Pur., 181.2. (p. 481)

It is undertaken for salvation (mukti) as well as a prestigious career on the earth. By this vrata, grief can never touch a man and one is purged of all sins.

Agn. Pur., 181.2. (p. 481)

This is the Janmāṣṭamī Vrata. It bestows offspring, wealth, longevity, and health. One goes to the region of Viṣṇu. The observer becomes the master of fabulous wealth.

Agn. Pur., 183.1–18. (p. 483)

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Saptamī Vrata: It is performed on the day of the seventh phase of the moon’s waxing or increase. The vratī worships Sūrya in the months of Māgha, Pauṣa, and Phālguna. Aṣṭamī Vratas: The devotee worships the god Kṛṣṇa along with Devakī, Yaśodā, Nanda, and Vasudeva under the asterism Rohiṇī in the month of Bhādra. Mātṛ Pūjā: This is performed in honour of the eight Mātṛs by worshipping Kṛṣṇa in the month of Caitra.

Agn. Pur., 182.1–4. (p. 481)

Agn. Pur., 184.1. (p. 483)

S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

20

Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī Vrata: This is performed in the month of Māgha. The devotee worships Śiva in the month of Pauṣa, Maheśvara in the month of Māgha, and other manifestations of Śiva in the month of Jyaiṣṭha, Āṣāḍha, and Kārttikā. The homa ceremony should be performed at the close of the year with gifts of cows, cloth, and gold to brāhmaṇas. Svargatī Vrata: This is practised on the occasion of an Aṣṭamī tithi occurring either in the light or dark fortnight of a month. Men who observe the vow live on food prepared with eight times the quantity of rice as would be contained in the hollow of the palm covered with the last three fingers. Goddess Ambikā should be worshipped. Buddhāṣṭamī Vrata: This is performed on the eighth tithi of a month.

The vratī attains enjoyment and salvation.

Agn. Pur., 184.2–8. (p. 483)

Devotees gain prosperity.

Agn. Pur., 184.9–20. (p. 484)

It grants enjoyment and an elevated existence after death. It gives heaven to pitṛs. Grief can never approach a person who performs this vrata.

Agn. Pur., 184.9–20. (p. 484)

21

22

23

24

25

Aśokāṣṭamī Vrata: On the eighth day of the bright half of Caitra marked by the asterism Punarvasu the Aśoka tree is worshipped. Gaurīnavamī Vrata: This is performed in the ninth phase of the moon’s increase in the month of Āśvina. The Devī is worshipped on this occasion. Piṣṭāśīnavamī Vrata: This is performed on the same day marked by the presence of the sun in the Mūla at the sign of Virgo and piṣṭāsi (ground food) is eaten that day.

Agn. Pur., 184.21–23. (p. 485)

This grants prosperity and salvation (bhukti-mukti).

Agn. Pur., 185.2. (p. 485)

One is absolved from sin (pātaka).

Agn. Pur., 185.2. (p. 485)

(Continued)

Table 4.4 (Continued) S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

26

Aghārdana (sin-expiating) Navamī: Goddess Nava Durgā, possessed of 8, 10, or 16 hands, installed in a maṇḍapa is worshipped. Her other manifestations are successively worshipped. The man who carries the image of the goddess offers animal sacrifice or plants, and a banner on the top of her temple, enjoys all bliss. Daśamī Vrata: It should be practised on the tenth day of the moon’s wane or increase. A gift of ten cows should be made at the close of the vrata, and gold should be given to brāhmaṇas. Ekādaśī Vrata: This is performed on days of the eleventh phase of the moon’s increase or decrease in honour of Viṣṇu. A man should break his fast on Trayodaśī.

It gives endless merit and one overcomes all impediments in life.

Agn. Pur., 185.4–15. (p. 486)

One becomes a chief (adhipati) of Brahmā.

Agn. Pur., 186.1. (p. 487)

Vratas in the eleventh tithi are extremely significant. Certain Ekādaśīs like Pāpanāśinī (destroyer of sins) and Vijayā (victory) give prosperity. One is absolved of all sins and gets Viṣṇuloka and attains the merit of having performed 100 Aśvamedha sacrifices. Such an observance brings salvation.

Agn. Pur., 187.1–9. (p. 487)

One gets all earthly possessions.

Agn. Pur., 188.4. (p. 488)

27

28

29

30

Madana Dvādaśī: On the day of the twelfth phase of the moon’s increase in the month of Caitra the worshipper worships the god Hari and the god of love. Bhīma Dvādaśī Vrata: Nārāyaṇa is worshipped on the twelfth of the bright half of Māgha.

Agn. Pur., 188.1–3. (p. 488)

S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

31

Govinda Dvādaśī Vrata: This is practised on a similar tithi in the month of Phālguna. Viśoka Dvādaśī Vrata: Hari is worshipped in the month of Āśvina in the twelfth phase of the moon’s increase and one makes gifts to brāhmaṇas. Govatsa Dvādaśī Vrata: Calves are worshipped in the twelfth of the bright half. Tila Dvādaśī Vrata: On the twelfth phase of the moon’s wane in the month of Caitra, offerings of sesamum, libations of water, and homa offerings are made to the gods and pitṛs. Manoratha Dvādaśī Vrata: It is observed on the twelfth day of the bright half of Phālguna in honour of Viṣṇu. Nāma Dvādaśī Vrata: On each dvādaśī throughout the year the performer worships Viṣṇu, addressing him by names such as Keśava. Sumati Dvādaśī Vrata: It occurs in the twelfth phase of the moon’s increase in the month of Phālguna. Ananta Dvādaśī Vrata: This is performed on the twelfth of the bright half of Bhādra for Viṣṇu. Tila Dvādaśī Vrata: The performer of the vrata should worship Kṛṣṇa in the month of Māgha marked by Aśleṣa or Mūla and perform the homa ceremony by casting libations of ghee into the fire. Sugati Dvādaśī Vrata: The devotee begins this vrata on the day of the twelfth phase of the month of Phālguna and worship Kṛṣṇa on all the subsequent dvādaśīs.

One gets all that is desired.

Agn. Pur., 188.5. (p. 488) Agn. Pur., 188.6. (p. 488)

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

One acquires the merit of getting articles of taste as gifts (sarvarasadāyaka). -do-

The man who practises this vow ascends to heaven.

One’s sins are forgiven and one is saved from going to hell. The performer is absolved of all sins.

Agn. Pur., 188.7. (p. 488) Agn. Pur., 188.8–10. (p. 489)

Agn. Pur., 188.11. (p. 489) Agn. Pur., 188.12. (p. 489)

One attains Viṣṇuloka.

Agn. Pur., 188.11. (p. 489)

-do-

Agn. Pur., 188.14. (p. 489) Agn. Pur., 188.13. (p. 489)

This gives bhuktimukti.

The performer secures a good place in the next world.

Agn. Pur., 188.14. (p. 489)

(Continued)

Table 4.4 (Continued) S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

41

Samprāpti Dvādaśī: This should be practised in the month of Pauṣa. Śrāvaṇa Dvādaśī Vrata: Observed on the twelfth day of the moon’s increase in the month of Bhādra in honour of the dwarf manifestation of Viṣṇu. Flowers, ghee, and pitchers full of curd are offered to brāhṃanas. Akhaṇḍa Dvādaśī Vrata: It is complementary to all vratas. Begun on the day of the twelfth day of the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Māgha, the vrata is repeated in the following four months, and barley is given to a brāhmaṇa in the month of Caitra. The vow is completed in the month of Kārttika. Anaṅgatrayodaśī Vrata: This was first observed by Kāmadeva on the day of the thirteenth day of the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Māgha. Different manifestations of Śiva are worshipped in the month of Pauṣa, Māgha, Phālguna, Caitra, Vaiśākha, Jyaiṣṭḥa, and Agrahāyana. Clothes, gifts of a cow, umbrella, pitcher, and shoes are offered to brāhmaṇas. Kāmatrayodaśī: This is practised on the day of the thirteenth day of the moon’s waxing phase. An image of the celestial elephant known as Aśoka painted with red lead is worshipped each day at nightfall throughout the year.

One attains bhuktimukti.

-do-

Agni, the god of fire, further describes the vrata. This is the greatest of all vratas and gives endless merit.

Agn. Pur., 189.1–15. (p. 490)

This vrata confers longevity, good luck (saubhāgya), and health to the performer.

Agn. Pur., 190.1–6. (pp. 490– 491)

One attains heaven (diva) after death.

Agn. Pur., 191.1–9. (p. 492)

One obtains desired objects.

Agn. Pur., 191.10. (p. 492)

42

43

44

45

all

S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

46

Phalacaturdaśī: The vratī observes a fast and worships Śiva in the month of Kārttika. Similarly, the vratī practises selfcontrol of body and mind on the third, eighth, twelfth, or fourteenth day of the moon’s waxing phase. Indradhvajotsava: On the occasion of dark fortnight (Caturdaśī) in the month of Kārttika, poles are set up with streamers unfurled in honour of Indra and the god invoked and worshipped over the flag posts. Anantacaturdaśī Vrata: The Ananta manifestation of Hari is worshipped on the day of the fourteenth day of the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Kārttika. The vrata should be heard or recited (kathām kṛtvā) near a pond, and a thread should be tied around the wrist of the vratī. Śivarātri Vrata: The devotee observes a fast on the occasion of a dark fortnight (Caturdaśī) occurring in the months of Māgha and Phālguna.

One would be able to enjoy all good things (bhogāḥ).

Agn. Pur., 192.1–3. (p. 492)

The vratī happiness.

attains

Agn. Pur., 192.6–7. (p. 493)

It frees the devotee from all sins.

Agn. Pur., 192.8–11. (p. 493)

Makes a man the envied possessor of all good things from the earth and liberates him from the cycle of birth and death. The performer attains enjoyment and salvation.

Agn. Pur., 193.1–6. (p. 494)

The man goes to the region of Śiva.

Agn. Pur., 194.2. (p. 495) Agn. Pur., 194.3. (p. 495)

47

48

49

50

51

52

Aśoka Pūrṇimā Vrata: It is observed on the full moon day in Caitra for the Bhūdhāra manifestation of Śiva and is observed for a year. Vṛṣa Vrata: The rite of Vṛṣotsarga is performed in the month of Kārttika. Pitṛyamāvāsī Vrata: Libations of water should be offered to one’s departed manes on the occasion of this Amāvāsī.

By observing this fast and propitiating the ancestors, a man becomes purged of all sins (niṣpāpa).

Agn. Pur., 194.1. (p. 494)

(Continued)

Table 4.4 (Continued) S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

53

Sāvitrī Vrata: This should be observed on the day of the new moon in the month of Jyaiṣṭha. The female vratī fasts for three consecutive days and worships Sāvitrī, the model of chastity, with the grains known as saptadhānya, underneath a vaṭa tree. On the same day, brāhmaṇas are fed with sumptuous food. Vāra Vrata: These vratas are performed on different days of the week or on days marked by different asterisms and astral combinations like Hasta, Punarvasu, Citrā, Viśākhā, Anurādhā, Jyaiṣṭhā, and Mūla. Nakṣatrapuruṣa Vrata: In this, Hari is manifest as Nakṣatrapuruṣa (an imaginary figure whose body is supposed to be composed of the clusters of asterisms, grouped so as to form its different parts during the ascendancy of twenty-seven nakṣatras). Śambhavayanīya Vrata: This should be practised in the month of Kārttika and Māgha under the auspices of Kṛttikā or Mṛgaśirā. Each month, the performer worships Viṣṇu’s manifestation as Nakṣatrapuruṣa. Ananta Vrata: This is the greatest of the boon-conferring vratas. Hari is worshipped under the auspices of Mṛgaśirā in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa. Trirātra Vrata: This is observed on ninth day of the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Māgha. Viṣṇu is worshipped with libations of ghee containing grains of sālī rice.

Women become exceptionally fortunate (saubhāgyā).

Agn. Pur., 194.5–7. (p. 495)

Through such vratas, a man is sure to attain bliss in this life, good health, and salvation.

Agn. Pur., 195.1–5. (p. 495)

Through such vratas, a man is sure to attain bliss in this life; it is the giver of all desired objects (arthada).

Agn. Pur., 196.1–7. (pp. 496– 497)

The vrata grants all comforts, fulfilment of all desires, and prosperity (vṛddhi).

Agn. Pur., 196.8–17. (p. 497)

It grants infinite merit (anantapuṇya) and joy.

Agn. Pur., 196.18–19. (p. 498)

The vratī becomes the master of limitless wealth and goes to the region of Viṣṇu.

Agn. Pur., 196.20–22. (p. 498)

54

55

56

57

58

S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

59

Dhenu Vrata: This cow-giving vrata is observed by making the gift of a cow, clothes, and bedding to brāhmaṇas. These are observed on lunar days. Kārttika Vrata: The vratī worships Viṣṇu on the tenth day of the moon’s increasing phase in the month of Kārttika. He gifts five goats to a brāhmaṇa and breaks his fast at night to attain the highest felicity. Kṛcch-Mahendra Vrata: On the sixth day of the phase of the moon’s increasing phase in the month of Kārttika, the vratī drinks only milk for the first three nights and fasts on the next three. Kṛcchaḥ Bhāskara Vrata: On the eleventh day of the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Kārttika, the devotee eats only curd and drinks only milk on the next five days. Śantapana Vrata: The vratī eats wheat articles, curd, and thickened milk while observing this vrata. Māsa Vratas: The devotee observes a fast extending over a period of a month and makes the gift of a cow to brāhmaṇas. These fasts are observed in different months of the year. Guḍa Vrata: During the third quarter moon, one gives gifts of guḍa (treacle) and a cow in the months of Caitra and Vaiśākha. This can be observed in different months of a year. Nakta Vrata: This fast is observed in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa.

The man attains Brahmapada.

Agn. Pur., 197.1–10. (p. 499)

One attains bhuktimukti.

Agn. Pur., 197.11–13. (p. 499)

One acquires immense wealth (artha).

Agn. Pur., 197.14–15. (p. 499)

One acquires immense wealth.

Agn. Pur., 197.14–15. (p. 499)

-do-

Agn. Pur., 197.16. (pp. 499– 500) Agn. Pur., 198.1. (p. 500)

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

They grant enjoyment in this life and salvation in the next.

It grants enjoyment in this life and salvation in the next.

Agn. Pur., 198.2. (p. 500)

It allows one to go to the region of Viṣṇu.

Agn. Pur., 198.4–5. (p. 500) (Continued)

Table 4.4 (Continued) S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

67

Ekabhakta Dvādaśī and the Tila Vrata: It should be observed for four consecutive days. These are observed in different months of a year. On this day the performer is to subsist on one meal a day. Cāturmāsya Vrata: It should begin in the month of Śrāvaṇa/ Āṣāḍha and should be observed for four months. Hari (Viṣṇu) manifests himself as the sun god and should be worshipped to acquire all desired objects. Maunī Vrata: The devotee takes a vow of silence.

