Chaired by Prof. Dr. Shonaleeka Kaul (Centre for Historical Studies, JNU).
South Asia Institute of the Heidelberg University jointly with
Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, cordially invite you to the inaugural lecture
“On Female Ritual Agency in Sanskrit Hinduism” by
Prof. Dr. Ute Hüsken (Head, Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia (Classical Indology), South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University). Held under the overarching theme of the ‘Current Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences on India in Germany’, the lecture will be chaired by
Prof. Dr. Shonaleeka Kaul (Centre for Historical Studies, JNU).
On Female Ritual Agency in Sanskrit Hinduism
According to Brahmin texts in Sanskrit, Vedic learning, initiation into priesthood, and the performance of rituals "for others" (
parārtha) is the exclusive right of male members of Brahmin communities. Members of non-twice born communities (collectively labeled
śūdras in the normative Sanskrit texts), but also women, are entirely excluded from the right to learn and exercise specialised religious and ritual practices. From that point of view, women are categorically denied ritual agency, and they are denied the authority to act as priests, be it in the temple or for domestic rituals. Yet in spite of these textual prohibitions, we are currently witnessing a radical change in some parts of India. Many women do in fact today receive training in Sanskrit and in ritual practice, and actually perform as priestesses (
strī purohitā) rituals for others. The talk will present the specific historical background of this development in Pune and discuss some of its many implications.
© Prof. Dr. Ute Hüsken
Ute Hüsken is Professor of the Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia (Classical Indology, South Asia Institute), Heidelberg University. Until 2017 she was professor of South Asia Studies (Sanskrit) at Oslo University (Norway). Before that, she was member of the collaborative research project “dynamics of ritual” at Heidelberg University. Hüsken’s main fields are Buddhist studies, Hindu studies, Ritual and Festival studies and Gender studies. Her major publications include
Die Vorschriften für die Buddhistische Nonnengeneinde im Vinaya-Piṭaka der Theravādin (Reimer, 1997),
When Rituals Go Wrong. Mistakes, Failure, and the Dynamics of Ritual (Brill, 2007), and
Viṣṇu’s Children. Prenatal life-cycle rituals in South India (Harrassowitz, 2009). Together with Ronald Grimes and Barry Stephenson she edits
The Oxford Ritual Studies Series (OUP).
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