The true status of a nation can be estimated from the condition of women in that nation. – French scholar Charles Fourier.
The ancient Aryans had established the patriarchal family system in which proper respect and prestige were arranged for women. Women had a special role in both the family and society. She was the basis of Aryan culture as a daughter, wife and mother.
Arya Dharmashastras considered woman to be the owner of knowledge, modesty, love, fame and wealth. She had got this position naturally and naturally, but with the passage of time the social conditions changed and restrictions and taboos started being imposed on women. There came a time when women completely lost the right to equality with men and she became a follower of man.
Status of women in Rigvedic period
Social Status
In the Rigvedic period (from 4000 BC to 3000 BC), no economic, social and religious function of the family could be completed without women. A man was considered incomplete without a woman. Unless a man had attained Bharya after marriage, he could not perform the sacrificial rituals. The society is governed by children and the attainment of children was possible only when there were both men and women. That's why a woman is considered a man's 'Ardagini' Said.
From the Vedic sacrifices to the Varna system and the Ashram system, women were the basis. Women were also the basis of Panch-Mahayagyas. Women were also the basis of Shradh, Bali, Havishya etc. Him 'Shri' and 'Lakshmi' It is said that she used to create happiness and prosperity in the house. There is not a single mention in the Rigveda in which the position of a woman appears to be inferior or less important than that of a man or she is in a subordinate position to that of a man.
There is no mention of the purdah system in the Rigvedic period. She could go out of the house freely. In the early Aryan society, women were not as free and free as they were in any later period. In the Rigvedic period, women were equal to men in all respects. She took part in social and religious festivals without any restrictions. Women of that period used to participate in yagyas, meetings, committees and seminars along with men. The only man was ineligible for the sacrifice.
Women's Education
In the Rigvedic period, women used to receive education freely. During this period, women used to sing hymns of Rigveda in meetings and meetings. It is mentioned in Rigveda that some learned women worshiped Rigveda hymns. The names of twenty women who made intellectual contributions in that era are- Romasha, Apala, Urvashi, Vishwadhara, Sikta, Nibabri, Ghosha, Lopamuda etc.
Upanayana Ceremony
Like the son in the Rigvedic period, the daughter was also performed the Upanayana ceremony before Vidyarambha and she also studied the Vedas following celibacy. This arrangement continued with some laxity till the memory period. In the Vedic age, there were two classes of girl students - (1) Sadyovadhu and (2) Brahmavadini. Sadyovadhu were those girl students who used to get the knowledge of Veda Mantras and Yagnik prayers before marriage.
The Brahmavadinis were those who devoted their whole life to getting the education of the Vedas. Vedavati, the daughter of sage Kushadhwaj, was such a Brahmavadini woman. Co-education was also prevalent in that era. Atreyi and Luv-Kush had taken education together in Valmiki Ashram. The example of co-education is also found in Mahabharata when Amba and Shaikhwatya studied together. Many women used to lead the life of teachers by becoming teachers. Such women were called Upadhyayas.
Marriage Ceremony
In Aryan culture, marriage was considered an obligatory religious ceremony. Its main purpose was to fulfill those various purusharthas, in the attainment of which the man needed the cooperation of the wife. The beginning of the household life of man and woman was considered to be from marriage itself. Since no religious resolution was possible without a wife, she should be 'Dharmpatni' OR 'coherent' Having said. In Vedic times, women were married after attaining puberty, but with the passage of time the age of the woman changed.
Women's economic status
There are some such mentions in the Vedic period which do not accept the right of women in property, but these are exceptions. He had a share in the property. She was not considered less than a son in any way. The daughter was superior to the adopted son. In the absence of a son, she was considered the heir. This system continued in the society till the 4th century AD.
Political Status of Women
There is no mention of any female empress in the four Vedas including the Rigveda. The participation of women in any war in the Vedic period is not discussed at a single place.
Status of women in the later Vedic period
In the Atharvaveda (BC1500-BC1000), there is a mention of sadness at the birth of a daughter. Similarly, in the Atreya brahmin for a daughter at one place 'Kripan' The word is used. In this period, although the birth of a daughter was not a sign of happiness, yet her upbringing and education were not neglected. She was a respected part of the social system.