They grant enjoyment in this life and salvation in the next and all desires are fulfilled.

Agn. Pur., 198.5. (p. 500)

One goes to the region of Viṣṇu.

Agn. Pur., 198.6–8. (p. 500)

One goes to the region of Viṣṇu.

Candrāyaṇa Vrata: On the first day of the dark half of the month the devotee begins the vrata by taking a meal of fifteen morsels; he reduces his meal by one morsel on each subsequent day, thus going without any food on the day of Amāvasyā. Prājāpatya Vrata: The vratī performs this by living on a diet of powdered wheat and barley. Kaumuda Vrata: This is observed in the month of Āśvina on the twelfth day of the moon’s waxing phase. Lotus, water flowers, and naividya (offerings to the gods) illuminated by lamps of oil and ghee are offered to Viṣṇu. Agni Vrata: By making gifts of a cow and ghee to a brāhmaṇa, one is said to observe Agni Vrata. Sarasvatī Vrata: This is to be observed by practising absolute silence for a month. Gifts of bells, clothes, and sesamum are made to brāhmaṇas.

-do-

Agn. Pur., 198.11. (p. 501) Agn. Pur., 198.11. (p. 501)

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

One attains heaven.

Agn. Pur., 198.11–13. (p. 501)

The observer attains wealth, prosperity, salvation, and the four-fold aims of human life (puruṣārtha-catuṣṭaya).

Agn. Pur., 198.14–15. (p. 501)

One attains salvation.

Agn. Pur., 199.1–2. (p. 501) Agn. Pur., 199.2–3. (p. 501)

A man attains absolute felicity.

S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

75

Viṣṇu Vrata: The observer should offer edibles to Viṣṇu on the eleventh day of the waxing phase of the moon in the month of Caitra. Devī Vrata: The man should eat rice and milk pudding (payas) and make a gift of a pair of cows to brāhmaṇas. Saṅkrānti Vrata: The devotee observes a vigil on the night of saṅkrānti. Similarly, on the occasion of an Amāvasyā occurring on a saṅkrānti day the devotee worships Śiva and the sun god. On the day of the sun’s first appearance on the Tropic of Cancer, the devotee worships Keśava. This is Karka Saṅkrānti. The devotee performs the rite of ablution unto the image of Keśava with thickened milk and ghee on the occasion of the sun’s twice passing over the equator (Viṣuva Saṅkrānti). All these vows are to be practised on the occasion of the sun’s passing over to a new zodiacal sign. Umā Vrata: Women are supposed to observe this on the third or the eighth day of the moon’s waxing phase. It consists in worshipping Umā and Maheśvara.

One attains Viṣṇupada.

Agn. Pur., 199.4–5. (p. 502)

One becomes a king.

-do-

One gets absolved of all sins (sarvapāpāḥ) and impieties.

Agn. Pur., 199.7–8. (p. 502)

This vrata is to be observed by women only. The reward is that the devotee woman is never subjected to feeling the pangs of separation from her consort. The woman, who worships the sun god, takes birth as a man in her next birth. The devotee becomes father of a large and happy family and attains heaven.

Agn. Pur., 199.9–10. (p. 502)

76

77

78

79

Dīpadāna Vrata: This is the lamp-giving vrata, in which lamps are lit in honour of Viṣṇu in the month of Kārttika.

Agn. Pur., 200.1–9. (p. 502) (Continued)

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Table 4.4 (Continued) S. No.

Vratas

Significance

Reference

80

Bhīṣmapañcaka Vrata: This is observed on the eleventh day of the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Kārttika. Libations of water to the gods and the departed manes are offered with different sorts of vrīhi (rice) and sesame. The rite of ablution should be done unto the image of Hari. The lamps are kept lit day and night before the image. The vratī sleeps on the floor and consumes cowdung, the urine of cow, curd, and milk. Kaumuda Vrata: Hari is worshipped for a month. This vrata is begun on the eleventh day of the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Kārttika. The image of the god should be smeared with sandal paste and saffron. The vratī keeps the lamp lit and brāhmaṇas fed.

This is the king of vratas (vratarājā). The vrata is named after the hero (Bhīṣma) who practised it in a bygone age and attained Hari because of it.

Agn. Pur., 205.1–9. (pp. 512– 513)

The devotee attains great merit (puṇya).

Agn. Pur., 207.1–5. (p. 515)

81

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa As we have observed in the preceding chapter, certain rituals were carried out by women exclusively. Among the primary examples are Kātyāyanī and the Puṁsavana Vratas, which were aimed at gaining a desirable husband and bearing a son, respectively. Initially, the Puṁsavana was a mantra-based Vedic rite (saṁskāra) performed with the aim of having a male child, undertaken during the third or fourth month of pregnancy. However, by the time of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, it was converted into a vrata. The following table mentions vratas, utsavas, and auspicious days. There are references to some vratas in the context of Kṛṣṇa’s life which were performed exclusively by women, some of which acquired the character of a community festival such as Govardhana Pūjā. There were still other vratas that were prescribed for men and women both for the purpose of attaining prosperity, good fortune, emancipation, and everlasting happiness.

Table 4.5 Vratas, Utsavas, and Auspicious Days S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days 1

2

3

4 5 6 7

8

9

Puṁsavana Vrata: This should be undertaken by a woman with the permission of her husband (bhartṛ) on the first day of the bright fortnight in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa. She should worship Lord Mahāviṣṇu with his consort Śrī. Uttarāyaṇa: Certain days are considered auspicious and conducive to good fortune for śrāddhas and for the observance of a sacred vow.

Significance

Reference

Śuka narrates to king Bhāg. Pur., Parīkṣit that it was 6.19.2–28. observed by Diti. This is (pp. 199–202) particularly for young married women (yoṣitā) who are blessed with good fortune, prosperity, and progeny.

Sage Nārada explained to Yudhiṣṭhira when auspicious rites are to be performed. Holy acts like ritual ablutions, repetition of mantras, sacrifice in the fire, observance of vows, worship of devas, and making gifts in the name of ancestors should be performed on these days, which bestow everlasting benefits. Dakṣiṇāyana Mahālaya, -doi.e., the dark fortnight in the month of Bhādrapada. -doViṣuva Saṅkrānti -doAkṣaya Tṛtīyā Akṣaya Navamī: Ninth of -dothe bright half of Kārttika. Mārgaśīrṣa Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: -doEighth lunar day in the dark half of Mārgaśirṣa. Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: The worshipper enjoys Pauṣa Eighth lunar day in the everlasting peace. dark half of Pauṣa. Māgha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: -doEighth lunar day in dark half of Māgha.

Bhāg. Pur., 7.14.20–26. (p. 282)

-do-

-do-do-do-do-

-do-

-do-

(Continued)

Table 4.5 (Continued) S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days 10

11

12

13

14

Phālgunakṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī: Eighth lunar day in the dark half of Phālguna. Māghī Saptamī: Seventh of the bright half of Māgha, also called Ratha Saptamī. Māghī Pūrṇimā: The full moon day of Māgha when the constellation Māgha is in ascendant. Payovrata: The performer should observe this vow of subsisting only on milk for twelve days in the bright fortnight of the month of Phālguna and worship the lotus-eyed lord Vāsudeva. He should arrange pañcāmṛta consisting of five ingredients: milk, sugar, clarified butter, curd, and honey for the deity, and offer food/ rice cooked in milk. Proper dakṣiṇā is to be given to the ācārya, and even the lowest outcaste (śvapāka) must be fed to satisfaction. There must be a place for dance (nṛtya), song (gīta), and instrumental music (vāditra). Kātyāyanī Vrata: An image of Devī is to be installed and she is worshipped with sandal paste, incense, flowers, leaves, cereals, and food offerings and is invoked with the salutation, “Wishing to make Nanda’s son our husband.”

Significance

Reference

-do-

-do-

-do-

-do-

-do-

-do-

Sage Kaśyapa instructs Bhāg. Pur., his wife Diti to perform 8.16.22–62. this vrata. It is called a (pp. 358–363) comprehensive yajña and vow (sarvayajña and sarvavrata). It is the essence of all austerity and all charity, and grants desired boons (varāḥ).

This vrata was observed Bhāg. Pur., by maidens of Vraj 10.22.1–5. (vrajakumārīkās) at the (p. 132) beginning of Hemanta (winter season). They worshipped Devī for a month, praying to get Kṛṣṇa as their husband.

Vratas, rituals, Purāṇic social hierarchy S. No. Vratas and Auspicious Days 15

16

17

18

Significance

Indra Yajña: Performed Nanda tells Kṛṣṇa that for propitiating Indra man depends entirely on who is the lord of rains. rain. This allows man to achieve the trivarga (three goals of dharma, artha, and kāma) and so lord Indra is to be worshipped through the yajña. Over a period of time, this yajña began to be celebrated as Govardhana Pūjā. Govardhana Pūjā: To On Kṛṣṇa’s persuasion, instill faith in the minds of the gopas performed this the gopas and other pūjā in honour of cows, inhabitants of Vraj, Kṛṣṇa brāhmaṇas, and the said that Mount Govard- mountain against the hana should be wor- heavy downpour of rain, shipped because it pro- to the discomfiture of tects from rain and pro- Indra, with mantras vides for the cattle. With which pointedly refer to this, the gopas prostrated Kṛṣṇa giving protection themselves before the to the settlement of cowmountain, and made herds. This pūjā was offerings to holy men with performed by ordinary purificatory utterances. people. Abhrāvakāsa Vrata: The One who desires to be a performer should expose vānaprastha in the third himself to torrential rain. stage of life is expected This was more of a pen- to practise austere penances which can take ance. him to liberation. Udakavāsa Vrata: In win- -doter, the observer should submerge himself in neckdeep water.

225

Reference Bhāg. Pur., 10.24.1–11. (p. 141)

Bhāg. Pur., 10.24.25–34. (pp. 141–145)

Bhāg. Pur., 11.18.4–5. (p. 90)

Bhāg. Pur., 11.18.4–5. (p. 90)

Purāṇic vratas – women’s agency alongside brahmanical control An analysis of the nature and function of the vratas leads to the conclusion that they were not an invention of the Purāṇic composers but were popularised by them through tales and myths, and also given the weight of brahmanical injunctions and approval. The emergence

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of a new kind of religiosity in the Purāṇas saw the yajñas losing their pre-eminent position in the ritual-based traditions. Yajñas were not altogether abandoned, but were generally replaced with new activities such as bhakti, pūjā, and vratas in terms of significance and popularity. In this context, it has to be recognised that the performance of vratas constitutes the most important method for granting agency to women, while at the same time controlling their sexuality. The vratas blended with the emphasis on theistic worship in the Purāṇas, especially with the worship of Viṣṇu, Śiva, Devī, and other deities like Gaṇeśa, Lakṣmī, and Pārvatī. The idea of observing vratas for the attainment of heaven was associated with various gods and goddesses. A study of the vratas in the Purāṇas clearly reveals that there is a marked difference between the early Purāṇas (Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Matsya) and the later (Agni and Bhāgavata) that we have examined in the course of our study. In the Viṣṇu and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas, not much space has been devoted to the subject of vratas. The Matsya, on the other hand, contains significant material on the vratas, as do the Agni and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa lays down clear rules of procedure for several vratas that deal with rites and customs such as funeral sacrifices, tithis, worship of Viṣṇu, and pacification of planets, which, interestingly, also formed the subject matter of the Smṛtis like those of Manu and Yājñavalkya. However, the text goes on to expound the astrological significance of the tithis, weekdays, and nakṣatras, and discusses what are called festivals (utsavas) in which the element of religious covenants and pledges is strong. Some of the popular festivals listed include Kārttika Pūrṇimā Snāna, Śakrama, and Govardhana Pūjā in Vraj, which have been discussed at great length in many of the later Purāṇas.22 In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa the term used for fast is upoṣita.23 The vrata spelt out in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa is the Navarātra or the nine-day festival in honour of the goddess Durgā. This vrata is normally performed in the Āśvina Śukla Aṣṭamī, Āśvina Śuklā Navamī, and Śaratkāla Vārṣikī Mahāpūjā. Similar vratas find mention in other Purāṇas. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa discusses the Kātyāyānī Vrata,24 while the Matsya Purāṇa refers to goddesses like Gaurī, Lalitā, and Bhavānī in the Saubhāgya Śayana Vrata, Ananta Tṛtīyā, Ārdrānandakari Tṛtīyā, and Sārasvata Vrata.25 Similar references to the Devī are contained in the Agni Purāṇa in vratas like the Saubhāgyaśayana, Ātmatṛtīyā, Damanaka Tṛtīyā, and Aghārdana Vratas.26 These goddesses were worshipped to ward off evil spirits and to attain happiness.

