(This article is the fourth in a series by Milind Oak exploring the intellectual and literary contributions of women in India from 1 CE to 1857. The series will cover the status of women’s education across different periods, notable women intellectuals and authors, and their literary achievements in various fields, including poetry, philosophy, and religious discourse. It aims to bring forth the often-overlooked contributions of women to India's intellectual and cultural heritage.)

1 CE - 1857

Over 100 women authors, preachers and Gurus of this period can be divided into four categories. The literature was authored by queens, daughters or relatives of ministers in the various royal courts, courtesans and other women in the courts.


These were invariably the well-educated women in this period. Then there is a class of women from all classes of society but went on to become Yoginis or Gurus and who have written treatises on Yoga, Tantra Sadhana, etc. Another category is of influential woman authors among common people whose compositions have been preserved by generations. Then there are those poetesses whose complete works are no longer available, but their stray or selected compositions have been preserved invariousanthologies.



The Madhur -Vijayam by Ganga Devi

The Madhur-Vijayam still resonates in the public memory. There is an upcoming website for this masterpiece. 'Victory City', the 15th novel of Salman Rushdie, is inspired by Madhura-Vijayam. Recently, it was translated into Tamil by T. S. Krishnan. But very few people know that the author of this work is a woman.

The Madhura-Vijayam, an epic by Ganga Devi, narrates important events in the life of Kumara Kampana, a prince of the Vijayanagara Empire and the second son of Bukka Raya I. It is considered valuable both as a contemporary source of history and for its literary value. The epic describes gory details of the persecution of Hindus by the Sultan of Madurai. The final chapters narrate Kumara Kampana's war against the Madurai Sultanate in which he destroys the Muslim armies, slays the last sultan in single combat and restores the temple of Srirangam to its old glory. Ganga devi was wife of Kumara Kampana.

The poem has been acclaimed for its vivid description of the city of Vijayanagar with its magnificence. The march of armies and the war. The way in which Gangadevi refersto a large number of poets, dramatists, etc, viz, Pracetasa, Vyasa, Kalidasa, Banabhatta, Bharavi, Dandi, Bhavabhuti, Karnamrtakavi, Tikkaya, Agastya the poet, Gangadharathedramatist, Visvanatha, etc in the introductory verses of the Madhura-vijaya showsthatshe was thoroughly acquainted with their works.


With a humbleness which can come only through vast knowledge, she acknowledges the inherent imperfection in all compositions as "no literary composition, however excellent, can claim to be perfect as none of them can be said to possess all requisite qualities of perfection, viz, meaning, wording, thought and sentiment."

Raghunathabhyudaya by Ramabhadramba

Another epic which can be called a historic poem is Raghunathabhyudayaby Ramabhadramba, an accomplished woman in the court of the Thanjavur Nayakking Raghunatha. It is an epic in Sanskrit with twelve cantos. Acknowledged as one of the contemporary sources of Vijaynagar history, the epic is equally praised for its poetic charm. Along with Raghunatha's war and victory against the Islamic forces of Bijapur and Golkonda, the epic narrates an interesting and less known episode where Raghunatha supported the ruler of Jaffna (currently in Srilanka) against Portuguese invasion.

The poem describes.......

He proceeded on his elephant to the seacoast, followed by his army and ordered the construction of a bridge of boats for his army to cross over to the island. When his army was crossing over to the island by the bridge, it was opposed by the troops of the Portuguese, who used firearms. The battle between the two forces is then described. Seeing that the forces of the king (Raghunatha) were irresistible, the firangis fled before them and, leaving behind their money and arms and ammunition, escaped into the sea. Raghunatha then placed his own garrison on the island and celebrated the coronation of his ally, the Nepala (Jaffna) king, as Rama performed the coronation of Vibhlshana.

His court is also vividly described in the 10th to 12th canto.......