Status of Women in Epic Period
In the epic period (800-600 BC), women were respected and there were no restrictions on them. Women used to participate in social festivals and religious festivals. Sita's walk in the forests in the Ramayana and Draupadi's travels in the forests with her husbands in the Mahabharata express their social status. He had an important contribution in social and religious activities. There was a feeling of respect in the society towards him. In Ramayana also, respect and respect for Sita has been said.
A man alone could not perform the Yagya. This woman's place remained till the time of the creation of Ramayana, in which Rama had to keep a golden-statue of his wife Sita in the Ashwamedha Yagya in the absence of Sita. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamah has said that a woman should always be treated with affection by treating her as worshipable. Where women are respected, gods reside there.
In the absence of a woman, all work becomes impure. In another place Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that women are naturally unable to suppress their lust, so they should be under the protection of a man.
Marriage Ceremony
The Swayamvara system was prevalent during the period of the epics, which is indicative of the youth-marriages that took place in that era. It was believed in this period that if a girl is not married when she is young, then the girl's father is hell-going and that girl is free to choose her own groom. Keeping a young girl child in his house was considered reprehensible.
Types of Marriage
Eight types of marriage systems came into vogue in India from the Vedic period to the Sutra period. The scriptures have given eight types of marriages named Brahma Vivah, Dev Vivah, Arsha Vivah, Prajapatya Vivah, Gandharva Vivah, Asura Vivah, Rakshasa Vivah and Paishach Vivah.
Of these, the first four types of marriages were respected and accepted, and the last four were considered condemnable. The nature of all these types of marriages changed according to the time and circumstances. Although it was considered best to marry within one's own Varna, yet marriages outside the Varna were also prevalent.
The practice of polygamy
Polygamy was prevalent during the epic period. King Dasharatha had three queens while Draupadi married five men. Marriage of many women with one man was common practice, but marriage of one woman with many men is found only as an exception.
Curtain custom
Valmiki has written in the Ramayana that Sita, which was not even seen by the celestial ghosts, is being seen by people standing on the Rajpath going to the forest today. It can be guessed that even though Sita does not veil, but during the creation of Ramayana, women started living in purdah. 'Asuryampashya' for Duryodhana's wives in Mahabharata The word has come which means that she lived in the curtain and she never even came out of the screen to see the sun.
Sati-practice
The word sati is used in Ramayana but it was not mandatory to have sati on the death of husband. Not a single queen was sati when King Dasharatha died. On the death of Bali, Tara married Sugriva. Mandodari married Vibhishana on the death of Ravana, but Sulochana was sati on the death of Meghnad. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that Maharani Madri used to do sati with Maharaj Pandu but the elder queen Kunti was not sati.
The four queens of Vasudeva – Devaki, Bhadra, Rohini and Mandira – ascend on the pyre of Lord Krishna's father Vasudev to commit sati. Similarly, when the news of Krishna's transcendence reaches Hastinapur, five of his eight wives - Rukmani, Gandhari, Sahya, Haimavati and Jambavati - cremate the pyre without the body of their husband.
Prohibition on Widow-Marriage
There was no restriction on widow-marriage in the Vedic period. The Dharmashastras had also recognized the practice of Niyoga, but after the Buddhist era, the administrators prohibited widow-marriage and Niyoga-practice. A life of strict abstinence was considered ideal for the widow-woman.
Prohibition of divorce
In the Vedic age, a woman could leave her husband. This situation remained till the time of the creation of Dharmasutra texts. The Dharmasutras have asked to give up caste-corrupt and impotent husbands. Many examples of divorce are found in Buddhist literature, but Hindu scholars like Narada etc. have not given the right of divorce to the husband or wife. Only in certain circumstances a woman could abandon her husband. If the husband, being a woman, had married another woman, the woman could leave her husband.
In such a situation, the husband had to make proper arrangements for the maintenance of the first wife. Even in the Middle Ages, women had the right to leave their husbands, but it was very difficult and painful for single women to survive. Women did not have equal rights. The women who followed the dissolution of marriage, the society considered them to be inferior. Manu ordained that even if a woman's husband is bad-character, adulterous and deviant, the wife should serve him. The relation of husband and wife was considered for birth after birth.
Right to Property
In Indian culture, women's property rights were discussed from the very beginning, but she was not generally considered to be the right of property. It is written in the Mahabharata that the daughter must get half the property, if not the whole.