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Vratas, gifts, and the evolving social hierarchy The information available in the Viṣṇu and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas in some ways closely parallels the developments found in the Agni and Bhāgavata Purāṇas. But the points of departure are equally conspicuous and significant. In the early Purāṇas the focus is mainly on various kinds of gifts, initiation, sacrifices to planets, homa, glorification of brāhmaṇas, tithis, and family-oriented vratas. However, in the later Purāṇas, these aspects are not only highlighted and made more elaborate, but the vratas are also laden with expiatory and purificatory significance. Also, the characteristics of the brāhmaṇas who were the recipients of dāna became more elaborate. In marked contrast to the other early Purāṇas, the Matsya Purāṇa gives exhaustive information on 104 vratas, while the later Purāṇas like Agni deal with 79 vratas and the Bhāgavata discusses about 20 vratas in which the concept of vratas in an institutionalised form finds concrete expression. Ultimately the codification and transmission of the Purāṇas succeeded in creating a public realm characterised by a range of common cultural denominators that left a seemingly indelible impression on society. The clear-cut power equations that were established continue to play a role in the social and political life of the country even today. A very interesting feature that emerges from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is the co-existence of Indra Yajña and Govardhana Pūjā.27 It seems that a kind of rivalry existed between Indra worshippers and the followers of the Kṛṣṇa cult, of which Govardhana Pūjā and cow worship were distinctive features in the Mathura region. In the harvesting season, people prayed to Indra. In the Ṛgveda, Indra was supposed to be the bestower of rain and good harvests. During the autumn season, this yajña was celebrated with fresh and ripe grains. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the worship of Indra is mentioned as a yajña, which suggests that the term came to be used with a changed connotation in the Purāṇas. Govardhana Pūjā, which was originally a community festival performed by ordinary people, is an example of how brāhmaṇas tried to appropriate local practices. It is also indicative of the socio-religious transformation taking place in the worship of deities that had crystallised during this period. In contrast to vratas associated with a specific god, some noticeable features emerging in the Agni Purāṇa are the Madana Dvādaśī Vrata, Cāturmāsya Vrata, and Saṅkrānti Vrata, which show the existence of the parallel worship of two deities. In the Saṅkrānti and Cāturmāsya Vratas, the worship of Sūrya is associated with Śiva and Viṣṇu, whereas in the Madana Dvādaśī Vrata, Madana, i.e., Kāmadeva, is equated

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with the god Hari (Viṣṇu).28 Thus, there was a process of conjunction and interplay of brahmanical conventions and adoption of local practices underway which led to the elaboration of such a Purāṇic vrata tradition. As noted earlier, it is evident from the Purāṇas under study that vratas were also instrumental in reinforcing certain aspects of brahmanical ideology. The way in which the gifts were closely connected with vows is evidenced by the description of many vows in which gifts are of primary importance. The variety and the expensive nature of the articles of gift also seem to point to the same fact. From the Vedas, Brāhmaṇas, and Dharmaśāstras, we know that such lavish gifts used to be made occasionally to brāhmaṇas. In the Purāṇas, a strong attempt was made to popularise and emphasise the great efficacy of such gifts. According to the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, those who gave water, food, and drink, who worshipped the gods and brāhmaṇas, and who did not forsake their own dharma through anger, malice, etc., died a peaceful death.29 Gift-giving was not only an act undertaken by ordinary men and women but also by prostitutes and śūdras. In the Matsya Purāṇa, there is a story (mentioned earlier) of the prostitute Līlāvatī and a śūdra goldsmith Śauṇḍa (who were both devotees of Śiva). For their pious acts, Līlāvatī was supposed to have been liberated from her sins and to have attained the region of Śiva after her death, and the śūdra goldsmith, who had not charged anything for making golden trees for religious purposes, was supposed to have become an illustrious king in his next birth.30 There seems to have been a significant effort made by the composers to establish the high moral and spiritual character of the brāhmaṇas who were supposed to be worthy recipients of gifts connected to vratas. According to the Matsya and Agni Purāṇas, such brāhmaṇas were to be well-versed in the śruti texts (śrotriya), of high lineage (kulīna), disciplined (vinīta), practitioners of rituals of penance (tapasvī), and of good conduct (sadācārī); they were also supposed to be householders (kuṭumbī). A special emphasis on how the brāhmaṇas were supposed to be thorough in the study of the Sāmaveda and other Vedas is particularly noticeable in the Matsya Purāṇa.31 A thorough survey of vratas in the Matsya and Agni Purāṇas reveals that brāhmaṇas are described as representatives of god on earth, and brāhmaṇa worship is advocated in the strongest terms.32 The evidence seems clear that at the time when the Purāṇas were being compiled, social hierarchy was being re-engineered in favour of the brāhmaṇas as a response to the gradual decline in their influence in society that had occurred in the preceding centuries. The brāhmaṇas

Vratas, rituals, Purāṇic social hierarchy

229

stand out as the chief and the most dominant category of recipients of veneration and gifts in the context of the vratas. Various injunctions made in the Purāṇas bear out how a great deal of emphasis now began to be laid on the high moral character and Vedic learning; it was the fulfilment of these criteria that made a brāhmaṇa a worthy recipient of dāna. These requirements are significant, for not only do they distinguish learned (śrotriya and vedapāraga) brāhmaṇas from the nonlearned, but they also reveal the important change that was taking place in the concept of the donees’ qualifications. Gifts to brāhmaṇas were recommended on occasions of solar and lunar eclipses, and on the full moon days of the months of Āṣāḍha, Kārttika, Māgha, Vaiśākha, Śrāvaṇa, and Āśvina. The vratas, which almost replaced the yajña rituals, enhanced the religious significance of dakṣiṇā (gifts) given to brāhmaṇas. Some of the vratas became elaborate, often requiring priestly services of a highly specialised nature. At the same time, with certain rituals becoming more family-oriented and their performers representing a broader social segment, the ingredients required also became less ostentatious and more affordable. The nature of vrata rituals was determined largely by the personal means of those performing them.33 In many cases where the vratī had moderate means, the brāhmaṇas made the vratas less ostentatious and inexpensive. The Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas give a comprehensive and systematic account with elaborate instructions for how every specified vrata is to be performed. An element of a large number of vratas is to worship, feed, and give dāna and dakṣiṇā to brāhmaṇas and their wives.34 The nature of gifts made to brāhmaṇas included salt, clarified butter, pitchers of honey, conch, lamps, golden rings, cows with golden horns, golden lions, deer, elephants, golden hillocks, gems, etc. According to one’s means and social status, the vratī also gave household items of daily use like cloth, bedsteads, flowers, milk, and rice. Protecting the interests of the brāhmaṇas was a prime concern of the Purāṇa composers. The authors of the Purāṇas realised that unless the authority of the Vedas was established among the people, the popularisation of varṇāśramadharma was almost impossible. To enlarge the range of brahmanical rituals among the masses with an element of Vedic tradition, the selection of proper tithis, appointment of brāhmaṇas, snāna, worship, japa, homa, listening to tales (ākhyānaśravaṇa) and construction of maṇḍapa and a sacrificial pit (kuṇḍa) were made integral to the vrata tradition. Bathing in holy rivers became a significant feature of the vrata tradition. The Matsya Purāṇa devotes a full chapter to bathing and the

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consecration of tanks.35 With the help of legends drawn from folk traditions, the authors of the Purāṇa illustrated the magical and healing qualities of a dip in the holy rivers. In the Matsya Purāṇa, the ritual of bathing at the time of solar and lunar eclipses has been highly recommended for purity and liberation from all sins.36 The Agni Purāṇa describes in detail the festival of taking a bath at the end of the sacrifice (avabhṛtha).37 The Purāṇa composers recommended ritual bathing on occasions of different planetary conjunctions such as kṛttikā and viṣkumbhā, different lunar phases such as pratipadā or on the sun’s appearance in the zones of the different signs of the zodiac.38 Such beliefs permeated society so strongly that they continue to influence the making of gifts, the way people perform sacrifices and undertake vratas even today. Adoption of non-brāhmanical traditions as part of Vedic worship The vratas as developed in the Purāṇas clearly specified that one who undertakes a vrata must take a bath every day, should worship and honour his guru and brāhmaṇas, and eschew salt, honey, and meat. Some of the vratas mentioned in the Matsya Purāṇa like the Ahiṃsā, Dṛḍha, Dhenu, and Kalpa Vratas especially emphasise abstinence and nonconsumption of meat.39 The Agni Purāṇa makes interesting observations about dietary restrictions in some more commonly mentioned vratas like the Kāntī Vrata, Ṣaṣṭhī Vrata, and Santapana Ekabhakta Dvādaśī.40 This growing emphasis in vrata ritualism on vegetarianism could be due to the influence exercised by non-brahmanical religious systems such as Buddhism and Jainism which regarded abstention from non-vegetarian dietary patterns to be necessary for the development of self-discipline and moral restraint. Some of the characteristics of the vratas clearly show that they are mentioned in earlier texts but were adopted by the Purāṇas to suit a specific purpose. The reason may have been the perceived need to inculcate definite ethical norms and social habits amongst tribal groups who came into contact with the brahmanical tradition.41 However, it seems that it was not easy for Purāṇic composers to make a clear distinction between what food items were to be ritually acceptable and which were considered taboo. For example, in the Matsya Purāṇa, offerings of flesh were considered most appropriate for the pitṛs,42 and in the Aghārdana Navamī, animal sacrifice was to be offered to the goddess Durgā as mentioned in the Agni Purāṇa.43 Most of the Purāṇas emphasised the reading of and listening to the Purāṇas, and such acts were especially connected with the vratas. Women and śūdras had no access to the Vedas, but they were entitled

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to listen to the Purāṇas.44 The listener is referred to as śrāvaka in the Agni Purāṇa.45 Vratas are accompanied by a prescribed form of worship called pūjā, which did not involve the chanting of mantras and any form of special instruction. The same stigma of impurity that was associated with menstruation and the process of giving birth, etc., made women to be looked upon as inferior beings, and thus the standard form of worship was kept beyond their reach. It is very likely that the kathā form involved the appropriation of an indigenous tradition in which folk tales and narratives were important and which was given a Purāṇic flavour. While pāṭha literally means the reading of a scripture, usually an epic or a Purāṇa, kathākathā is a discourse on them, and while kathā should be translated as speech, it is also used in the sense of descriptive narration.46 Listening was, in fact, a very important part of Purāṇic culture. The Purāṇas themselves contain frequent references to the popular practice of the holding of the saptāha or a seven-day reading session of a Purāṇa which was considered to be important and as meritorious as a Vedic sacrifice.47 Kathā recitals were carried out by the vācaka or reader of the Purāṇa. The vratas were popularised by Purāṇic kathās, and ultimately listening to the recitation of a Purāṇa was made mandatory for achieving salvation.48 According to the Viṣṇu and Matsya Purāṇas, reading the Purāṇas which are as sacred as the Vedas or listening to them being recited would dispel all sins. During the course of the recitation, there had to be present by the side of the reader a person who could explain ideas occurring in the Purāṇas.49 The gifting of copies of the Purāṇas to brāhmaṇas on particular days of a month or a year is widely recommended in the Agni Purāṇa.50 Great spiritual merit was believed to accrue from the gifts of manuscripts of all sacred texts.51 The Agni Purāṇa describes the consecration of books and the mode of making manuscripts. Elaborate rituals went into this act by the drawing of a circle or a svastika over which śara leaves were to be arranged. The writer was to go to his guru before he commenced his work. On the completion of the manuscript, sacred ablutions were offered. This holy text was to be taken around the city on an elephant chariot before being given to the temple or placed in the house.52 Such practices were adopted by brāhmaṇas over a period of time when the importance of the Purāṇas as a mechanism of ideological dissemination had been fully realised.53 Collective singing and dancing were practices which were inherent in folk traditions. Over time, they are found to have infiltrated the Purāṇic tradition. The Matsya Purāṇa describes the Aśokā Dvādaśī

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Vrata, in which singing and dancing were considered auspicious for achieving the desired results.54 Various Purāṇic deities came to be associated with certain dance forms. The hallmark of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is the concept of mahārāsa, i.e., the rāsalīlā along with the gopīs.55 We also come across a reference to the Payovrata in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa which gives prominence to dance (nṛtya), song (gīta), and instrumental music (vāditra), dispensing with all varṇa and gender-based differentiation.56 This step was evidently taken to cast the Purāṇas in a popular mould. There were certain important differences between Vedic sacrifices and vratas. The Vedic sacrifices could be performed only by male dvijas (twice-born). Women and śūdras were kept out, whereas in the Purāṇas, women and śūdras were given a space through the vratas, which were easy to perform and yet were effective. The Purāṇic vratas were invested with a new meaning which was connected to both orthodox brahmanism and indigenous local traditions in one way or the other. This innovation paved the way for the participation of ordinary people in vratas but ensured the ritual prerogative of brāhmaṇas as mediating agents.57 The term “vrata” as a symbol of continuity As mentioned earlier, the term vrata occurs in Vedic literature, but its meaning there has very little to do with the way it is used in the Purāṇas, because it had undergone considerable expansion in terms of its character and meaning. Yet the term vrata was retained in the Purāṇas for the ritual in order to maintain continuity with the legitimising authority of the Vedic tradition.58 The Purāṇic vratas promised results such as eternal ultimate bliss, union with god, emancipation from the cycle of birth and death, kingship, good fortune, health, skill in the arts and sciences, conjugal bliss, friendship, victory over foes, and the attainment of heavens attached to different gods such as Viṣṇuloka, Śivaloka, Brahmaloka, Candraloka, Varuṇaloka, Indraloka, Sūryaloka, Agniloka, Satyaloka, Lakṣmīloka, Sarasvatīloka, and Gaurīpada. Some of the vratas also promised rewards equal to those attained after a thousand Aśvamedha, Rājasūya, and Agniṣṭoma sacrifices.59 Vratas and the involvement of local communities Vratas were not celebrated in isolation. Rather, over time members of the local community began to be involved. The emphasis remained on the ritual of gift-giving to brāhmaṇas and the establishment of a

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platform for the dissemination of the Purāṇas. The ideal location was found in the form of temples on the banks of rivers with large courtyards where kāthas from the Purāṇas could be told and an audience encouraged to come to listen.60 People definitely came and in large numbers. The temple courtyard remained for centuries the focus of village social life, where religion and entertainment both could be found; to some extent it remains so even today. One of most popular aspects of the Indian cultural panorama is the narration, dramatisation, or singing of stories from the epics in the village temple compound, accompanied by music, such as the Pandvani of central India. The Purāṇic treatment of the vrata is a perfect example of adaptation and fusion. The Purāṇas served the purpose of brahmanism without bringing a decisive break with local traditions and belief systems. Although the process created several ambiguities, diversities, and variations in the name and procedures of the vows, the focus was on accommodation and adaptation. Through the Purāṇic vratas, the brāhmaṇas tried to slowly draw the non-brahmanical communities within the brahmanical social order, convincing them that the observance of vows would confer objects of enjoyment (bhukti) final release (mukti) from the bondage of earthly existence, and freedom from their sins. One of the most popular descriptions of the goddess Durgā is pāpanāśinī, one who destroys or dispels all sins. The process for bringing the community into the brāhmaṇical fold was “persuasive rather than coercive, universalising the cultural symbols, compromising and readjusting to create an impression that it was local heritage that the Purāṇas were delivering.”61 By the time of the Purāṇas, the iconography of Śiva, Viṣṇu, and Devī was well-established. Vratas, rites, and rituals provide a platform for understanding the theistic elements in the different Puṛānas. The extensive description of the vratas demonstrates the prominent role of individual gods and goddesses like Viṣṇu, Śiva, Brahmā, Kṛṣṇa, and different forms of Devī. Notwithstanding the mention of many deities, a predominant theme underlying the Purāṇas was the recognition of a supreme deity which could be imagined as Viṣṇu, Śiva, or Devī, who were presented as all-powerful and all-pervasive. The involvement of different categories of women Along with the daily worship of the gods, vratas constituted the greater part of the prescribed religious activities for women in the Purāṇas. To understand the Purāṇic roles and representations of women, we have to be attentive to the textual prescriptions related to them. A detailed

