According to vedic culture women have as much right as men to perform rituals and yajnas as well as study the scriptures, although some modern people created the idea that women can't do these things.
The Vedas say that a man must not perform any Vedic sacraments or rituals if he becomes a widower. A man can perform Vedic sacrifice sonly if he has his wife by his side. Once he loses a wife he has noright to perform even "agnihOtram", say the Vedas... "patni-vatasyaagnihOtram bhavati".... In the old days a husand would normally beheard wailing beside his wife's dead body, "Oh you woman, you havegone now and taken with you all my rights to vedic sacrifices!"
The Atharva Veda (14.1.64) says: “Let the man offer Vedic prayers in front of her, behind her, at your centre and at her ends. By doing so, let God’s inviolable grace illuminate her home with good fortune and dignity.” Similarly, Rig Veda (3.53.4) clearly asks every husband to be accompanied by his wife during the Yajna ceremony. *
Nowadays we have some exemples of women who have being performing yajnas and studying the vedas, just as women are supposed to do, according to these same vedas:
“There is nothing in the scriptures which bars women from studying vedas. Gulabbai Tripati , who started conducting death rites at her age of 11 years (after her father passed away), died at the age of 86 years in 2005. Since she questioned the Brahmin gurus at such a "conservative era", she was forced to leave the traditional ghat in Allahabad. She built her own ghat called Rasulabad ghat with her hard earned money. She has been compared to Gargi who questioned Yagnavalkya as she had questioned the "traditional" gurus of her age.
Sandhyavandanam was the first woman in Andhra Pradesh to obtain a doctorate in Vedic studies. She forayed into the male dominated profession and performs all the sixteen samskaaras not only in Andhra, but even in Pune and Tamilnadu. She has been conducting Upanayanam for boys and girls also. There are others like Suneeti, Vasudhasastry, Oruganti Lakshmidevi (miryalaguda) , Sulochana, Saraswathamma (Kamareddy), Swarooparani (east Godavari), Kalyani (Tenali).
Shashi Tandon has conducted countless samskaaras in the USA (Illinois,Michigan, Wisconsin etc.,) and has become very popular there. Purohits from Choutpally, Nizamabad-Pranaveswari, Rajeswari, Bhuvaneswari, Gnaneswari etc., not only conduct pourohityam but run Vedic schools for girls. All these ladies are married and they have children too.
In Kendra Para (Orissa) - Maa Kharakiya temple on the banks of Brahmani River, men are not allowed!!
Sandhya Kulkarni conducted the shraadh of actor Mohan Agashe's mother.
When most men are abandoning the traditional professions for considerations of economy and status and women doing such works efficiently, why not think of encouraging them further?
A FEW AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT
1. The "Brahma" in a yajna is the best trained purohit who can correct the others involved in the yajna. BRAHMAA VAA RITVIJAABHMISHAKTAM AHA - Shatapatha brahmana 1.7.4.19. "Thasyaadyo brahmanishtaha syaath tham brahmaanam kurveeth" "Atha kena brahmtvam kreeyathe iti trayyaa vidyayethi, trayya vidyayeti ha brooyaath" (Aithareya 5.33) Now, an woman can be a brahma as mentioned in Rigveda ( 8.33.-19): "......sthree hi brahmaa vibhoovidhaha". So, according to these qotations, not only a woman can perform a yajna, but she can also be the main purohit conducting it and correcting the others.
2."AachaaryadaNatvam"... Ashtaadhyaayi 4.3.2.49
"ACHHARYASYA STREE AACHAARYAANEE PUM YOGA ITHYEVA AACHAARYA SVAYAM VYAAKHYAATREE" -Siddhaanta koumudi (the woman who conducts the veda pravachana is called an Achaarya).
