"The available historiography on women in early India is based on literary sources where men speak for women; The Problem of Identity draws on epigraphic accounts where women speak for themselves. In form and in content it is an empirical exercise involving collection and interpretation of data contained in 230 inscriptions belonging to three centuries before and after Christ. The author brings out, in the process, the dichotomy between textual provision and their disregard in actual practice. The chapters highlight the varied possibilities of identity open to women within religious, familial, professional, and royal contexts. The author successfully examines the ways in which Indian patriarchy has functioned in relation to women, and in the process draws attention to significant regional variations. Offering a powerful argument for revising the conventional historiography that perceives women as silent voices of history because they had little or nothing to do with the creation of its sources, this book contributes to a meaningful discussion on gender relations in early India. This book will appeal to students and scholars of ancient India, Sanskritists, gender specialists, and the general reader interested in questions of identity and women."
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