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analysis of the sacred vows in the Purāṇas contributes to a better understanding of why women observed vratas in consonance with the textual prescriptions. The textual sources make it very clear that the two religious practices in which the right of participation is extended to all four varṇas, including women, are the practice of vrata and tīrtha. Serious attempts were made to popularise the vows which served as vehicles for the propagation of the Purāṇic ideas. The different Mahāpurāṇas make it a point to assert that the undertaking of vratas was obligatory for men and women. The two vratas which the śūdras were clearly authorised to undertake to acquire religious merit, liberation from the cycle of birth and death, and attainment of health and prosperity are the Rohiṇīcandra Śayana Vrata and Aṅgaraka Vrata discussed in the Matsya Purāṇa.62 The mention of these vratas indicates the gradual assimilation of the lower social strata within the Purāṇic religious mould. The vratas represent a discursive and social space in which men and women participated. Some of the vratas which were exclusively performed by men have been clearly laid down in the Matsya Purāṇa. They included Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī Vrata, Pauśa Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī, Māgha Kṛṣṇa, Phālguna Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī, Caitra Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī, Vaiśākha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī, Jyaiṣṭha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī, Āṣāḍha Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī, Śrāvaṇa Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī.63 Many other vratas such as the Sārasvata Vrata, Akṣaya Tṛtīyā, Bhīmadvādaśī, Viśoka Saptamī, Phala Saptamī, Śubha Saptamī, Viśokadvādaśī, Rudra Vrata, and Śiva Vrata were also all performed by men alone to attain salvation, liberation from sins, and attainment of bliss and for propitiating the pitṛs.64 Some of the vratas prescribed for both men and women find mention in the Matsya Purāṇa, including the Saptamī Vrata, Śarkarā Saptamī Vrata, Mandāra Saptamī Vrata, Phalatyāga Vrata, Ādityavāra Vrata, Saṅkrānti Vrata, Vibhūtidvādaśī Vrata, Sampadā Vrata, and Kīrti Vrata.65 The fact that women played an important part in rituals related to these vratas is noticeable in the Matsya Purāṇa. The Śiva Caturdaśī Vrata, also called Maheśvara Vrata, was to be observed by a woman, if her husband gave permission, to attain bliss by the glory of Śiva.66 This vrata is believed to bestow happiness and emancipation. Similarly, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa declares that the Puṁsavana Vrata should be observed by married women with the consent of their husbands.67 Women who perform this vrata give birth to illustrious sons, enjoy all pleasures and longevity, and are loved and respected. A marked aspect of the vratas is their observance by unmarried girls (kumārī), married women (saubhāgyavatī), widows (vidhavā),

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and prostitutes (veśyā) for pursuing different goals such as procuring a good husband, begetting a son, good fortune (saubhāgya), health (ārogya), and prosperity (bhukti). Some of the vratas which were exclusively for women and independent of male intervention are the Rohiṇīcandra Śayana Vrata, Saubhāgya Śayana Vrata, Rasakalyāṇī Vrata, Ārdrānandakari Tṛtīyā Vrata, and Aśūnya Śayana Vrata set out with detailed procedures in the Matsya Purāṇa.68 The Agni Purāṇa furnishes a list of vratas which were to be performed by men and women, but some like the Viṣṇu and Sāvitrī Vrata69 were exclusively for women. The Nakṣatrapuruṣa Vrata is exclusively prescribed for widows for emancipation (karmamukti).70 Social space given to women in a maledominated world is reflected in the Kātyāyanī Vrata in the Bhāgāvata Purāṇa for procuring a desirable husband.71 In the Vīra Vrata, virgin girls are to be honoured and feasted. Such vratas which were to be observed by different categories of women and were not to be given up by women under any circumstances.72 Religious concessions were also given to prostitutes (veśyā). In the Anaṅgadāna Vrata, a veśyā was to offer herself to a brāhmaṇa on Sunday to emancipate herself from the sin (pātaka) which she incurred by selling her body. One can only conjecture how this particular Sunday activity would have jelled with the efforts towards establishing the moral superiority of brāhmaṇas and how it would have been looked upon by society at large. The Anaṅgadāna Vrata is an unusual and perhaps a self-serving example of how these women (prostitutes) were allowed into the legitimate social framework.73 Except the Matsya Purāṇa, the other Purāṇas do not mention any vrata performed by a prostitute. In the Matsya Purāṇa, there is mention of the Bhīma Dvādaśī Vrata74 observed by prostitutes, which was oriented towards atonement of sins and salvation. There seems to have been a clear distinction between the vratas performed by wives and prostitutes. Besides the vratas performed by men, men and women, and women of different categories, the Matsya and Bhāgavata Purāṇas also mention some vratas for poor men. The Phalatyāga vrata mentions poor men (alpadhana), and the Vibhūti Dvādaśī Vrata describes very poor men performing these vratas.75 The Payovrata in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa mentions outcaste people (śvapāka) who had to be fed to their utmost satisfaction.76 However, it does not mention whether such individuals were allowed to perform any vrata. Although these outcastes continued to suffer social disabilities and restrictions, they were given participatory space through some of these vratas. In the Agni Purāṇa, Nārada describes the Agni or fire rites by which one attains all desired objects, and specifies that a qualified person

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should perform all these rites in the company of his wife. To produce the desired effect fasts, vows, ablutions, pilgrimages to holy shrines, and spiritual initiations were to be carried out by husband and wife together. The Agni Purāṇa sets aside a list of vratas to be performed on different occasions like the Aśūnyaśayanam, Kānti Vrata, and Akhaṇḍa Dvādaśī Vrata which were to be undertaken by the husband and wife for connubial bliss, to enjoy all good things of this world, and to attain salvation after death.77 The Agni Purāṇa mentions the Sāvitrī Vrata78 inspired by the story of Sāvitrī, who dared to engage Yamarāj in a debate, won it through sheer force of intellect, and ultimately obliged the god of death to bring her husband back to life. What is important in this vrata is that Sāvitrī is seen as the model of chastity. The female vratī is supposed to fast for three consecutive days and worship Sāvitrī, with grains known as saptadhānya underneath a vaṭa tree. Similar emphasis is given in the performance of the Umā Vrata, which is supposed to be practised by women on the third or eighth days of the waxing phase of the moon. It consists of worshipping Umā and Maheśvara, whereby a woman gains good fortune and the boon of never having to undergo the pangs of separation from her consort.79 The story of Lalitā, illustrated in the Agni Purāṇa, is woven around the merits of performing the Dīpadāna (lamp-giving) vrata. Lalitā, daughter of the king of Vidarbha, narrates to the co-wives of King Cārudharma, the ruler of the world, how she was able to win the love of her husband through the merits of observing this vrata in her previous life. In bygone times the holy sage Maitreya was a priest in the service of king Sauvīra, and he built a temple on the banks of river Devikā. Lalitā was a she-mouse in that life, living in a hole in a sequestered nook of the temple. One day, Maitreya, the priest, asked for a lighted lamp to be placed in the interior of the temple, which, growing dimmer and dimmer every moment, was about to be put off. Out of Lalitā’s natural dread of cats in that mouse-existence, she came out of the hole, nudged the wick of the lamp with the tip of her nose, and re-illuminated the faint light about to be blown out by the wind. Through this involuntary act of piety, Lalitā in her present birth enjoys pleasures, riches of royalty, and the love of her husband by lighting lamps in honour of god Viṣṇu.80 The Purāṇas emphasise that a woman is expected to fulfil the role of a devoted wife. A pativratā who devotes her life to her husband

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following the path of right conduct is rewarded with fame and prosperity. The Purāṇas mention that liberation from the cycle of birth and death is directly attainable by women through two vratas, namely the Rohiṇīcandra Śayana Vrata and Kānti Vrata mentioned in the Matsya and Agni Purāṇas respectively. On the other hand, the Agni Puṛāna mentions the Umā Vrata, which holds out the promise that women votaries who worship the sun god would be reborn as men in their next lives and would then enter the path of liberation.81 The implication is clear that mokṣa, the ultimate goal of human life, is available to a woman only when she ceases to be a woman through reincarnation. Almost all vratas observed by women were primarily for marital felicity (saubhāgya), a good husband, happy family, and illustrious sons and so on. Therefore, the motivation for performance of these rites arose more out of a sense of duty than by any desire. For women, saubhāgya, which comes by virtue of wifehood and motherhood, was to bring the desired results. It is very difficult to apply the tripartite classification of nitya, naimittika, and kāmya to the rituals and vratas observed by women. The actions of women are clearly oriented towards the maintenance of the well-being of their husbands and sons. A woman is to fulfil her strīdharma as a daughter, wife, and mother. If she carries this out with perfection, she attains satisfaction and could perhaps ultimately aspire for mokṣa. Therefore, liberation is directly linked to strīdharma and pativratādharma. Though vratas could be performed by women and śūdras, there is no conclusive evidence that women were entitled to the performance of homa with Vedic mantras. In the Manusmṛti, it is clear that women could not offer homa with Vedic mantras.82 But in the vratas of the Purāṇas, some rituals had to be observed in which homa with Vedic mantras had to be performed. This must have been a point of contention within the brahmanical tradition. While regulating women’s behaviour, the Purāṇas, at least theoretically, gave them some space. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa shows a favourable attitude towards women in that, according to it, without a wife, a man becomes unfit to perform sacrifices and incurs sins.83 Similar sentiments are expressed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.84 Though their role appears to be severely restricted in the sacrificial arena, their presence was required. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the term patnī-samayāja (sacrifice performed with the wife) is met with. It is a part of Vedic sacrifices like Agniṣṭoma or Rājasūya. In such ceremonies, the presence of the wife of the sacrificer is essential. When Yudhiṣṭhira performed the Rājasūya sacrifice, he was with his consorts who had the sacrificial bath.85

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Purāṇic concessions to women: ingenious system of patriarchal subordination By placing the study of the textual evidence into a wider socio-religious context, this chapter has tried to throw some light on the great continuum of religious experiences and ritual roles of women in the brahmanical tradition. The dominant theme that emerges is the notion that the most important social role open to women was that of being a good wife. Most of the vratas were performed by women for the purpose of securing some object in this world. Most Purāṇas mention dharma, progeny, wealth, purity, and the enjoyment of pleasure as the objects to be sought by the observance of vratas, which highlight the connection between the values emphasised in the Purāṇic stories and the practices associated with the vrata tradition. Ritual concessions gave women a status and respectability primarily within the limits of the household and the domestic sphere and to some extent in the public realm through ritual activities, singing, dancing, and listening to the Purāṇic stories in public places. The Purāṇas are quite clear that these vratas are obligatory for women. As a wife and mother, these rites are observed to maintain the well-being of husbands and children. Women’s concerns in observing vratas are complementary with their roles and duties as prescribed by society. They are not dependent on their individual desires. Evidence indicates that there are differences in the benefits that were supposed to accrue from vratas to men and women. Whereas most vratas offered mokṣa to men, to women they generally offered saubhāgya. The performance of the vratas was supposed to bring divine grace, puṇya, and material welfare to the performer. The devotee could get immense fortune, subjugation of the enemy, and freedom from all earthly calamities, including various diseases. Besides, a childless woman could get a son, the poor could become rich, and a wife could ensure the love and welfare of her husband. The vratas carried multiple meanings for different segments of the socio-religious order, depending upon their position. Though both men and women were entitled to perform these vratas, some of them were primarily intended for women – married, unmarried, widowed, and even prostitutes – ensuring happiness and prosperity to them. Thus, in a way, many of these vratas seem to have been a means of keeping women within the fold of the family by giving various assurances of a happy existence. Further, vratas revalidated the role of brāhmaṇas as the interpreters of religious values and practices. They also opened up avenues of material advancement for brāhmaṇas in

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two ways: first, horizontally, by bringing non-brahmanical people into the brahmanical fold; and second, vertically with the systematic incorporation of women and śūdras in the hegemonic and patriarchal brahmanical order. The vratas ingeniously denied women their individuality through elaborately designed rituals, and in the final analysis, exerted control over their sexuality and procreative potential. This was achieved through detailed prescriptions regarding fasting and purificatory rituals undertaken by different categories of women. The Puṛānic composers created new avenues of patriarchal subordination and reinforced the brahmanical ideology.

Notes 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12

Denton, Female Ascetics in Hinduism, p. 1. Denton, Female Ascetics in Hinduism, p. 33. For details, see Denton, Female Ascetics in Hinduism, pp. 19–23. L. C. Orr, ‘Domesticity and Difference/Women and Men: Religious Life in Medieval Tamilnadu’, in Tracy Pintchman (ed.), Women’s Lives, Women’s Rituals in the Hindu Tradition, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 109–29. Orr uses the concept of domesticity as defined by Susan Starr Sered – domesticity “is not an inherent characteristic of any particular ritual, place, or event,” but is above all a matter of intent, in which “the ultimate concerns of life, suffering, and death are personalised – domestic religion has to do with the lives, sufferings, and deaths of particular, usually well-loved, individuals.” (S. S. Sered, Women as Ritual Experts: The Religious Lives of Elderly Jewish Women in Jerusalem, New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 32). P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Ancient and Medieval Religious & Civil Law, 5 Vols., Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1994, Vol. V, Part I, pp. 1–31. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I, pp. 1–5. T. Lubin, ‘Vrata-Divine and Human in the Early Veda’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 121, No. 4, 2001, pp. 565–79. See for instance, Ath. V., VI.64.2. Śāṅkhyāyana-Śrautasūtra (being a major yājñika text of the Ṛgveda) (trans.) W. Caland (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980, II.3.26. Also see Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I, pp. 22–3. R. S. Sharma, however, suggests that it was only during the post-Vedic times that the term vrata came to generally mean a religious vow or undertaking which was either obligatory or expiatory (Sharma, Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, 2nd. rev. edn., p. 291). Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I, p. 26. Mahābhārata (trans.) M. N. Dutt (reprint), New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 1997, Vol. III, Udyog Parva, 39.71–72; Vol. VI, Śānti Parva, 35.39. N. Sutton, Religious Doctrines in the Mahābhārata, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2000, p. 85.

