Keywords
Early Medieval Period
Strīdhana
Rājñī
Dāna
How to Cite
Abstract
Gender relations have significantly shaped ancient India’s social, cultural, and political landscape. However, such relations were often undermined due to deep-rooted prejudices within the discipline of history, which were subsequently caused by the theories and methodologies employed by the discipline itself. Another crucial aspect of these biases was the gendered nature of the practitioners of the discipline itself, who, in most cases, were men. Nevertheless, the study of women in ancient India has undergone crucial changes in the last few decades. Firstly, the present study attempts to locate the shifts the study of women in ancient India has undergone. Besides, as further methodological shifts came into the sphere of the studies of ancient Indian history, we see that ancient Indian history stands divided into two parts: early historical and early medieval. Therefore, the present study also considers the studies that have discussed the position of women during the early medieval period. Within this context, the study examines the Candella epigraphs as their rule largely falls into the domain of the early medieval period. There are ninety-nine inscriptions issued under the reign of different Candella rulers over a period of time. The study analyses these inscriptions critically, reading the sources between the lines and locating the presence or absence of women in relation to the larger socio-cultural and political aspects of the early medieval society, which also impacted the composition of the sources that are witness to that period.
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