Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Important ancient women #16499 - 05/20/02 06:37 PM Edit Reply Quote

In the Vedic period there were as many as twenty female Mantramaking Rshis of the RigVeda according to the Sarv�nukramanik�. To name a few: Lop�mudr�, Vishvav�r�, Sikat�, Niv�vari, Ghosh�, Ap�l�, Shachii Indr�ni, etc. Respect is given to the scholarship of Sulabh� Maitreyii, Vadav� Pr�thiteyii and G�rgii V�chaknavii (Aashval�yana Grhya S�tra III-4-4). Female students were known as: 1. Brahmav�dinii: these were the lifelong students (married or not). 2. Sadyodv�ha: these were the Brahmacharinii students (till marriage). They were studying the Vedas in all kinds of disciplines. Somewhat later there were also philosophical specialist of the highest order: 1. G�rgii who had a famous debate under king Janaka with Y�jnavalkya. 2. Maitreyii the wife of a Y�jnavalkya was an excellent Brahmav�dinii. 3. K�ty�yanii the wife of a Y�jnavalkya was also an excellent Brahmav�dinii. 4. K�shakrtsn� were according to the Mah�bh�shya female specialists in the K�shakrtsnii Miim�ms�. 5. Aatreyii was an excellent student, together with Lava and Kusha, under V�lmikii and Agastya. 6. Two daughters of D�ksh�yana were expert scholars. There was also co-education (even resulting sometimes in love marriages) 1. Kahoda and Suj�t� 2. Ruru and Pramadvar� In the Buddhist period: 1. Sanghamitr� who even went to Ceylon and became a famous Buddhist teacher. 2. Theri students like: Shubh�, Anupam�, Sumedh�, etc. 3. Jayantii, the daughter of king Sahasr�niika of Kaush�mbii remained unmarried and recieved instructions from Mah�viira Jiina. As there were many female teachers, there was a special word to distinguish them from wifes of scholars: 1. Up�dhy�y�nii is a wife of a scholar, not necessarily a scholar herself. 2. Up�dhy�y� is a female scholar. There was also a word for word for female Aach�ryas and that was Aach�ry�. K�vya period 1. H�l� mentions and selects in his Sattasai in Mah�r�shtrii Pr�krta seven poettesses: Rev�, Roh�, M�dhavii, Anulakshmii, Pahaii, Vaddhavahii and Shashiiprabh�. 2. Shiilabhatt�rik� was remembered as a poetess of the highest order with a graceful and easy Sanskrit style. 3. Devii was a poetess of Gujarat. 4. Vijay�nk�'s fame was only second to K�lid�sa!! Even a distinguished critic and poet like R�jashekhara compares her to Goddess Sarasvatii! 5. M�rul�, Morik� and Subhadr� are also great poetesses. The wife of Mandana Mishra was umpire in the debate between Shankara and Mandana Mishra! Obviously she was very well grounded in literature and philosophy. And she was trusted to be impartial too! There were also women in medicines too of which one treatise is only known from her translated work in Arabic in the eight century AD. Her name was R�s�! Some women with military training: 1. Shikhandinii, etc in the older period 2. N�yik� of the S�tav�hana dynasty. 3. Prabh�vatii Gupt� of the V�k�taka dynasty. 4. Vijayabhatt�rik� of the Ch�lukya dynasty. 5. Sugandh� and Didd� of Kashmirii dynasty. 6. Rajput and Maratha queens.