Reflections on Gender Discourse in Hindu Literature: A close-reading of three narratives about women in the Gurucaritra

Abstract

In this article, the author provides a fresh reading of three women-centered narratives from the Gurucaritra, a sixteenth century Marathi devotional text. Based on the analysis for three distinct narratives from the Gurucaritra, the author examines the narratives through two key lenses: women’s subjectivity and the “hermeneutics of intersubjectivity”. The author argues that although women’s voices are absent or marginalized in the religious narratives, we can retrieve and amplify their contributions by reinterpreting traditional narratives to emphasize the roles and contributions of female characters, as well as situating these narratives within their social contexts shedding light on women’s nuanced and multifaceted positions within the social and spiritual fabric of their societies.