~ 327 ~ IJMRD 2015; 2(2): 327-334 www.allsubjectjournal.com Received: 03-02-2015 Accepted: 18-02-2015 E-ISSN: 2349-4182 P-ISSN: 2349-5979 Impact factor: 3.762 Sankarsan Malik PhD Research Scholar Department of History, University of Hyderabad Hyderabad, Telengana-500046 India. Correspondence: Sankarsan Malik PhD Research Scholar Department of History, University of Hyderabad Hyderabad, Telengana-500046 India. Pre-eighteenth Century Oriya Literature and Women Sankarsan Malik Abstract Medieval Orissa basically from fifteenth century to eighteenth century produced a rich culture of Oriya literature. But these literatures portray women as a luxury items for patriarchal Oriya society. Contemporary scholars, poets, have depicted about women education, social evil customs like dowry, widowhood, sati, child marriage, rituals and practices for women folk. Though women were playing vital role for the progress of Oriya society and culture but their achievements were neglected by male dominated society. Always Oriya women were facing the problems of restriction on their freedom. The rules and regulations were constructed to restrict their liberties and confined them within the four walls of house. Again the Brahmanical principles made their condition more deplorable. Pre-eighteenth century Oriya literature which was mostly influenced by riti literature of the period portrayed Oriya women as an inferior group in the society. Keywords: Orissa, Oriya literature, Women. 1. Introduction Oriya literature began from fifteenth century when Sarala Das wrote Oriya Mahabharata. Before it Sanskrit literature had the dominant position in Orissa. Sarala Das like Chaucer freed Oriya literature from the thraldom of Sanskrit and made it people’s literature with independent status. He shaped it as it would be appropriate for the mass in Orissa. Then number of Oriya poets and scholars came and produced a rich culture of Oriya literature. However, literature of Orissa of ancient and medieval time did not forget to depict the image of women in the society. Unlike Indian literature, Orissa literature also followed the steps of the great poets and scholars of India who has portrayed women characters vividly in their works. From the beginning of the Vedic period onwards Indian literature had been given great importance to women characters and depicted their position and status in the society. In spite of various restrictions women succeeded in creating her own place in the contemporary literature as well as in the society. Instances like the Karuvaki, the queen of Ashok, traditionally accepted as belonging to Orissa; the queen of Kathaeans who fought so bravely with Alexander the Great; the Lichhavi princess Kumardevi who was instrumental in laying the foundation of the vast Gupta empire; the great Mahadevi Dhruvasvamini who was the chief queen of Chandragupta – II; Prabhavati Gupta, the daughter of Vikramaditya by another Naga queen Kubernaga, Rajyasri, the wife of the great Mukhari king Grahavaerman – II; the great queens of Kasmiri like Didda etc. mentioned by Kalhana in his Rajatarangini and Razia Sultana of the thirteenth century are the examples of women power and position. The ancient history of Orissa gives names of great women like Karuvaki, Kalyanidevi, Mohadevi etc. However, in the case of Political history of Orissa patriarchal features are found in many old works. Such as the ‘Talapatta Jataka’ records the conversation between on Orissa royal couple like this, “gentle lady, I have no power over all inhabitants of the state, nor am I their master; I have only Jurisdiction over those who revolt against the ruler and indulge in harmful activities. It is because of this that I cannot give you the authority over the whole Kingdom”. 1 Above stanza indicates that women were considered as an inferior group who are unable to handle the political administration of the state which was considered entirely as a manly affair. In spite of that, Oriya women were not limited within the four walls of the house. Ancient history of Orissa recorded many examples on Oriya women who had succeeded in both their political and social life. According to a tradition in coastal region of Orissa, Ashok (Magadha) invaded Kalinga being attracted by the beauty of Karuvaki the fiancé of the International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development 2015; 2(2): 327-334