After Raghunatha returned to his capital, he held a court to examine the achievements accomplished ladies of his court. They are said to have been proficient in composing the four kinds of poetry (Chitra, Bandha, Garbha and Asu) and in explaining the works written in various languages. They were skilful in the art of Satalekhini and filling up literary verse puzzles (padyapuranam). They were able to compose verses at the rate of one hundred in an hour (ghatikasata) and to compose poetry in eight bhashas (Sanskrit, Telugu and the six Prakrits). They knew how to interpret and explain the poems and dramas (kavyas and natakas) composed by the famous poets and to explain the secrets of the music of the two sorts (Karnata and Desa). They were able to sing very sweetly and to play on the Vina and such other musical instruments as the Ravanahasta. Raghunatha examined the proficiency of all of them and presented them with Kanakabhisheka (bathing in gold). Raghunatha heard the songs sung before him and witnessed the dances of the accomplished ladies of his court. Some of the ragas, etc., that were sung before him were designed by Raghunatha himself, who was a master of the art. Among the dances that were exhibited before him, there was one called Raghunathavilasa, named after himself.

Finally, In the colophon the talented authoress says that she got her learning by the favour of the god Ramabhadra, and that she was an expert in the arts of Satalekhini and Samayalekhini, that she was able to write the four sorts of poetry in all theeightlanguages (Sanskrit, Telugu and the six Prakrits). She also says that she was installed on the throne of Sahitya Samrajya (empress among poets).

Madhuravani: There were many talented women in the court, as attested by another equally brilliant woman of the court, Madhuravani. Her Sanskrit rendering of RaghunathaNayaka’s Ramayan poem in Telugu indicates her mastery over both languages. The translation is a work of art; the style is simple, graceful and dignified, reminiscent of Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsha, which she appears to have imitated successfully in many places. In the introduction, she proudly lists her achievements. She was proficient in grammar and prosody and adept in completing samasyas (incomplete cryptic verses)and in ashtavadhana (attending to eight things at a time) and shatavadhana (attending to a hundred things at a time). She was also a gifted musician, and for her skill in playing the vina (lute), her royal lover called her madhura-vani. Vijayaraghava, the next ruler, introduced her as a character in his yakshagana, where she is spoken of as anashukavita-vani (one who can compose verses offhand).

Rangajamma: A daughter of Pasupuleti Venkatadri and Mangamamba, Rangajamma was a consort of Vijayaràghava Nayaka, son of Raghunath Nayaka of the Tanjore kingdom. She was also a shatalekhini, and her forte was erotic poetry. Her two Telugu poems are Mannarudasa-vilasam and Usha-parinayam.

Tirumalamba: Equally remarkable is the Varadambika Parinaya Champu by Tirumalamba, a gifted poet in the court of Achyut Devraya, the emperor of Vijaynagar. According to scholars, she was also one of the wives of Achyut Devraya. The poem describes the romance and wedding of Emperor Achyuta Deva Raya and Princess Varadambika.

Tirumalamba speaks of herself as a versatile genius—a musician, grammarian, rhetorician, writer, connoisseur of various arts, linguist— and a patron of scholars and poets. She had a remarkable memory, for she says about herself that she could easily retain new poems and plays even when she had heard them once only. She was religiously minded, making rich offerings to priests and various religious institutions. She specializes in complex formulations. The Varadambika-parmaya-campu is full of long compounds running over many lines in print, even pages at times, and as such, it outstandingly represents the quality which classical literature called Ojas. The longest known compound 'word' of 195 Sanskrit characters (transliterating to 428 letters in the Roman alphabet) appears in Varadambika Parinaya Champu. She must have committed several lexica to memory. From her descriptions, we can piece together an exhaustive list of all the synonyms of a word which exist in the Sanskrit language.

Abhiramkamakshi: The wife of Rajanatha Dindima, a Sanskrit scholar and poet in the Court of Achyut Devraya, was also a scholar and has written Abhinavaramabhyudayain24 cantos narrating the story of Rama in exquisite verse.

Visvasadevi, the authoress of Ganga Vakyavali work, was the wife of Padmasimha, younger brother of Sivasimha, king of Mithila. After Sivasimha’s death, his brother Padmasimha became the king. And after Padmasimha’s death, Visvasadevi ascended the throne. The royal family of Mithila was highly cultured, and the members were themselves votaries of learning. Visvasadevi and her sister-in-law Lakhima Devi, wife of Sivasimha, were reputed scholars and authoresses. Both the sisters-in-law were patronesses of learning, and their courts were consequently full of authors and poets, such as Vidyapati. Vidyapati was a reputed scholar in the 15th century AD.

