Jewels of Authority Women and Textual Tradition in Hindu India

• ISBN13: 9780195176605
• ISBN10: 019517660X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2099-11-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The essays in this collection address the problem of Hindu women's relationship to authority, both within and without the textual traditions of Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, and English. The authors adopt a method of close textual and ethnographic reading, which results in some surprisingly new andsubtle ways of interpreting older, more "classical" discourses, such as Veda and Mimamsa, as well as newer discourses, such as the RSS use of the Devimahatmya.

Table of Contents

ContributorsAbbreviationsIntroduction, Laurie L. PattonPart II. Ancient Arguments1. The Housemistress at the Door: Vedic and Buddhist Perspectives on the Mendicant Encounter, Ellison Banks Findly2. Ritual Rights: The Gender Implications of Adhikara, Mary McGee3. Mantras and Miscarriage: Controlling Birth in the Late Vedic Period, Laurie L. PattonPart II. Classical Arguments4. Giver or Given? Some Marriages in Kalidasa, Stephanie W. Jamison5. Om, the Vedas, and the Status of Women with Special Reference to Srivaisnavism, Katherine K. Young6. Casting Light on the Sounds of the Tamil Veda: Tirukkoneri Dasyai's "Garland of Words", Vasudha NarayananPart III. Reform and Comtemporary Arguments7. By What Authority? Hindu Women and the Legitimization of Reform in the Nineteenth Century, Nancy Auer Falk8. Hindu Nationalist Women: On the Use of the Feminine Symbolic to (Temporarily) Displace Male Authority, Paola Bacchetta9. Counterpoint Authority in Women's Ritual Expressions: A View from the Village, Ann Grodzins GoldAfterword, Laurie L. PattonBibliographyIndex