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13 The Smṛti Sandarbha: A Collection of Ten Dharamaśāstric Texts (ed.) Nag Sharan Singh, 2 Vols., New Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1988, p. 252; Viṣṇusmṛti (ed.) V. Krishnamacharya, 2 Vols., The Adyar Library Series, Madras: Adyar Library & Research Centre, 1953, Vol. 93, pp. 514–18. 14 Manusmṛti, XI.117, 170, 171, 176, 182; Yājñavalkya. S., III.251, 254, 258. 15 Chakrabarti, Religious Process, p. 236. 16 Agn. Pur., 175.12. 17 The details of the vratas are given in the tables in subsequent pages. 18 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I, p. 154. 19 Mārk. Pur., 89.1. 20 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I, p. 51. 21 Agn. Pur., 175.10–11. 22 Viṣ. Pur., pp. 227, 339, 340–341. 23 Viṣ. Pur., 3.18.59. 24 Bhāg. Pur., pp. 132–145. 25 Mats. Pur., pp. 280–286, 293–297, 301–307. 26 Agn. Pur., pp. 478–479, 486. 27 Bhāg. Pur., pp. 141–145. 28 Agn. Pur., pp. 488, 500, 502. 29 Mārk. Pur., 10.51–55. 30 Mats. Pur., 92.23–31. 31 Mats. Pur., pp. 336–337, 416. 32 Mats. Pur., pp. 259–306; Agni Purāṇa (trans.) M. N. Dutt, 2 Vols., Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1967, Vol. II, pp. 676–737. 33 Nath, The Purāṇic World, p. 130. 34 Details of dāna and dakṣiṇā to brāhmaṇas and their wives have been given in the various tables in the chapter. 35 Mats. Pur., 102.1–30. 36 Mats. Pur., 67.1–23. 37 Agn. Pur., 69.1–23. 38 Agni Purāṇa (trans.) M. N. Dutt, Vol. II, pp. 737–741. 39 Mats. Pur., pp. 417–419. 40 Agn. Pur., pp. 475–476, 480, 500. 41 Nath, Purāṇas and Acculturation, p. 144. 42 Mats. Pur., 17.28–32. 43 Agn. Pur., p. 486. 44 Mats. Pur., pp. 341, 398–401. Listening has been aptly described as śruyāt, śṛṇoti in the Matsya Purāṇa. 45 Agn. Pur., 272.28. 46 K. N. Mitra, ‘Diffusion of Socio-Religious Culture in North India’, in H. Bhattacharya (ed.), The Cultural Heritage of India, Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 2001, Vol. IV, p. 520. 47 S. A. Dange, Glimpses of Purāṇic Myth and Culture, New Delhi: Ajanta India Publishers, 1987, p. 3. 48 Agn. Pur., 63.18. 49 Viṣ. Pur., 6.8.3, 12; Mats. Pur., 291.29. 50 Agn. Pur., 63.19, 272.2, 4–7, 9–11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 28. 51 Agn. Pur., 272.23, 29.

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52 Agn. Pur., 63.10, 15–18. Also see P. Pal, ‘The Gift of Books According to the Devī Purāṇa’, in M. S. Nagaraja Rao (ed.), Kusumāñjali: New Interpretation of Indian Art and Culture, Sh. Sivaramamurti Commemoration Volume, New Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 1987, pp. 49–52. 53 Nath, Purāṇas and Acculturation, p. 66. 54 Mats. Pur., 82.2–18, 26–30. 55 Bhāg. Pur., 10.29–33. 56 Bhāg. Pur., 8.16.22–62. 57 Chakrabarti, Religious Process, p. 250. 58 Chakrabarti, Religious Process, p. 250. 59 Mats. Pur., pp. 297–300, 416; Agn. Pur., pp. 480, 483, 487, 489. 60 Mats. Pur., p. 401. 61 K. Chakrabarti, ‘Textual Authority and Oral Exposition: The Vrata Ritual as a Channel of Communication in Early Medieval Bengal’, Studies in History, Vol. 10, No. 2, August 1994, p. 239. 62 Mats. Pur., pp. 268–271, 330–336. 63 This is expressed in terms like puṁṣām viseśataḥ, naraḥ, manavaḥ, and pumān. 64 Mats. Pur., pp. 266–268, 304–307, 317–321, 337–339, 341–343, 348–349, 350–353, 413–414. 65 Mats. Pur., pp. 311–314, 343–345, 346–348, 398–402, 404–406, 408–413, 415. 66 Mats. Pur., pp. 394–398. 67 Bhāg. Pur., p. 199. 68 Mats. Pur., pp. 268–271, 280–286, 293–304, 329–330. 69 Agn. Pur., p. 495. 70 Mats. Pur., pp. 259–262. 71 Bhāg. Pur., p. 132. 72 Mats. Pur., p. 416. 73 Mats. Pur., pp. 322–328. 74 Mats. Pur., pp. 317–321. 75 Mats. Pur., pp. 398–401, 406–408. 76 Bhāg. Pur., pp. 358–363. 77 Agn. Pur., pp. 475–476, 491. 78 Agn. Pur., p. 495. 79 Agn. Pur., p. 502. 80 Agn. Pur., 200.4–9. 81 Agn. Pur., 199.9–10. 82 Manusmṛti, IX.18. 83 Mārk. Pur., 67.23. 84 Viṣ. Pur., 1.8. 85 Bhāg. Pur., 10.75.18–19, 84.47.

Some parting thoughts

This work has analysed the Purāṇic representations of women, tracking the significant changes in gender equations in these texts against the background of the transformations that took place in the social milieu between AD 300 and AD 1000. A gradual re-orientation of brahmanism occurred during this period, and the Purāṇic texts became increasingly popular with the ordinary public, people with no privilege or social standing, as a result of their valorisation of innovative forms of worship and religious activity, particularly tīrtha, vrata, and bhakti. A study of the compilation and composition of the Purāṇas thus provides us with a unique viewpoint from which to understand the place of women in changing social structures and ideologues as well as the matrix that resulted in noticeable changes in the space available to them. From the orthodox stance of the Dharmaśāstras to the more flexible narrative of the Purāṇas, one thing that stands out is various levels of contestations that have been discussed in the previous chapters. The Purāṇas were written by men reinforcing the brahmanical patriarchal attitude towards women. The Purāṇic composers connected themselves to the older Vedic traditions but were conscious of the challenges being thrown up by several sources. They thus sought to establish new socio-religious norms in two segments of society – that is to say, women and śūdras–śūdra being used in these texts (and in my analysis) as a generic term for groups considered low in the social hierarchy. This purpose was achieved through parables, stories, myths, legends, and the advocacy of vratas. It is interesting to note that in the discussions about marriage in the Purāṇas, while varṇa was an important factor for both men and women, more often than not, women of different social backgrounds were collapsed into a homogenised unitary category of “women.” The lower strata of society were similarly homogenised and inserted into

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the category of “śūdra.” Both women and śūdras were marginalised categories during the period under study, each constituting an integral part of the social fabric, yet denied the rights and privileges enjoyed by men and higher caste and class groups. But this work, through analysis and perusal of the five Purāṇic texts, highlights the increasing avenues of socio-religious expression accorded to women and śūdras compared to earlier brahmanical works. Notwithstanding the fact that women were still dominated and subjugated, we find spaces where certain clear concessions were made. The chief reason was the waning of the Dharmaśāstras in terms of influence over the populace. It seems to have dawned on members of the upper echelons of society that the complete exclusion of women and śūdras from the ambit of the addressees of the Vedic texts was no longer serving a useful purpose. It was realised that perhaps that exclusion itself was driving these groups towards radical thought and different ways of living, as represented by Buddhist and the Jain communities. In view of the danger to the social fabric that was likely to result if such developments went unchecked, thought began to be given to possible means for averting that outcome. Certain concessions for both groups began to be imagined and implemented. To establish this hypothesis, the present researcher looked at the gaps that appear in the narrative of the Purāṇas, the little spaces that hint at the introduction of some flexibility in society. The consequence of this development was that women gained increased agency, yet never became a threat to the ruling brahmanical ideology. The contestation was real but was successfully kept within the scope of the older ideology, which remained dominant. This brings us to the conclusion to be reached with respect to the methodology adopted in this work and elaborated in the introduction. The narrative of the Purāṇas and the consciousness of a wider audience base, the parables, examples of extraordinary women who stood out with their actions and sacrifices upholding the duties of a woman, the elaborate elucidation of rituals and vratas, the conformity around ascetic life, discussions on property rights all point towards a uniquely successful attempt by the compilers to control the space predetermined for women. Yet, hidden just below the surface, we find the social flux which seems to have been the cause: the widening of the social space, the coming out of women to occupy roles beyond domestic life, and their exploration of the possibility of entering the professional space. After reviewing the relevant existing scholarly works relating to the Purāṇas and women in early India, this study located the five selected Mahāpurāṇas within the larger brahmanical textual framework in

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terms of chronology and authorship. In the context of Purāṇic traditions it also discussed the religious traditions of Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism, and Śāktism; tīrtha; mahādāna; temples; and gender elements in Purāṇic cosmogonic myths. The analytical focus of the work was on elements of continuity and change, showing how the Purāṇic composers sought to retain certain key values of the Vedic tradition, while accommodating emerging imperatives. Furthermore, it looked at the Purāṇas in terms of themes such as daughterhood, wifehood, motherhood, prostitution, adultery, and sins, and especially vratas (sacred vows) and connected rituals undertaken by men and women. Throughout this book, special effort has been made not to look at women as a homogenised category but to highlight the variety of roles as well as the different aspects of women’s existence, represented in the Purāṇic texts. Though the work clearly shows the patriarchal control over women, it also brings out the fact that patriarchal subordination was not absolutely uniform in its assertion, and that it allowed women to emerge as active agents to a certain extent, primarily in the socio-religious spheres. The discussion of marriage demonstrates that there was a deliberate theorisation of the institution of marriage in the Purāṇas with interlinked emphasis on chastity, purity, divinity, and women’s status within the household. Myriad instances of different types of marriages mentioned in the Purāṇas are a significant reflection on the changing ethos of society regarding various forms of nuptials. The Matsya Purāṇa extols the marriage of a gaurī (a girl who has not started menstruating) as highly pleasing to the pitṛs. It is important to note that no specific example of the daiva vivāha, except a passing reference in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, finds mention in the Purāṇas under study. This change may indicate a decline in the role of the sacrificial priests in the changing socio-religious milieu, concomitant to the ascendance of vrata specialists. An institution conspicuous in the Dharmaśāstras and the Purāṇas alike was the gṛha (household), and central to the existence of the gṛha was the wife. Like the Smṛtis, the Purāṇas discuss at great length the importance of the wife’s single-minded devotion to her husband and of the need for strict observance of the rules of proper conduct. The importance of the wife has been discussed with striking exactitude in the Purāṇas, and these texts justify and reinforce the discussion by pointing out that the wife is the means for attaining the puruṣārthas, namely dharma, arthā, kāma, and mokṣa. The dharma of women is summarised in the role of the virtuous wife, whose duties and devotion were to be directed towards the well-being and longevity of her husband.

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In fact, the Purāṇas, through various legendary and mythological illustrations, suggest that pativratādharma or strīdharma could allow a woman to attain a divine status if she followed it religiously. These practices were sought to be internalised by an espousal of certain modes of behaviour. As discussed in the Matsya Purāṇa, a husband, whether ugly or handsome, was believed to be obtained by a girl only through great virtue. Women were to be socialised to believe in, and to conform to, these ideals, which further strengthened the system of patriarchy, almost canonising the thrice-dependent status of women (on father, husband, and son) in society. Regarding women’s participation in sacrifices and other rituals, there is no conformity of views within the Purāṇic tradition on the subject. Whereas there are contradictions in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa regarding women’s participation in sacrifices and rituals like śrāddha, the Matsya Purāṇa states that when the husband is performing the śrāddha rites in the house and when the balls of rice are offered, the wife is enjoined to eat the middle piṇḍa with proper mantras to ensure conception and the birth of a son. In fact, in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa we come across the term patnī-samayāja, using the term patnī in connection with the sacrifice. The Agni Purāṇa confirms this point and specifies that a male devotee was to perform various rites along with his wife. To obtain the desired results, fasts, vows, ablutions, pilgrimages to holy shrines, and spiritual initiations were to be performed by husband and wife together. It is apparent that the ritual partnership of husband and wife was highly regarded. The wife as ritual partner had some licence to act, though strictly within the partnership, as an indispensable member rather than as an individual. Closely associated with the notion of pativratā is that of the glorified mother. The birth of a son was perceived as a kind of social elevation for the mother. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa gives exalted status to wives who bore sons. A large number of sacred vows and religious practices were advocated for ensuring the birth of a son. The most important was the puṁsavana rite, described in detail in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. In most cases there are indications that sons were definitely preferred, but the birth of daughters was not disparaged. Thus, despite consistently upholding Dharmaśāstric norms laid down for women, the Purāṇas also assert attitudes favourable to women because of their inclusive framework. While the Smṛtis did not approve of the marriage of widows, in certain Purāṇic texts there are conflicting views regarding the norms pertaining to the remarriage of widowed women. The majority of the Purāṇas mention that the pāṇigrahaṇa saṁskāra is applicable to

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maidens only, but the Matsya and Agni Purāṇas discuss the conditions in which a woman is permitted to marry again. At the same time, women were brought within the purview of property inheritance and the sphere of strīdhana was expanded continually during the period of the composition of the Purāṇas. However, women do not seem to have had an absolute right over the disposal of inherited property. The Purāṇic sources do not affirm the idea of ordinary women making independent religious donations or dāna. The Purāṇic prescriptions retained an emphasis on women’s continued financial dependence on men, even while expanding their inclusion in limited ways. The Manusmṛti explicitly states that the practice of japa, tapa, tīrthayātrā, asceticism, the attainment of mastery over mantras, and the worship of deities in an independent capacity were to be avoided by women and śūdras. The Purāṇas, however, do away with varṇa and gender differentiation in these areas. Tīrthayātrā in the Purāṇas is a popular way for the redemption of sins in case of women of all varṇas, as well as for unchaste women. The increase in the number of vratas from early Purāṇas to the later Purāṇas is indicative of the change in attitude towards śūdras and women. The detailed description of sacred vows (vratas) illustrates their observance by unmarried girls (kumārī), married women (saubhāgyavatī), widows (vidhavā), and prostitutes (veśyā). Such vows were observed for procuring a good husband, a son, good luck (saubhāgya), health (ārogya), and prosperity (bhukti). The sacred vows of prostitutes were different in that they did not seek husbands or sons; they aspired to have good health, good fortune, prosperity, and the chance to become apsarās. All the vratas mentioned in the different Mahāpurāṇas make it a point to assert that the performance of vratas is recommended for all categories of men and women. Except the two vratas that allowed women to aspire to salvation, i.e., Rohiṇīcandra Śayana Vrata and Kānti Vrata, most women’s vratas were oriented towards the welfare of the family. Furthermore, as discussed in the Agni Purāṇa, a woman could attain emancipation only if she were reborn as a man. This reflects the mind-set of the brāhmaṇas who wished to include women, yet only for limited purposes. The brāhmaṇa world-view neatly subordinated and marginalised women while providing them some extra space within the broader framework of patriarchy. Although the ascetic mode of life is projected as unconventional for women, we come across a few Purāṇic legends mentioning women who became yoginīs. That the practice of asceticism by women is mentioned in the context not only of widows, but married and unmarried women as well, is a significant development. It appears from the