The Ganga-vakyavali is a voluminous treatise describing all sorts of rites for the worship of the holy river Ganges. She has quoted extensively from various Puranas and Smritis. It was considered such an authority on the subject that many scholars like Mitra Mishra in Vir Mitrodaya, Raghunandan in Mala-masa-tattva, Suddhitattva, Prayascitta-tattva, Tithi-tattva, Durgotsavatattva and Sraddha-tattva. Vacaspati Misrainhis Tirthachintamani have quoted Ganga Vakyavali. Even today, all rituals performed on the banks of the Ganga river follow Ganga-Vakyavali as authority.

Binabayi was the Chief Queen of Harasimha who flourished probably at Girnar, Kathiawar, somewhere between the 12th and 15th Century CE. Her work, DwarakaPattal, describes the Dwarka pilgrimage. But the way she has given references of various Scriptures, Smrutis and Puranas testifies to the deep erudition of the authoress and her great mastery over Shastras. Binabayi seems to have made extensive tours all over India. According to her own statement, she visited many holy places and practised extensive charity.

Sundari and Kamala are wives of Ghanshyam, a minister in the court of king Tukoji of Tanjavur. Ghanshyam was a prolific writer and, author of 64 literary works. His wives were also learned scholars. They have jointly written a commentary called Chamatkar Tarangini on Viddhasalabhanjika, a drama written by Rajshekhar in the 10th Century, The text of the commentary indicates that Sundari and Kamala had thoroughly mastered the works of their husbands as well as many other works, Dhatupatha (lexicons), from which apt quotations have persistently been made throughout their commentary. The healthy intellectual ambience which persisted in the family and the court can be seen from the fact that, along with Rajashekhar, they have criticized Ghanashyam's work also for the grammatical accuracy of many words or the application of dramatic techniques. They were rather proud of their scholarship; they say they could give a hundred interpretations of each word in the text, but refrain from doing so on considerations of the reluctance of people to read and teach so many alternative interpretations.

Cheluvamba, the queen of Dodda Krishnaraja, the king of Mysore, was an accomplished author in Kannada. The Tulakaveri-Mahatmya, also called Chaluvambika-Vani-Vilasa, an aprose work in thirty chapters, describes the merits of the birthplace of the river Cauveryas told in the Agneya-Purana. Chaluvamba has also written the Varanandi-Kalyanaa poem in seven chapters in the Sangatya metre, describing the well-known traditional story of the marriage of Varanandi, daughter of the Padshah of Delhi, with the deity Chaluvarayasvami of Melkote, during Sri-Ramanujacharyar’s time (12th century CE). She wrote in fluent colloquial Kannada.

The intellectual atmosphere in the courts of kings was so permeative that the talent of a woman working in any capacity there was encouraged. This can be seen in the literature of Kanti and Sanchiya Honamma.

Kanti: Born in a middle-class family, by sheer merit, she was able to find a place for herself in the company of the great court poets of the Hoysala king Ballala I. There used to be contests in poetical composition between Kanti and Nagachandra, another renowned poet of the court. Kanti-Hampena Samasyegalu is her collection of poems.

Sanchiya Honamma was a mere servant in the palace of the Mysore king Chikadevaraya. Sanci means bag and probably refers to the bag to hold the paraphernalia for rolling pan, suggesting that her duty was of preparing and rolling the betel leaves, or pan, for the queen and members of the royal household. The court poets, Singararya and Tirumalarya, recognized her talent for words, taught her how to read and write, and trained her in the rules of poetic composition. She was called Sarasasahityada Varadevata due to the proficiency she achieved in poetry. Her subjects of poetry are simple and are composed in the sangatya meter. The Hadibadeya Dharma (Duties of a Devoted Wife - Hadibade='pativrata') constitutes 479 poems in nine chapters and is popular even today.

Thus, we see that the Hindu kings used to patronize scholars and literature toagreatextent and women were encouraged without discrimination. Sanskrit was the dominant language, but writing in Prakit languages was equally encouraged. But time for us to move and have a look at the literary activity flourishing in the society and the women's participation in it.

This series highlights how Indian women across centuries have made significant contributions to literature, education, and philosophy. Their presence in various fields challenges the notion that women's education and intellectualism were absent in earlier times. In the next part, we will explore the status of women's education from 1 CE to 1857, examining historical records, inscriptions, and literary references that provide insights into how women acquired knowledge and participated in scholarly discourse.