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Its Just Try Frm my Side
In Vedic times women and men were equal as far as education and religion was concerned. Women participated in the public sacrifices alongside men. One text mentions a female Rush Visvara. Some Vedic hymns, are attributed to women such as Apala, the daughter of Atri, Ghosa, the daughter of Kaksivant or Indrani, the wife of Indra. Apparently in early Vedic times women also received the sacred thread and could study the Vedas. The Haritasmrti mentions a class of women called brahmavadinis who remained unmarried and spent their lives in study and ritual. Panini's distinction between arcarya (a lady teacher) and acaryani (a teacher's wife), and upadhyaya (a woman preceptor) and upadhyayani ( a preceptor's wife) indicates that women at that time could not only be students but also teachers of sacred lore. He mentions the names of several noteworthy women scholars of the past such as Kathi, Kalapi, and Bahvici. The Upanishads refer to several women philosophers, who disputed with their male colleagues such as Vacaknavi, who challenged Yajnavalkya. The Rig Veda also refers to women engaged in warfare. One queen Bispala is mentioned, and even as late a witness as Megasthenes (fifth century B.C. E.) mentions heavily armed women guards protecting Chandragupta's palace.
Women as Purohita - priests
The concept of a female priest is not a new one.
Nutan Vimal Motilal is also a practising priest and points out that women priests were written about in the sacred Vedic texts.
Hindu temples have also requisitioned women.
"They were more honest, sincere and the clarity with which they performed the ceremony was also refreshing," he says.
Both Sunitee Gadgil, who has been practising for 10 years, and Nutan Vimal Motilal, who has been practising for two, say they have never had a negative experience.
With an increasing number of men of religion taking up other more lucrative vocations, women are now stepping into the gap to actually outnumber male priests in Maharashtra.
Dr. V L. Manjul, a research scholar and chief librarian at Pune's Bhandarkar Oriental Re. search Institute, says "between 1986 and '96, about 6,000 women have been trained as purohits (priests) and today, lady purohits outnumber male ones."
In the Vedic period, says Dr. Manjul, "we come across female scholars like Ghosha, Lopamudra, Romasha and Indrani. In the Upanishadic period, names of women philosophers like Sulabha, Maitreyi, Gargi are encountered."
This tradition is exemplified in a verse from "Bhihadaranyakopanishad," which reads "atha ya icched duhita me pandita jayeta," (a well-to-do Political instability and successive foreign invasions further made it difficult for women to take up formal learning, which made it impossible for her to undertake Vedic studies and conduct Vedic rites.
(source: BBC - April 26 '2001 and The Hindu February 5 1997).
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Why no women priests in Hindu temples ?
