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Hinduism
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Hindus History
Origins Historical Hindu synthesis (500/200 BCE-300 CE) History Indus Valley Civilisation Historical Vedic religion Dravidian folk religion Śramaṇa Tribal religions in India Traditional Itihasa-Purana Epic-Puranic royal genealogies Epic-Puranic chronology
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Concepts Worldview Cosmology Mythology Ontology Tattvas Subtle elements Panchikarana Gross elements Guṇas Supreme reality Brahman Nirguna Saguna Om Satcitananda God Ishvara God in Hinduism God and gender Meaning of life Dharma Artha Kama Moksha Stages of life Brahmacarya Grihastha Vanaprastha Sannyasa Three paths to liberation Bhakti yoga Jnana yoga Karma yoga Liberation Mokṣa-related topics: Paramātman Maya Karma Saṃsāra Mind Ātman (self) Anātman (non-self) Sūkṣma śarīra (subtle body) Antaḥkaraṇa (mental organs) Prajña (wisdom) Ānanda (happiness) Viveka (discernment) Vairagya (dispassion) Sama (equanimity) Dama (temperance) Uparati (self-settledness) Titiksha (forbearance) Shraddha (faith) Samadhana (concentration) Arishadvargas (six enemies) Ahamkara (attachment) Ethics Niti śastra Yamas Niyama Ahimsa Achourya Aparigraha Brahmacarya Satya Damah Dayā Akrodha Arjava Santosha Tapas Svādhyāya Shaucha Mitahara Dāna Sources of dharma Epistemology Pratyakṣa (perception) Anumāṇa (inference) Upamāṇa (comparison, analogy) Arthāpatti (postulation, presumption) Anupalabdi (non-perception, negation) Śabda (word, testimony)
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Philosophical schools Six Astika schools Samkhya Yoga Nyaya Vaisheshika Mimamsa Vedanta Advaita Dvaita Vishishtadvaita Achintya Bheda Abheda Shuddhadvaita Dvaitadvaita Akshar-Purushottam Darshan Other schools Shaiva Kapalika Pasupata Pratyabhijña Vaishnava Pancharatra Charvaka
Gurus, sants, philosophers Ancient Agastya Angiras Aruni Ashtavakra Atri Bharadwaja Gotama Jaimini Jamadagni Kanada Kapila Kashyapa Patanjali Pāṇini Prashastapada Raikva Satyakama Jabala Valmiki Vashistha Vishvamitra Vyasa Yajnavalkya Medieval Abhinavagupta Adi Shankara Akka Mahadevi Allama Prabhu Alvars Basava Chaitanya Ramdas Kathiababa Chakradhara Chāngadeva Dadu Dayal Eknath Gangesha Upadhyaya Santadas Kathiababa Gaudapada Gorakshanatha Haridasa Thakur Harivansh Jagannatha Dasa Jayanta Bhatta Jayatīrtha Jiva Goswami Jñāneśvar Kabir Kanaka Dasa Kumārila Bhaṭṭa Madhusūdana Madhva Matsyendranatha Morya Gosavi Mukundarāja Namadeva Narahari Tirtha Narasimha Saraswati Nayanars Nimbarkacharya Prabhākara Purandara Dasa Raghavendra Swami Raghunatha Siromani Raghuttama Tirtha Ram Charan Ramananda Ramanuja Ramprasad Sen Ravidas Rupa Goswami Samarth Ramdas Sankardev Satyanatha Tirtha Siddheshwar Sripada Srivallabha Sripadaraja Surdas Swaminarayan Śyāma Śastri Tukaram Tulsidas Tyagaraja Vācaspati Miśra Vadiraja Tirtha Vallabha Valluvar Vedanta Desika Vidyaranya Vyasaraja Modern Aurobindo Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Bhaktivinoda Thakur Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Chinmayananda Dayananda Saraswati Jaggi Vasudev Krishnananda Saraswati Mahavatar Babaji Mahesh Yogi Narayana Guru Nigamananda Nisargadatta Maharaj Prabhupada Radhakrishnan R. D. Ranade Ramakrishna Rama Tirtha Ramana Maharshi Ravi Shankar Ramdas Samarth Sathya Sai Baba Shirdi Sai Baba Shraddhanand Satyadhyana Tirtha Siddharameshwar Maharaj Sivananda Trailanga U. G. Krishnamurti Upasni Maharaj Vethathiri Maharishi Vivekananda Yogananda
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Society Varna Four varnas: Brahmana Kshatriya Vaishya Shudra Varna-less: Dalit Varna-related topics: Jati Other society-related topics: Discrimination Persecution Nationalism Hindutva Organisations Reform movements
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Glossary Outline Hinduism portal
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Hindu texts present diverse views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess, to limiting gender roles. The Devi Sukta hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, declares the feminine energy as the essence of the universe, the one who creates all matter and consciousness, the eternal and infinite, the metaphysical and empirical reality (Brahman), the soul, (supreme self) of everything.^[1]^[2] The woman is celebrated as the most powerful and the empowering force in some Hindu Upanishads, Sastras and Puranas, particularly the Devi Upanishad, Devi Mahatmya and Devi-Bhagavata Purana.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Ancient and medieval era Hindu texts present a diverse picture of duties and rights of women in Hinduism. The texts recognize eight kinds of marriage, ranging from father finding a marriage partner for his daughter and seeking her consent (Brahma or Devic marriage), to the bride and groom finding each other without parental participation (Gandharva marriage) and paishachik (against God's blessing) marriage by force against woman, not following varnashram dharm and without parents blessing.^[6]^[7] Scholars state that Vedic-era Hindu texts did not have the practice of Dowry or Sati.^[8]^[9] These practices likely became widespread sometime in the 2nd millennium CE from socio-political developments in the Indian subcontinent.^[10]^[11] Throughout history, Hindu society has seen many female rulers, such as Rudramadevi, religious figures and saints, such as Andal, philosophers, such as Maitreyi, and female practitioners/ conductors of Vedic Hindu rituals.^[12]^[13]

Hinduism, states Bryant, has the strongest presence of the divine feminine among major world religions, from ancient times to the present.^[14] The goddess is viewed as central in Shakti and Shiva Hindu traditions.^[15]^[16] Matriarchal theology is quite prevalent in Sanskritic traditions and village Hinduism relating to the worship of Shakti, and there are numerous Hindu communities that are matriarchal.^[13]

^ McDaniel 2004, p. 90.
^ Brown 1998, p. 26.
^ McDaniel 2004, pp. 90–92.
^ C. Mackenzie Brown (1990), The Triumph of the Goddess, State University of New York Press, ISBN , page 77
^ Thomas Coburn (2002), Devī Māhātmya: The Crystallization of the Goddess Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120805576, pages 138, 303-309
^ Rajbali Pandey (1969), Hindu Sanskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 158-170 and Chapter VIII
^ Cite error: The named reference jgl2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference witzeldowry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference davidbrick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference anandyang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference ssshashi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Liljeström, Marianne; Paasonen, Susanna (8 March 2010). Working with Affect in Feminist Readings: Disturbing Differences. Routledge. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-134-01789-8.
^ ^a ^b Kramarae, Cheris; Spender, Dale (16 April 2004). Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge. Routledge. p. 1059. ISBN 978-1-135-96315-6.
^ Bryant, Edwin (2007), Krishna: A Sourcebook, Oxford University Press, p. 441
^ David Kinsley (2005), Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions, University of California Press, ISBN 978-8120803947, pages 6-17, 55-64
^ Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., ISBN 1-4051-3251-5, pages 200-203

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