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Purāṇic discourse on yoginīs that their number could not have been so large as to make much of an impact on society. Nevertheless, the greater number of such references in the Purāṇas as compared to the Dharmaśāstras indicates a certain dilution of brahmanical patriarchy at the level of discourse. This study has explored the Purāṇic feminine archetypes of daughter, wife, and mother within the patriarchal household. Prostitutes, on the other hand, are portrayed in the context of pleasure-seeking. The different Mahāpurāṇas under study made distinctions in a graded hierarchy of prostitutes like veśyā, puṁścalī, gaṇikā, and vārayoṣitā. Conflicting views abound with regard to the position of prostitutes in the Purāṇas. While these women were stigmatised and often socially ostracised as well, there is no denying the fact that they were active participants in certain brahmanical rites and rituals. As already mentioned, didactic messages of the Dharmaśāstras are visible in the Purāṇas, but the time when the Purāṇas were written, their mode of narration and the need of the hour suggests that the brāhmaṇas were creating a more liberal and inclusive space for women. One would be justified in concluding that the Purāṇa composers were aware that they were in an ideological impasse. Their primary concern was to protect their brahmanical values and heritage, but they were only too aware that some compromises had to be made in the face of the socio-religious churning occurring all around them. If they did not accommodate at least some of the aspirations of the excluded groups then beginning to be articulated, the consequences could be severe. When delineating roles for women, they tried actively to integrate the polar opposite views of women that were prevalent in brahamanical society. Women were believed to be carriers of impurity because of the processes of menstruation and childbirth, as well as their supposed unbridled sexuality, etc. On the other hand, they were seen as the epitome of chastity, purity, and virtue because of which the pativratādharmadharma could been cured. The fact that these two contrasting portraits of women could coexist within the larger social framework speaks volumes about the genius and dexterity with which the brāhmaṇas were able to recast womanhood in ancient India. It is this kind of ambivalence that has continued to characterise patriarchal representations of Indian womanhood to the present day. What can be understood from such a process of recasting of the identity and representation of women vis-à-vis the composition of the Purāṇas is the method of intertextuality followed by the composers and the compilers. It follows the doctrine that no text may be superior to the Vedas and as such, the Purāṇa only claims to be equivalent to

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the Vedas and not superior. There is a rider that the Purāṇas are not a separate entity at all, but follow the Dharmaśāstras in their function as texts that determine a better temporal life and ensure salvation for those who read them or hear the texts being narrated. Their authority was drawn from Vyāsa and a long line of sages and gurus that took care of the authority and lineage of the Purāṇas, all the while maintaining the hierarchy as texts equivalent to the Vedas. The compilers understood the need and importance of maintaining a line of continuity from the Dharmaśāstras to the Purāṇas through intertextuality. In terms of literary analysis, this can be seen both as a clever move to legitimise ideas as well as to function as the spiritual and legal framework of a society going through rapid transformations in terms of socio-economic and politico-religious configurations. The Purāṇas were written, refined, expanded, and reworked by generation after generation of human redactors, and yet, as mentioned above, their historical authors are invisible and the texts themselves are effectively anonymous. Unlike the definitive Dharmaśāstras, the open-ended and multi-vocal Purāṇas adopt a dialogical mode of enunciation to avoid taking a categorical position on a number of issues. This approach arose from the historical necessity of keeping various possibilities alive for an ongoing negotiation between local cultures and the brahmanical need to accommodate and adapt to changing times. The Purāṇic texts managed to carve out for themselves the position of being the determiners of the truth-knowledge axis. Over time, they began to be accepted as the authority in relation to both the social and spiritual needs of people. The perceived lineage of the texts, the diversity of the narratives, and the worldly benefits promised to men and women functioned so well together, and became so deeply embedded in the social consciousness that the Purāṇas remain the most significant regulators of socio- religious and personal life in India even in the present day. Undoubtedly there are contradictions to be found in the Purāṇas. But one must bear in mind the arduous and variegated processes involved in their composition, and the generations over which they fructified. Their composition involved multiple authors composing, editing, and collating them across generations. The tensions and fissures that are glimpsed in these texts exist for this reason as well as the fact that the brahmanical tradition was involved in an accommodation of numerous regional and local traditions. The Purāṇas both influenced, and were influenced by, socio-religious changes taking place during the period of their composition. In their entirety, however, they reflect

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brahmanism’s attempt to broaden its social base and extend its reach to hitherto outlying regions by accommodating a variety of customs and traditions, and by giving concessions to groups that had hitherto been marginalised within the brahmanical framework – especially women and śūdras. By becoming more inclusive, the Purāṇas served to both universalise and popularise brahmanical ideas, playing a major role in establishing a pan-Indian brahmanical framework and generating a new cultural synthesis. In the context of women, the Purāṇic understanding is a departure from the earlier brahmanical constructions of womanhood. Realising that a major effort had to be made to incorporate women into the brahmanical fold, certain concessions were made. The concessions themselves involved the breaking of new ground, though continuity was sought to be maintained by containing the changes within the overall traditional patriarchal brahmanical framework. This book both underscores this continuity, and yet attempts to show how Purāṇic composers renegotiated the roles and social functions of women. Though the variations and contradictions in the Purāṇas cannot be brushed aside, the orientation of the entire corpus of these texts is fairly consistent and leads us to conclude that the Purāṇas created significant spaces for the empowerment of women and śūdras. This study recognises that the Purāṇas are unique in their mode of narration and storytelling. They were transmitted in oral as well as written form. The Purāṇa composers and kathāvācakas introduced mythological tales and made the necessary interpolations for purposes of elucidation and, indeed, accommodation. A new socio-religious ethos emerged from the encounter between orthodox brahmanism and a popular demand for a more personalised religion. The mythologies of gods and goddesses were incorporated into the Purāṇas and transmitted orally as well as in the form of renderings in regional languages like Bengali, Kannaḍa, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, etc. This interface and interplay of affirmation between brahmanism and the accommodation of local and regional traditions allowed the Purāṇas to emerge as a distinct and influential genre of literature.

Appendix A brief note on the Purāṇic scholarship

This is a brief summary of Purāṇic literature from the pre-colonial times to the present. The aspects covered include society, polity, local traditions, and cultural ethos. None of these texts have, however, looked at gender from the perspective that the present work does. In the 1830s, V. Kennedy, an Englishman in the British military service, read the major Purāṇas and was the first to highlight their significance in a comparative perspective.1 Kennedy largely focused on the Skanda Purāṇa. H.H. Wilson’s approach to the Purāṇas was more ambitious, and he undertook a comparative study of the nature and contents of the different Purāṇas like Viṣṇu, Agni, and Vāyu.2 During the second quarter of the nineteenth century, Indologists were preoccupied with the task of cataloguing the Purāṇa manuscripts and translating them into different languages.3 Some of the major contributions in this field were made by H.H. Wilson, who critically edited and translated the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.4 E. Burnouf translated the Bhāgavata Purāṇa into French, followed by M.N. Dutt’s translation of the Bhāgavata, Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya, Agni, and Garuda Purāṇas into English. The Matsya Purāṇa was translated by F.E. Pargiter.5 The process of translation received stimulus from the efforts of scholars like Ernest Wood, Swami Vijñānanda, and J.M. Sanyal.6 It is on account of the painstaking efforts of J.L. Shastri, G.V. Tagare, S.V.S. Iyer, and N. Gangadharan that the process of the English translation of the various Mahāpurāṇas under the title of Ancient Indian Mythology and Tradition is still underway.7 Many Western scholars were reluctant to accept the Purāṇas as a reliable source of historical information. Scholars like A. Barth, M. Monier Williams, E.W. Hopkins, and Charles Eliot gave weight to the Purāṇas only as religious texts. Most of these writers’ works contain discussions on local deities, festivals, and pilgrimages based on the

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Smṛtis and Purāṇas.8 The idea they reiterated at great length is that the Purāṇas are sectarian scriptures which magnified the cult and character of Śiva, Brahmā, or one or the other incarnations of Viṣṇu. F.E. Pargiter, however, situated the Purāṇas in a larger historical context. He not only treated the Purāṇas as historical documents but was also the first to point to the significance of the discussion of the dynastic accounts of the Kali Age for the reconstruction of ancient Indian political history.9 Quite a few of Pargiter’s arguments and conclusions may be erroneous and superficial, but he did extend utmost respect to the Purāṇic texts that had not been given their due by previous scholars. Indologists like J. Jolly and J.J. Meyer established that more than the epics, the Purāṇas were the texts of popular Hinduism (lokadharma). They also worked on the inter-connectedness between the Purāṇas, Dharmaśāstras, and the Mahābhārata. As noted above, it is common for the Purāṇas to be studied in terms of the didactic development of Indian ideas. W. Kirfel was one of the first Indologists to highlight the pañcalakṣaṇa definition of a Purāṇa,10 i.e., creation (sarga), secondary creation (pratisarga), genealogy of gods and sages (vaṁśa), cosmic cycles (manvantara), and accounts of royal dynasties (vaṁśānucarita). M. Winternitz11 and E.J. Rapson12 undertook a historiographical survey of Purāṇic literature, underlining its importance as a valuable source of socio-cultural traditions. Scholars were beginning to recognise the significance of the Purāṇas. Before the issue of gender is discussed in detail, this section shall provide an overview of a few other trends in Purāṇic studies which have a significant influence upon the studies of the present work. No less remarkable was the contribution of Indian scholars to unravelling the hidden dimensions of the Purāṇas pertaining to cultic beliefs, practices, philosophy, cosmology, chronology, fables, tales, science, and art, and to examining the apparently endless capacity to absorb disparate elements. The works of P.N. Sinha, K. Narayanaswami Aiyar, and B.C. Mazumdar were of great value.13 Considering the massive size of the Purāṇic corpus, Dikshitar’s multi-volume Purāṇa Index proved to be an important contribution to Purāṇa studies. Similar effort was undertaken by Vettam Mani in the form of a comprehensive Purāṇic Encyclopaedia.14 R.C. Hazra15 and P.V. Kane16 gave a comprehensive, chronological, and historical perspective to the variegated nature of the individual Purāṇas. Besides attempting to determine the possible chronology of different Purāṇas, Hazra described different stages in the development of Purāṇic rites and customs from c. AD 200–1000. He also

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tried to show that these rites and customs were not of a particular period of time but underwent revision generation after generation and were reshaped gradually to their present form according to society’s demands. Kane’s monumental work, History of Dharmaśāstra, analyses and elucidates in great detail Purāṇic mythology, geography, royal dynasties, religious, and connected social practices, such as strīdharma (duties of women), saṁskāra (sacraments), śrāddha (ancestral rites), dāna (gift-making), pratiṣṭhā (consecration of images), tīrtha (pilgrimage), devapūjā (worship of deities), vāstu (architecture), prāyaścitta (expiation of sins), and vrata (sacred vows). As different types of Purāṇas like the Mahāpurāṇas, Upapurāṇas, and caste Purāṇas deal with diverse aspects of religious and social life, they have been read from a wide range of perspectives.17 Elaborate discussions on the Purāṇas as repositories of culture were propounded and critical studies on the Purāṇas undertaken from time to time.18 These studies have comprehensively explored not only the genesis and evolution of the Purāṇic material, but have also prescribed major methodical approaches for analysing these texts. Thus, scholars engaged themselves in work on Purāṇic literature which included producing indices, abstracts, and translations and making them available in print form. They focused on how particular ways of collating, editing, and analysing affected the way a text was situated and received. Questions as to the origin and nature of the Purāṇic tradition were also taken up, which led to valuable insights into the interpretation of the texts.19 An in-depth survey of individual Purāṇas undertaken by L. Rocher is extremely useful.20 Other microstudies dealing directly with ritual practices, mythology, technology, linguistics, politics, and so on enable one to understand the existing diversities of the Purāṇas.21 Some studies on the Purāṇas have tried to contextualise them in terms of their locale.22 Among them is Kunal Chakrabarti’s very important work based on the Bengal Purāṇas.23 In it the author argues that the result of the Purāṇic synthesis in Bengal was that, for the first time, the necessary cultural resources that enabled the diverse communities to acquire a regional cultural identity around the cult of the Goddess were generated. Most studies on Purāṇic material have concentrated on certain specific aspects of the texts instead of in their entirety and this is mostly because of the vast and complex nature of the Purāṇic material. For instance, Vijay Nath’s work begins with the Vedic period and traces historical changes through the period of the Dharmasūtras and Smṛtis

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right up to the time of the Purāṇas.24 Her writing focuses on the material milieu of Purāṇic Hinduism, the changing paradigm of brahmanical rituals, mahādānas, and Purāṇic tīrthas against the backdrop of Indian feudalism. The second part of her book deals with genderrelated issues with special emphasis on the Matsya and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇas. Other micro-studies have concentrated on individual Purāṇas like Jaya Tyagi’s work on the Matsya Mahapurāṇa,25 which has explored the issue through the lens of gender, a trend that has acquired popularity over the years. Such studies highlight the attempts of the author to retrieve women’s agency from Purāṇic traditions, but do not go deep into the content. The present work, on the other hand, attempts to look beyond the generalities and to concentrate on the complexities and inter-connections of the Purāṇas.

Notes 1 V. Kennedy, Researches Into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient and Hindu Mythology (first published, London, 1831) (reprint), New Delhi: Bharatiya Publisher, 1979. 2 Rost (ed.), Analysis of the Purāṇas. 3 J. Eggeling, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office, Gilbert and London: Rivengton, 1887–1904; H. Shastri, A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Collections of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 5, Purāṇa Manuscripts, Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1928. 4 Wilson’s translation of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa is the first systematic and scholarly statement in English on Purāṇic literature. 5 The Viṣṇu Purāṇa: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition (with an introduction by R. C. Hazra) (trans.) H. H. Wilson, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1961; E. Burnouf, Le Bhagavata Purana ou Histoire Poètique de Krichna, 3 Vols. (first published, 1840–1847) (reprint), Canada (Toronto): Bastian Books, 2008; Bhāgavata Purāṇa (trans.) M. N. Dutt, 3 Vols., Calcutta: H. C. Bass, 1895–1896; Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (trans.) F. E. Pargiter (first published, 1896) (reprint), New Delhi: Indological Book House, 1969; Matsya Purāṇa (trans.) a Taluqdar of Oudh, Vasu and Srisa Chandra, Sacred Books of the Hindus, Vol. XVII (first edition, Allahabad, 1916–1917)(reprint), New Delhi: Oriental Books, 1980. 6 The Garuda Purāṇa (trans.) Ernest Wood and others, Varanasi: Bharatiya Publishing House, 1979; Devī Bhāgavatapurāṇam (trans.) Swami Vijñānanda, Sacred Books of the Hindus, Vol. XXVI (first published, Allahabad, 1934) (reprint), New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2007; Bhāgavata Purāṇa (trans.) J. M. Sanyal, Vols. 1–5 (first published, Calcutta, 1929–1939) (reprint), Calcutta: Oriental Publishing Co., 1950–1954. 7 Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology Series, 71 Vols., New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, published since 1970 till 2011. The publication of many more Purāṇas of this series is still underway.

