Women of Myth and Folklore: Female Agency in Ancient Indian Literature

CLASS DESCRIPTION

This lecture traces the evolution of women’s inner worlds in ancient South Asian literature, uncovering how female consciousness found voice in spiritual, poetic, and narrative forms. Beginning with the philosophical hymns of the Vedas and the radical self-awareness of the Buddhist nuns in the Therīgāthā, we move to the Tamil epics Cilappatikāram and Maṇimekalai, where women’s passion and moral intelligence reshape the moral universe. We then explore the lyrical intimacy of Sangam women poets, whose verses capture desire, separation, and the complexity of emotional life.

The course also examines alternative Ramayanas, oral traditions, and women’s folktales to reveal how, across time, women negotiated power, devotion, loss, and selfhood through story. Reading these works side by side, participants will encounter a lineage of female interiority that challenges simplistic narratives of patriarchy and silence — illuminating how women have always thought, spoken, and created from within their own worlds of meaning.

ABOUT OUR LECTURER

Samhita Arni is a writer, storyteller, and cultural thinker whose work explores the intersections of mythology, memory, and narrative across forms. Best known for her reimaginings of classical Indian epics—The Mahabharata: A Child’s View, Sita’s Ramayana, and The Prince (a re-imagining of the Tamil epic Silappadikaram)—her books have been translated into over ten languages and have received international acclaim. Trained in Transactional Analysis and deeply engaged with narrative as a therapeutic tool for personal and collective meaning-making, Arni is interested in how stories shape consciousness, identity, and our relationship with culture.

Her last book won the 2020 Neev Book award. She is also the recipient of the 2024 New Indian Express Devi Award for excellence in writing.

We are committed to making our sessions as accessible as possible. If you are unable to pay the full amount for this class, please reach out to us via email at [email protected] and we will provide you with a discount code.