Foregrounds the centrality of women across diverse Hindu traditions spanning time and geographyWomen in Hindu Traditions showcases the centrality of women in the ritual and artistic traditions, religious institutions, and literature of Hindu traditions. It considers women's roles as everyday practitioners, gurus, epic protagonists, poet-saints, and performers across time and geography.The volume shows that Hindu women have long reworked elite theologies, scriptures, and rituals in ways that may perpetuate, challenge, and/or innovate upon so-called normative traditions. In this vein, the book is careful to include discussions about Hindu women from various caste and class backgrounds in multiple regions of the Indian subcontinent, as well as the global diaspora.In illuminating the many ways in which women are represented in and have contributed to Hindu traditions, Women in Hindu Traditions emphasizes the flexibility and fluidity of Hinduism more broadly. It discusses elite practices and texts—such as ancient Sanskrit narratives attributed to male authors—in conversation with vernacular texts and practices performed and authored by women in both historical and contemporary contexts. These discussions include an exploration of rituals that reveal women's roles in domestic, public, and temple spaces in India and beyond, poem-songs in devotion to various gods and goddesses, and different iterations of female-authored epics, such as retellings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.Women in Hindu Traditions displays the incredible multiplicity of Hindu traditions, arguing for the value of comprehending religious traditions through women's narratives and lives.