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8 A. Barth, The Religions of India (first published, London, 1879) (reprint), Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1963, p. 153; E. W. Hopkins, The Religions of India (first published, London, 1896) (reprint), New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1970, p. 434; C. Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism, an Historical Sketch, 3 Vols., London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1921. 9 F. E. Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition (first edition, 1922) (reprint), New Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 1979; The Purāṇa Text. 10 W. Kirfel, Dās Purāṇa Pañcalakṣaṇa (ed.) Suryakant Shastri (first published, Leiden, 1927) (reprint), Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1979. 11 M. Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, translated into English from the German by Mrs. S. Ketkar and H. Kohn (first published, Vol. I, Calcutta, 1927), 2nd rev. edn., New Delhi: Oriental Book Reprint Corporation, 1972, pp. 517–86. 12 E. J. Rapson, The Purāṇas, Cambridge History of India, Vol. I (first published, Cambridge, 1922) (reprint), New Delhi: Sultan Chand & Co., 1962, pp. 264–84. 13 P. N. Sinha, Bhāgavata Purāṇa or Esoteric Hinduism, Benaras: Freeman, 1901; K.N. Aiyar, The Purāṇas: In the Light of Modern Science (first published, Adyar, Theosophical Society, Madras, 1914, 1916) (reprint), New Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 2003; B. C. Mazumdar, ‘Origin and Character of the Purāṇa Literature’, in Sir Asutosh Mookerjee Silver Jubilee Volume, Vol. 3, Orientalia Part 2, Calcutta: Calcutta University, 1925, pp. 7–30. 14 V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar, The Purāṇa Index, 3 Vols. (first published, 1951–1955), Madras University Historical Series 49, Madras: Madras University (reprint), New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1995; V. Mani, Purāṇic Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary of Epic and Purāṇic Literature, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, 1975. 15 Hazra, Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, pp. 210–11; Studies in the Upapurāṇas, 2 Vols., Calcutta: Sanskrit College, 1958. 16 Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part II, pp. 815–953. 17 See for instance, A. D. Pusalkar, ‘Purāṇic Cosmogony’, Bhāratīya Vidyā, Vol. 2, 1946, pp. 177–91; S. Mehta, ‘Some Linguistic peculiarities of the Bhāgavata’, Bhāratīya Vidyā, Vol. 4, 1942–1943, pp. 30–40; Y. Tandon, ‘Concordance of Purāṇa Contents’, Vishveshvarananda Indological Series, Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute, 1952; S. N. Dasgupta, History of Indian Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1940; J. N. Banerjea, Purāṇic and Tantric Religion, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1966; D. C. Sircar, Studies in the Yuga-Purāṇa and Other Texts, New Delhi: Oriental Publishers, 1974. 18 V. S. Agrawala, Matsya Purāṇa: A Study, Varanasi: All India Kashiraj Trust, 1963; R. Varma, Śrī Padmapurāṇa, New Delhi: Dharmagranth Prakashan, 1980; A. Chatterjee, ‘The Antiquity and Origin of the Padmapurāṇa and Its Early Character and Position in the Purāṇic Literature’, Our Heritage, Vol. 2, 1954, pp. 175–90; ‘Padmapurāṇa: A Critical Survey’, Purāṇa, Vol. 7, 1965, pp. 262–75; P. G. Layle, Studies in the Devī Bhāgavata, Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1973; A. B. L. Awasthi, Studies in the Skanda Purāṇa, 2 Vols., Lucknow: Kailash Prakash, 1973; R. K. Arora, Historical

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and Cultural Data From the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, New Delhi: Sterling Publications, 1972; Desai, Ancient Indian Society, Religion and Mythology as Depicted in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. P. L. Bhargava, ‘The Origin and Development of Purāṇas and their Relation With Vedic Literature’, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1977–1978, pp. 489–98; B. Upadhyaya, Purāṇa Vimarśa, Authentic Solution to the Critical Problems of the Purāṇas, Varanasi: Chowkhamba Vidya Bhavan, 1965; A. S. Gupta, ‘The Problem of the Interpretation of the Purāṇas’, Purāṇa, Vol. 6, 1964, pp. 53–78; G. Bonazzoli, ‘Purāṇic Paramparā’, Purāṇa, Vol. 22, 1980, pp. 33–60; ‘Places of Purāṇic Recitation According to the Purāṇas’, Purāṇa, Vol. 23, 1981, pp. 48–61. Rocher, The Purāṇas. B. H. Kapadia, ‘Some Aspects of the Vāmana Purāṇa’, Purāṇa, Vol. 7, 1965, pp. 170–82; Kumar, The Purāṇic Lore of Holy Water Places; Dange, Glimpses of Purāṇic Myth and Culture; Encyclopaedia of Purāṇic Beliefs and Practices, 5 Vols., New Delhi: Navrang Publications, 1990; B. B. Mishra, Polity in the Agni Purāṇa, Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1965; B. Patni, ‘Gleanings of the Performing Art Forms in the Purāṇas’, Purāṇa, Vol. 23, 1991, pp. 60–71; Sengupta, ‘The Practice of Religious Recital (Japa)’; P. Sensarma, Plants in the Indian Purāṇas: An Ethnobotanical Investigation, Calcutta: Naya Prakash, 1989. S. G. Kantawala, ‘Home of the Matsya Purāṇa: A Study’, Purāṇa, Vol. 3, 1961, pp. 115–19; C. Chakravarti, ‘Purāṇa Tradition in Bengal’, Purāṇa, Vol. 7, 1964, pp. 150–7; Yogendra Mishra, ‘Bihar in the Agni Purāṇa’, Journal of Bihar Research Society, Vol. 50, 1954, pp. 1–7. Such studies are meaningful because they facilitate a reconstruction of the folk and cultural traditions of a particular region. Chakrabarti, Religious Process. Nath, The Purāṇic World. Also see Nath, Purāṇas and Acculturation. J. Tyagi, Contestation and Compliance: Retrieving Women’s ‘Agency’ From the Matsyamahāpurāṇa, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Glossary

abhicāra magical powers adharma to deviate from the prescribed order agniharaṇa offerings into the fire ahiṃsā non-violence ākhyānas narratives ākhyāna-śravaṇa listening to tales āmikṣā mixture of hot milk and curd aśauca state of impurity asuras demons aśvamedha the horse sacrifice avatāras divine incarnation bhartṛ husband bhikkhunis female monastics bhukti-mukti benefits of prosperity and salvation bhūteśvara lord of ghosts brahmacārin student brahmahatyā murder of a brāhmaṇa brahmavādinī the woman devoted to the study of the philosophy of brahman daivajñas astrologers dakṣiṇā sacrificial fee dānastutis eulogies of gifts dayā compassion devapūjā worship of deities dharma prescribed norms dharmasyacatuṣpāda four virtues associated with dharma (satya, dayā, śānti, and ahiṃsā) dhyāna meditation divam heaven dvija twice-born

Glossary gāthās songs gopis cowherd girls gotra clan system grahadevatās ruling deities of planets gṛha household gṛhaṇīs women in the household gṛhasthadharma the duties of a householder gṛhasthin householder guru preceptor homa oblations to the fire indriyāṇigraha curbing sensory organs itihāsa traditional history japa chanting jātakarma rite performed after the birth of a child (post-natal) kalivarjyas practices forbidden in the Kali age kalpoktis proverbial sayings that came down the ages kośa drinking vessel kṣamā forbearance kṣetrapati presiding planets kula family kulāṅganā jewel of the house kulastrī a family woman kulīna high lineage kumārī unmarried girls kuṇḍa sacrificial pit kuṭumbī householder lokapālas guardian deities mahādānas great gifts mahāpātakas major sins mahāpurāṇas great Purāṇas mahotsava grand festival manikā water jar manvantara cosmic cycles māsa months mlecchas foreign and tribal groups nāgas serpent deities naividya offerings to gods pakṣa fortnight pañcalakṣaṇa five characteristic traits mentioned in the Purāṇas pañcamahāyajñas five great sacrifices pāpapraṇāśinī dispeller of sins pāriplava recitations associated with the horse sacrifice

257

258

Glossary

pātaka sin patitā fallen woman pativratā a devoted wife pativratādharma norms and practices prescribed for a devoted wife patnī-samayāja sacrifice performed with the wife paurāṇikas pandits piṣṭāsi ground food pitṛloka abode of ancestors pratisarga secondary creation pratiṣṭhā consecration of images prāyaścitta expiation of sins puṇya spiritual merit purāṇa ancient or old narrative pūrṇimā full moon day puruṣārtha-catuṣṭaya four-fold desires, i.e., dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa puruṣārthas four goals of life – dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa rājadharma obligations of rulers rogavarjita free from all diseases ṛtu season ṛtvij priest sadharmacāriṇī wife associated with religious activities saṃnyāsin ascetic saṁskāra sacraments sandhyā evening oblations santati offspring śānti peace saptamatṛkā cult of seven goddesses sarga creation satya truth saubhāgyavatī married women śauca purity of body and mind siddhi esoteric powers sīmantonnayana rite in which the hair of pregnant woman is parted smārta a smṛti tradition that means remembered śoka sorrow śrāddha ancestral rites śrauta a Vedic tradition dominated by sacrifices strīdharma duties of women strīsvabhāva nature of women strīvrata sacred vows among women sūta bards

Glossary

259

tantra loom tapa austerities tapa penance tapasvī a male practising penance tapasvinī the woman who undertakes tapa tīrthaphala fruits of pilgrimage tīrthas pilgrimage upabheda sub-sections upākhyānas short narratives upanayana rite of initiation for boys belonging to the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya upapātakas minor sins upasargāḥ calamities upoṣita fast vaṁśa genealogy of gods and sages, lineage vaṁśānucarita royal dynastic accounts vānaprasthin hermit varṇa division of society into four orders, i.e., brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra varṇasaṁkara intermixture of varṇas varṇāśramadharma duties of the four social orders vāstu-vidyā architecture vedī sacrificial altars vinīta well-disciplined vratas sacred vows yajamāna one who undertakes vedic sacrifices yajña sacrificial rite yajñeśvara lord of sacrifice yajñopavīta sacred thread worn by the dvija yakṣas/yakṣīs semi-divine beings yoginī women with ascetic powers and knowledge of yoga yugas measurement of time

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Name index

Aiyar, K. N. 251 Ali, A. A. 19, 41n111 Altekar, A. S. 19, 41n109 Apte, U. M. 153n109 Arora, R. K. 254n18 Atre, S. 61, 89n66 Awasthi, A. B. L. 254n18 Bader, C. 41n108 Banerjea, J. N. 89n71, 254n17 Banerjee, G. D. 19, 41n106 Barth, A. 24n8, 250 Basham, A. L. 87n29 Basu, N. K. 43n130, 178n20 Bhagwati, G. K. 93n182 Bharadwaj, S. 75, 76, 92n152, 92n156 Bhargava, P. L. 36n31, 255n19 Bhattacharji, S. 4, 33n13, 43n130 Bhattacharya, N. N. 38n55, 61, 67, 89n68, 90n97, 90n102, 90n107, 171 Bolle, K. W. 86n9 Bonazzoli, G. 255n19 Brown, P. 92n138 Burke, P. 16, 40n97 Burnouf, E. 35n29, 250, 253n5 Chakladar, H. C. 22, 42n27 Chakrabarti, K. 8, 32n9, 33n16, 37n50, 38n56, 40n94, 184, 240n15, 241n57, 241n61, 255n23 Chakravarti, C. 255n22 Chakravarti, U. 19, 20, 21, 22, 40n104, 41n112, 42n120, 42n121, 42n125, 43n136 Chatterjee, A. 154n18

Chatterjee, H. N. 150n9 Chattopadhyaya, B. D. 50, 87n17 Chattopadhyaya, D. P. 60, 87n17, 89n63 Chaudhary, R. L. 41n108 Clarke, P. 90n99 Clooney, F. X. 88n56 Coburn, T. B. 35n26 Cohn, B. S. 85 Colpe, C. 86n8 Coomaraswamy, A. K. 91n113 Cross, R. M. 43n135 Dange, S. S. 88n53 Dange, S. A. 59, 89n58, 173 Das, R. M. 20, 41n114 Das, V. 32n7 Dasgupta, S. N. 36n29, 254n17 Dave, S. K. 32n7 Dayal, N. 88n44 Dehejia, V. 43n36, 178n8 Denton, L. T. 43n36, 178n1, 239n1, 239n2, 239n3 Derrett, J. D. M. 157n252 Derrida, J. 18, 41n105 Desai, D. 43n32 Desai, N. Y. 35n26, 43n32 Dikshit, D. P. 32n8 Dikshitar, V. R. R. 31n5, 34n25, 36n29, 178n22, 254n14 Donald, M. 40n100 Doniger, W. 12, 39n74 Dubey, D. P. 93n173 Eck, D. L. 32n6, 75, 92n150, 92n158 Eggeling, J. 253n3

282

Name index

Ensink, J. 92n55 Erndl, K. M. 37n39, 89n69 Erndl, K. M. 89n68

Jha, S. 33n11 Joardar, B. 43n130 Jolly, J. 150n11, 251

Falk, N. A. 43n135 Farquhar, J. N. 34n25, 35n26 Flood, G. 4, 33n17, 34n19, 39n72, 88n45, 88n56 Foucault, M. 15, 39n91, 40n92, 40n93, 118, 159n119, 168, 182

Kane, P. V. 5, 11, 33n14, 34n20, 34n22, 34n23, 34n24, 35n26, 35n27, 35n28, 36n29, 44n146, 49, 53, 55, 66, 87n24, 88n43, 91n124, 92n148, 183, 239n5 Kantawala, S. G. 93n169, 255n22 Kapadia, B. H. 255n21 Kapur, S. 91n115 Kennedy, V. 10, 250, 253n1 Kersenboom-Story, S. C. 43n132 Kinsley, D. R. 62, 89n68 Kirfel, W. 11, 251, 254n10 Kosambi, D. D. 21, 42n117, 60, 61 Kramrisch, S. 88n57 Krishnamoorthy, V. A. 43n138 Kulke, H. 50, 86n4, 86n5, 87n14, 87n16 Kumar, S. K. 93n173

