Unveiling womanhood in early medieval north India Circa 650 1200 CE

Abstract

We have examined the different aspects of women s life in early medieval India between the seventh and twelfth century CE through detailed analysis of literary, epigraphic, numismatic and sculptural sources. Several royal and non-royal women are constantly documented in the primary sources but they barely receive any attention in the secondary works. Hence, we have highlighted the insensitivity to gender issues displayed by majority of secondary sources on this period to show the insidious manner in which the presence of women has been ignored. The thesis includes the issue of historiography of women studies, location of women within the family, women s access to resources, their active participation as donors, role of women within religion, the importance of the mother goddess cult, the concept of salvation for women in different religions, political and administrative power enjoyed by women and the important roles played by them in the public sphere. Spatially, we deal with the diverse regions of north India such as Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bengal, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. There are two major implications for the period under survey that derive from this study; we cannot make any sweeping statements under any circumstances which are applied to early medieval India as a whole without considering regional gendered variations in society and polity. Also, one cannot assume a linear or progressive pattern in the status of women during this period. For instance, women in Kashmir, clearly enjoyed a more equal status vis-à-vis men than that elsewhere and the assertion of their power seems to have been a fairly constant factor. newline