Women in Ancient India

Throughout most of ancient Indian history, the role of women was more or less confined to the home. Though there are instances where women wielded power and authority, this did not imply the common lot of the women in ancient India.

A woman was under the patriarchal authority of her parents, husband and sons. Even under Buddhism which boasted of liberal rules, a nun would be treated as subordinate to her male counterpart.

The status of women in ancient India kept on changing at different stages. During the Rig Vedic Period, women were treated equal to man.  During the Vedic period women participated in the public sacrifices alongside men. Some Vedic hymns are attributed to women.   During this period, there were women rishis, and they were treated with respect and dignity.

However with the passage of time the status of women declined. 

Manu, one of the famous lawgivers of ancient India, declared that wife, like the slave, has no right to property. He dictated a woman would be dependent on her father in childhood, on her husband in youth and on her son in old age. However, some allowed a woman to own their special property (stridhana) in the form of jewellery and clothing.

In ancient Indian society a woman could find their role in religion, but could not serve the temples as priestess.

However in Vedic period the position of women was much more enhanced. Women seers are said to have composed some o the Vedic hymns. The famous discussion between Gargi and Yajnavalkya is well known. But by the beginning of the Christian era, women were declared ineligible for Vedic study. However, there are references to many references to literary works attributed to women poets and dramatists. In Tamil literature, the early poetess Avvaiyar composed works of high literary merit. Poruna-raatr-uppadai, which describes the victory of Karikala Chola in the battle at Venni near Thanjavur, has been attributed to a potter’s wife.

The earliest  known Sati stone in India is an inscription engraved in A.D. 510 on a pillar found at Eran near Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. The Eran inscription mentions the wife of Goparaja, a vassal of Bhanugupta of the Gupta empire, burning herself on her husband's pyre.  The inscription mentions that his wife followed him on the pyre after his death in the battle against the Hunas.

 The practice of sati was disapproved of by Bana, the court poet of Harsha.

Medicine in Ancient India

"The system of blood circulation was discovered by them centuries before Harvey was heard of." - P. Johnstone

The history of medicine in India is as old and as rich as its civilization. Some of the earliest practices of ancient Indian medicine have been documented by Charaka and Shushruta, the two great teachers of Indian medical science. An alumnus of the famed centre of learning Taxila (presently in the Punjab province of Pakistan), he wrote Charaka Samahita, while Shushruta- Samhita was composed by Shushruta. These two are the basic textbooks of Indian medicine.

It can be inferred from these textbooks of ancient Indian science that ancient India placed great importance on prevention rather than cure. Personal hygiene and public health were accorded their due importance. The medical texts recognized the importance of fresh air and light.

Though vegetarianism was much encouraged in ancient India, the ancient medical texts recommended the use of both meat and alcohol in moderation.

The great Mauryan ruler Ashoka is said to have established free dispensaries where Buddhist monks studied medical lore.

The ancient Indian knowledge of physiology was no so superior. The reason was the taboo on contact with corpses. They also have an obscure understanding of the functioning of the brain. For the Indian, much like many other ancient peoples, heart appeared to have performed the function of the brain.

However, ancient India has, of course, developed a good knowledge of surgery. Apart from the caesarian section and bone-setting, the Indian surgeons had mastered the plastic surgery. In fact Indian taught Rhinoplasty to the surgeons of east India company.

Ancient Indians were well familiar with pharmacy. They were familiar with drug preparation from animals, plants and minerals.

The Kailash Temple: Epitome of Indian Rock-cut Architecture

An awesome feat of engineering, the Kailash Temple or the Kailashnath Temple, dedicated to Hindu God Shiva, is the most impressive remainder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Deccan that held sway for more than two centuries. Under the Rashtrakutas the rock-cut architecture in India reached its zenith.

Carved out of the single rock (monolithic) hewn out of Charanandri hills at Ellora under the instructions Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (756-775), the Kailashnath Temple has been described in glowing terms by Percy Brown, the noted writer on Indian architecture. He says, "The temple of Kailash at Ellora is not only the most stupendous single work of art executed in India, but as an example of rock architecture it is unrivalled…. The Kailash is an illustration of one of those occasions when men's minds, hearts and heads work in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal. It was under such conditions of religious and cultural stability that this grand monolith representation of Shiva's paradise was produced."

The shrine of Kailash Temple is complete with shrineroom, hall, gateway, votive pillars, lesser shrines and cloisters. The carvings of Kailashnath Temple are among the finest sculptures in India. Mainly in the form of deep reliefs, these sculptures give the effect of freestanding sculpture and illustrate scenes of mythology. The grand sculpture of Ravana trying to lift Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva, has been vividly portrayed.

Stone inscription with Indus signs found at Dholavira

Recently an inscription on stone, with three big Indus signs and possibly a fourth, has been discovered in the archeological site of Dholavira in the state of Gujarat. The discovery of three-metre long inscription becomes all the more significant since for the first time a Harappa script has been found engraved on a natural stone in the Indus Valley. So far the Harappa script has been found on seals made of terracotta, steatite, ceramics etc.

An artist's impression of Dholavira

The Big Bangle Theory

That wearing bangles in India is an ancient tradition can be gauged from the fact among the various objects found during the excavations of the Harappan cities bangles are also included. And the tradition continues even today. Bangles were also the prized possession of the women in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Iran.

Kot Diji: An Important Harappan Site

The important pre-Harappan and Harappan civilization site of Kot Diji is located on the left bank of the Indus River at the foot of the Rohri Hills of Khairpur district in the Sindh province of Pakistan . 

The excavations at Kot Diji were undertaken by F. A. Khan and G.S. Ghurye of the Pakistan Department of Archaeology between 1955 and 1957.

The Harappan culture at Kot Diji had typical features- a well regulated town –plan with lanes, houses with stone foundations and mud brick walls. The roofs were covered with reed mats as discovered by plastered mud impression.

Storage jars, built on the mud floors, and large unbaked cooking brick-lined ovens were also found. A broken steatite seal, a few inscribed potsherds, beads of terracotta, semi-precious and etched carnelian and other beads, copper / bronze objects, bangles, arrowheads, metal tools and weapons (a blade axe, chisels and arrow heads), terracotta bull, bird and five figurines of the Mother Goddesses were also discovered.

The Indus pottery with original bright red surface and compact texture has the intersecting circles, papal leaf, peacocks, sun symbol, antelope, incised patters etc.

Kalidasa: India’s Foremost Classical Dramatist and Poet

Shakuntala stops to look back at Dushyanta, Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906).

Kalidasa, the greatest of India’s dramatists and poets, has been given the title of Indian Shakespeare by his first English translator, Sir William Jones, the first president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, founded in 1784. His Abhijnanasakuntala (Recognition of Sakuntala) won unqualified praise from Goethe.

Not much is known of Kalidasa‘s life, but there is sufficient evidence to conclude that he lived at the court of Chandragupta II (c 376-415) of the Gupta dynasty. Chandragupta II was a great patron of the arts.

Kalidasa wrote three dramas namely Malvikagnimitra, a comedy of harem love and intrigue ending in the marriage of Shunga king Agnimitra and princess Malvika; Vikramorvasi (Urvasi won by valour), narrating the ancient story of love, separation and final union of the king Puruavas and the nymph Urvasi, and Abhijnanasakuntala. He was the author of two long poems Kumarasambhava (Birth of the War-god), Raghuvamsa (Dynasty of Raghu) and two shorter poems, Meghduta (Cloud Messenger) and the Rtusamhara (Garland of the Seasons).