Women in Indian Mythology: Seeking Order in the Chaotic Interpretations

Women are perhaps one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented figures in the annals of history. This stands particularly true in patriarchal societies, especially, the religious texts and mythologies of such groups, where women are either completely ignored or mostly seen as carriers of men’s community values. The case is no different in Indian Epic Age (circa 2000 to 700 BCE) the period that lies interspersed between the composition of the first known Hindu text, the Rig Veda, and the rise of Buddhism. The product of this age were the two great Indian Epics viz. the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Although historians and archaeologists argue about which of the two was composed first, this particular study is centred around the position of women as seen in the two Epics and attempts to evaluate whether it had actually deteriorated as compared to the Vedic Age or not. It also attempts to restudy the available historiography and examine whether women in the Epic Age really succumbed to the notions of patriarchy or whether these notions were imposed upon them around the late ancient and early medieval times (circa 500 to 800 CE). For the purpose of this study, the female characters of the two Epics have been studied in detail and the revision and rewriting of the epics around 500 CE has been taken into consideration.