Gadol, J. K. 40n101 Gail, A. 36n29 Gatwood, L. E. 43n137 Genovese, E. F. 18, 40n103 Ghosh, A. 36n31 Gonda, J. 23, 43n129, 88n53 Gulati, S. 20, 41n115 Gupta, A. S. 90n103, 93n174, 255n19 Gupta, K. K. 91n134 Gupta, S. 90n103 Gyani, S. D. 35n28 Hardy, F. 36n29, 37n35, 88n54, 90n99 Hawley, J. S. 43n137, 89n68 Hazra, R. C. 5, 8, 9, 31n5, 34n20, 34n22, 34n24, 35n26, 35n27, 35n28, 36n29, 36n32, 36n48, 36n49, 38n56, 39n76, 53, 61, 65, 87n24, 87n28, 89n67, 90n95, 251, 253n5, 254n15 Hiltebeitel, A. 37n39, 89n69 Hopkins, E. W. 41n5, 250, 254n8 Horner, I. B. 22, 42n124 Hurcombe, L. 40n100 Indra, M. 41n108, 63, 109, 122, 133, 136, 137, 165, 171, 190, 227 Jackson, A. M. T. 36n32 Jain, K. C. 91n136 Jain, R. 32n8 Jaini, P. S. 42n126 Jaiswal, S. 42n126, 57, 86n7, 88n51, 88n54, 88n55 Jamison, S. W. 26, 27, 44n144, 161 Jayal, S. 20, 41n116 Jha, D. N. 34n18, 49, 87n14

Law, B. C. 36n31 Layle, P. G. 254n18 Lerner, G. 17, 40n100, 40n102 Leslie, I. J. 43n134 Lochtefeld, J. G. 92n152 Lubin, T. 239n7 Majumdar, B. P. 20, 35n26, 38n59, 41n113, 87n19 Mani, V. 251, 254n14 Marglin, F. A. 43n132 Marshall, J. 89n65 Matchett, F. 39n72 Mathur, A. D. 157n257 Mazumdar, B. C. 251, 254n13 McDaniel, J. 89n68 Mehendale, D. M. 35n26 Mehta, S. 254n17 Meister, M. W. 91n136 Menski, W. F. 157n252 Michelfelder, D. P. 41n105 Mishra, B. B. 255n21 Mishra, R. K. 91n136 Mishra, R. N. 91n113 Mishra, Y. 255n22 Mitra, K. N. 240n46

Name index Mittal, S. 89n68 Mitter, D. N. 19, 41n106 Moore, H. L. 40n99 Mukherjee, P. 20, 41n116 Nair, J. 43n32 Nandi, R. N. 92n151 Narayanan, M. G. S. 42n126 Nath, V. 37n40, 38n56, 51, 58, 79, 86n6, 93n183, 93n185 Olivelle, P. 26, 44n143, 44n144 Orr, L.C. 44n141, 239n4 Padoux, A. 38n54, 90n97 Pal, P. 241n52 Palmer, R. E. 41n105 Pandey, R. 41n108, 179n22 Pandey, R. B. 94n98 Pandeya, R. B. 37n39 Pargiter, F. E. 11, 31n1, 35n26, 38n69, 251, 253n5, 254n9 Parish, S. M. 91n16 Pathak, V. S. 93n171 Patni, B. 255n21 Perrot, M. 34n18 Pinkhaim, M. W. 41n108 Pintchman, T. 43n147, 61, 89n68, 239n4 Pollock, S. 37n36, 49, 86n11 Pusalkar, A. D. 35n29, 36n29, 39n76, 254n17 Raghavan, G. N. S. 19, 41n111 Raghavan, V. 32n8 Ramaswamy, V. 42n126, 43n136 Rao, M. K. S. 33n10 Rao, V. N. 32n5 Rapson, E. J. 254n12 Reddy, V. V. S. 92n139, 92n140 Ricoeur, P. 86n9 Rocher, L. 4, 10, 31n5, 33n14, 34n20, 34n25, 38n60, 38n62, 252, 255n20 Rorty, R. 25, 44n142 Roy, K. 22, 24, 33n17, 34n18, 40n104, 42n122, 42n126, 44n140, 144, 150n9, 157n246 Rubin, G. 40n99

283

Sahu, B. P. 44n145, 86n5, 86n7, 87n29 Samuel, G. 38n55 Sanderson, A. 90n99 Sangari, K. 23, 41n110, 42n121, 43n133 Saxena, M. 43n131 Schwartzberg, J. E. 85n3, 92n148 Scott, J. W. 40n99 Seltman, C. 41n108 Sen, A. P. 38n51 Sen, D. C. 32n9 Sen, S. 32n9 Sengupta, N. N. 93n173, 255n21 Sensarma, P. 255n21 Sered, S. S. 239n4 Shah, K. K. 24, 44n139 Sharma, A. 88n54 Sharma, D. 151n13 Sharma, M. R. 151n13 Sharma, R. S. 91n32, 157n236, 239n9 Sharma, R.S. 21, 34n18, 42n119, 49, 87n29 Shastri, H. 35n26, 35n28, 38n61, 253n3 Sheridan, D. P. 37n35 Shrivastava, K. S. 88n57 Shulman, D. D. 32n8 Singh, R. B. P. 33n11 Singh, U. 24, 44n140, 49, 87n17, 87n20, 87n21, 91n125 Sinha, J. P. 92n155 Sinha, S. N. 43n130, 43n140, 86n5, 178n20, 251, 254n13 Sircar, D. C. 87n19, 92n157, 257n17 Smith, F. M. 179n45 Soloman, R. 93n190 Somany, G. 88n53 Sommers, C. H. 43n133 Sternbach, L. 92n155, 151n15 Stewart, T. K. 88n56 Sullivan, B. M. 39n81 Sutton, N. 184, 239n12 Talbot, C. 43n137 Tandon, Y. 254n17

284

Name index

Taylor, M. C. 37n39, 39n85 Teun, G. 90n103 Thapar, R. 90n103 Thomas, P. 19, 41n107 Thursby, G. 89n68 Tyagi, A. K. 42n126 Tyagi, J. 23n17, 34n18, 42n123 Upadhyaya, B. S. 19 Upadhyaya, N. 41n108 Upadhye, P. M. 93n173

Vaid, S. 43n133 Vanita, R. 178n19 Varma, R. 254n18 Wilson, H. H. 11, 31n1, 35n26, 35n28, 39n70, 250 Winternitz, M. 32n6, 33n11, 35n25, 35n26, 254n11 Witzel, M. 33n17, 37n36 Wulff, D. M. 43n137, 89n68 Yadava, B. N. S. 49, 87n29

Subject index

Numbers in bold represent tables. acculturation 8, 15–16, 40n96, 85, 118, 150 adaptation 15–16, 233 adultery 147–50 Agni and Bhāgavata Purāṇas 226–27 Agni Purāṇa 35n28, 37n33, 70–71, 74–75, 77–78, 114–17, 136–38, 141–42, 144–47, 166–67, 174–75, 209–21, 209–21, 227–28, 230–31 Agni Vrata 220 Altekar’s ghost 19 Anaṅgadāna Vrata 167, 197, 235 ancestors 76, 78–79, 83, 99, 134, 136–37, 165–66, 188, 198, 200, 217, 223 Ancient and Medieval Religious 33n14, 35n28, 87n24, 88n43, 91n124, 92n148 Ancient India, women in 27, 41n108, 161, 263 Ancient Indian Tradition 92n159, 253n7 Ārṣa form of marriage 101 Ārṣa vivāha 101 Āsura vivāha 102 auspicious days 117–18, 186, 187, 190, 192, 222, 223–25 Bhādra 195, 211–12, 215 Bhāgavata 1, 4, 6, 9, 32n9, 33n10, 33n15, 56–57, 97, 116, 120, 124, 185, 226–27, 245, 250, 254n17

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 6, 222–25, 222–25 Bhāgavata Purāṇa 52–53, 57, 76, 104, 109–10, 124, 136, 143, 164, 186, 226–27, 235 brāhmaṇa couple 200, 202, 204 brāhmaṇa woman 12, 108 brahmanical codes 97–99 brahmanical ideology 4 brahmanical texts 2, 4, 22, 68, 104 brahmanism 8–9, 48, 65, 67, 86n6, 98, 100, 233, 242, 249 Brāhma vivāha 100 bride 97, 101–02, 104, 112–13, 115–18, 125, 144–45, 150, 153n117 bridegroom 101–02, 113–16, 145, 153n117 caste 4, 17–18, 21, 29, 32n7, 40n104, 42n118, 50, 96 Cāturmāsya Vrata 219, 227 charity: brāhmaṇas in 197–98 charity, 165–67, 181, 200–01, 205, 208, 209, 224 Christian era 24 Civil Law 87n24, 88n43, 91n124, 92n148 cows 52, 76–77, 80–81, 127, 145, 147, 165–66, 171, 173, 199–208, 212, 214, 216, 218–20, 222 Daiva vivāha 101 demi-gods 67

286

Subject index

Devadasis 43n132 Devayānī 104, 108, 110, 138–39, 148 Devī Bhāgavata 9, 254n18 Devī Bhāgavatapurāṇam 38n52, 253n6 Devī-Māhātmya 35n26, 61–64, 89n68, 190, 191 Dharmaśāstra 86n10, 87n24, 88n43, 90n96, 91n124, 92n148, 93n162, 94n193, 105, 144–45, 150n11, 151n15, 152n52, 153n109, 156n236, 166–67, 239n5, 240n18, 242–44, 243, 244, 247–48 divine mother 64–65 duties of women 48, 183, 252, 258 dvijas 7 Early India: women in 42n122, 243 early India, 18, 21, 25, 31, 33n17, 34n18, 38n51, 40n104, 42n126, 43n131, 44n139, 87n14, 150n9, 151n39, 153n120, 157n246 eka-brāhmaṇa 50 Eliade 38n54, 86n8, 264 fasting 14, 181, 184, 189, 191, 205 feminine principle 68–70 fertility 65–67, 116 festivals 4, 6, 65, 186, 188–89, 191, 226, 230, 250 Gāndharva vivāha 102–03 gender. See also women: complementarity 65, 68, 70; issues 1–2, 61, 96; in Purāṇic cosmogonic myths 68–70; relations 1, 15–17, 21–22, 27, 41n112, 43n131; roles 2, 5, 31, 126 generations 13–14, 78, 83, 107, 169, 198 goddesses, 32n9, 36n31, 58, 60–67, 76, 82, 89n67, 90n90, 117, 139, 191, 211 goddesses, individual 63–65 Govardhana Pūjā 189, 222, 225, 227

heterogeneity 4 Hinduism 33n17, 34n20, 39n72, 43n136, 86n6, 88n56, 91n113, 151n11, 178n1, 239n1 Hindu Law 41n106, 150n11, 157n252 Hindu Purāṇas 37n39, 39n81 Hindu Women 41n108, 179n45 Hindu World 32n5, 88n45, 89n68, 92n152 history: of Dharmaśāstra 44n146, 86n10, 87n24, 88n43, 90n96, 91n124, 92n148, 93n162, 94n193, 150n11, 152n52, 153n117, 156n236, 239n5, 240n18; of Indian literature 32n6, 33n11, 35n26, 254n11, 280; of marriage and prostitution 178n20; of religions 90n85, 92n150; of women 40n101 honour 87n29, 130, 134, 137, 164, 176, 185, 196–98, 209, 212 kaliyuga: characteristics of 53–54; varṇasaṁkara in 54–55 Mahābhārata 8 mahādānas (great gifts) 79–80; popular appeal of 82–83; society, politics 80–82 mahāpurāṇas 31n5 marginalised social categories 97–99 Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa 36n31, 190 marriage: Ārṣa vivāha 101; Āsura vivāha 102; auspicious days for 117–18; brahmanical rules of 107–08; Brāhma vivāha 100; bride and groom, qualifications of 112–15; celebrations 118–19; Daiva vivāha 101; daughters 122–23; eight forms of 100; evil influences 116–17; familial structure 120–21; family and household 119–20; Gāndharva vivāha 102–03; husbands towards wives, obligations of 128; ideal woman, images and stories of 124–25; institution of 106–07; invoking various goddesses

Subject index

287

117; jewel of household 123; monogamy 111–12; Paiśāca vivāha 104–06; pativratā 123–24; polyandrous marriage 109; polygyny 110; Prājāpatya vivāha 101–02; in the purāṇic age 99–100; Rākṣasa vivāha 103–04; remarriage, five conditions 142; rites of 116; Sāvitrī and Dharmarāja 130–32; service of husband 126–27; sons, unquestioning obedience of 121–22; Śrī, earthly representative of 127–28; theorised norms 108–09; virtuous wife 125–26; wealth, fame, fathers, and sons 121; women’s participation in rituals 128–30 Matsya Purāṇa 190, 191, 192–208, 226

of 28; social matrix 3; socioreligious milieu 1 Purāṇic traditions: creation of 47–52; and social flux 49–50; women in 16–18

narrative structures 1–2 niyoga 142–44 non-brāhmaṇical traditions 230–32

tantra 66 temples and temple rituals 70–84; devotional music and dance 73–74; historical and geographical signposts 72–73; sacred spaces and rules 70–72 tîrtha (pilgrimage) 74–76

Paiśāca vivāha 104–06 pātaka 172–74 pilgrimage network 76–77 politico-religious configurations 248 Prājāpatya vivāha 101–02 prāyaścitta 174–75 property rights 144–45 prostitution 164–65 Purāṇas 4; chronology of 5–6; kaliyuga in 52–53 Purāṇic cosmogonic myths 68–70 Purāṇic literature: acculturation 15–16; adaptation 15–16; chronology 12–15; elements of truth 15; genesis and development of 9–16; historical processes 15–16; lineage, importance of 11–12 Purāṇic narrative and gender, shaping of 70 Purāṇic pantheon 55–56 purāṇic society 164–65 Purāṇic texts: dialogic structure of 159; negotiation, complex process

Rākṣasa vivāha 103–04 religious rituals, significance of 182 Śāktism 60–62 sati ritual 140–41 society 242 socio-economic changes 51–52 socio-economic configurations 248 socio-historical scenario 6 sons, categories of 144 sovereign, rights of 146 strīdhana 145 śūdra 159

upapurāṇas 31n5 Vaiṣṇavism 56–58 varṇas 7 varṇasaṁkara, theory of 50–51 varṇāśramadharma 8 vedic period 19 Visṇu Purāṇa 6–8 vrata 232 Vratas 227–30; types and significance of 187–89 vratas, meaning and classification of 183–86 widows: commodification of 142–44; remarriage 141–42; restrictions on 141 women 17–18, 225–26; changing role of 74; and concepts of impurity 170–72; daughters

288

Subject index

138–40; in early India 18–25; education, art, culture 162–63; inherent impurity 159–175; in kaliyuga 175–78; limited role of 83–84; as mother 134; nature and behaviour 168–70; outside traditional society 160–61; positive constructs and 23–25;

with power and knowledge 161–62; purāṇic concessions to 238–39; Purāṇic Hinduism and 84–85; in Purāṇic tradition 16–18; religious rituals prescribed for 183–86; and sin 172–74; valiant sons 136–38; wealth 145; widow 140–44