Sacred Participation and Gendered Boundaries: Women as Ritual Performers in Hinduism

Abstract: This article examines the role of women as ritual performers in Hinduism, focusing on the intersection of gender, authority, and religious power. Through a textual analysis of Vedic literature, Smriti, and Dharmaśāstra, alongside feminist perspectives, it argues that while women’s ritual participation was never entirely absent, it was progressively regulated within a patriarchal framework. The study highlights that although Vedic figures like Gārgī and Maitreyī demonstrated significant intellectual and ritual capabilities, later Brahmanical institutions restricted women’s authority, subordinating it to male guardianship. However, women maintained informal religious power through domestic worship, vows (vratas), and folk practices. Furthermore, the paper analyzes how concepts of purity and impurity served as mechanisms for control while simultaneously creating independent religious spaces. Ultimately, this research presents women’s ritual roles as a dialectic of power and restriction, offering essential insights into gendered agency and feminist theological reinterpretations.