|
Vedic
women
21 x 28.5",
acrylic on paper
"It
is said that Vedic India saw the near perfect state of equality
between men and women. Unlike
their successors who suffered under Manu’s unfair code, Vedic
women had the right to
education and employment. Even
marriage was considered a kind of joint partnership and not
subservience as it was construed during the later Vedic times. Rig
Veda talks of the seven steps taken during marriage and the vows
taken based on mutual respect:
A
friend thou shall be, having paced these seven steps with me. Nay,
having paced the seven steps, we have become friends. May I retain
thy friendship, and never part from thy friendship. Let us unite
together: let us propose together. Loving each other and ever
radiant in each other’s company, meaning well towards each other,
sharing together all enjoyments and pleasures, let us join our
thoughts.
(Taittiriya
Ekagnikanda, I iii, 14. ; Sastri, 1918.)
I
like to believe that such equality and respect must have made the
vedic women poised and
confident. Women like Gargi
and Maitreyi were intellectuals of the time.
This was also an era of great fashion consciousness when the
jewelry and cosmetic
industry flourished. Incidentally
lipstick, henna and intricate hairdressing had its origin in India.
This
painting depicts Vedic women charming and confident ready to take on
the world."
|