3.Aachaarya lakshana :- "UPANEEYA TUM YAHA SHISHYA VEDAMADHYAAPAYED DWIJAHA, SAKALPA SARAHASYAM CHA THAMAACHAARYA PRACHAKSHATHE" ( The one who can conduct the upanayana samskaara and teaches the Vedas is called the Aachaarya)Siddhaanta Koumudi edited by Mahamahopaadhyaaya pandit Shivadatta sarma says,"ITI VACHANENAAPI STREENAM VEDAADHYANAADIKAARO DHVANITHAHA"(THIS MAKES IT CLEAR THAT WOMEN HAS VEDAADHIKAARA)
4.Rigveda 10.159-2.3: "THADVIDAHA.......UTAAHAMASMI SAM JAYAA...UTTAMAM" ( May I get a good husband.....Because of Vedas, I will become tejasvi and a powerful spokes person... May my daughter shine well because of her good character)
5.Taandya brahmana (5-6-8) advises that women have to chant saamaved along with veena when a yajna is being conducted. The Mantra 5.5.29 ordains that the women have to circumambulate the yajna kunda chanting the veda mantras.
6..The kumari Gandharva grahathaa story in Eithareya proves that the women had all rights for Vedas. Laatyayana shrouthasootra, Shaankaayana shroutha sootra etc., also confirms the rights of women for Vedas.
There are several other authorities advising women to chant veda mantras. Please see Yajurveda23- 23, 25-27, 29; Shatapatha brahmana 1-9-2-2-1, 1.9.2.22.23; Taittareeya samhitha 1.1.10, Aaswalaayana grihya sootra 1.1.9, Kaataka grihyasootra 3.1.30, 27-3, Paaraskara grihyasootra 1.5.1,2. , Yajurveda 36-24 "tacchakshurdeva sahitam..." is to chanted only by a woman. Rigveda 10-85.48 has to be chanted by husband and wife together.
Some more authorities for women chanting veda mantras:
Examples of women mantradrashtaaras: Ghoshaa, godhaa, vishvavaraa, Apaalaa, Upanishad, Jahu, Indraani, saramaa, Romashaa, Oorvashi, Lopaamudraa, Yamee, Shaashvathee, Sooryaasavithree, etc.
Rigveda 10-134, 10-39, 10-40, 8-91, 10-95, 10-109, 10-154, 10-159, 10-189, 5-28, 8-91 ..etc., are from women.
Taittareeya brahmana 2-3-10.."..Tam trayee vedaa anya srijantha... .vedan pradadow" (Three vedas were given to the woman Seetaa-savitri through Soma)
Manu's daughter Idaa is described in Taittareeya Brahmana( 1-1-4) as Yajnaprakaashinee meaning Yajna tatva prakaashana samarthaa.
To cite examples of mention in Mahaakavyas:
Mahabharata: - Udyogaparva 190-18: "Atra siddhaa shivaa naama braahmNee veda paaragaahaa. ." ( A brahmin lady by name Shivaa was a scholar of vedas and she got Moksha)A non brahmin lady Droupadi was a scholar of vedas. Achaarya Madhva in his Mahabharata tatparya nirnaya says: "Vedaaschapyuttama streebhihi krishnaattaabhiriha akhilaaha (Good women should learn Vedas like Droupadi)
Valmiki Ramayana:- Sundarakaanda53- 23: Vaidehi shokasantaptaa hutaashanmupaagatam ( The sad Seeta did havan ) VR 5-15-48:- "Sandhyaakaale .....Sandhyaartham varavarninee" (Seetha would certainly come to the river to perform sandhya with pure water).
Valmikiramayana 4-16-12, 2-20-15 indicate that Kousalya and Kaikeyi also were doing agnihotra etc.
Vaali's wife tara chanted swastimantras.
Puranas: Vishnupurana (1-10) and (18-19); Markandeyapurana (52); Brahma vaivarta purana (14-65) etc., may be seen.**
We can go on like this, but I belive that's more then enough to make it very clear the rights and position of women in the vedic culture regarding yajnas and vedic study!
*http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/6411.html
** http://knramesh.blogspot.com/2009/11/women-vedas.html?sowComment=1258134113221#c5208400788388291972
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Very interesting thank you.
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