"Women Empowerment in the Vedic Period: Representations in select Indian English Novels"

Savitri J.Krantikar

CSM's Arts and Commerce College, Padgha

Assistant Professor

Department of English

Abstract : The Vedic period, which was from around 1500 to 500 before the era shows women in powerful positions. They were rishikas, which means seers and they were also scholars. The Vedic period also had women taking part in rituals. We can see this in the Rigveda hymns and the Upanishads. This paper is about how some Indian English novels look at the period and the role of women, during that time. These novels use the legacy of the period to talk about the problems women face today with gender. The Indian English novels reinterpret the legacy of the period to address the modern struggles that women are going through with gender. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, That Long Silence by Shashi Deshpande and Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai are the books that we are looking at here. These books talk about women from the time like Gargi, Maitreyi, Lopamudra and Apala. They use these women as examples of being independent, smart and strong. Ammu in The God of Things is like Apala because she is brave and does what she wants even if it goes against what people normally do. Jaya in That Long Silence is like Maitreyi because she wants to learn and find out more about herself outside of her family. The female characters in Anita Desais books bring back the voices of the women who were ignored. They do this even when they are not close to their families. The God of Small Things That Long Silence and Clear Light of Day show us how these women, from the time are still important today.The study looks at how women were treated in the Vedic time. They had the right to get an education on their own property and take part in ceremonies like yajna.. After India was colonized things started to get worse for women. The study uses some novels to talk about how bad patriarchy, caste and colonialism're. It takes a look at these novels and uses a feminist perspective to show how women's power has changed over time. A time ago women known as Vedic rishikas wrote hymns that talked about big ideas like philosophy and the power of the universe. This is similar to how the main characters in these novels fight against the rules they do not like. By looking at these stories we can challenge the idea that Indian women are weak and do not do anything. The study shows that literature can be a tool to help women become stronger and more independent. It helps us see that Indian women like the rishikas have always had the power to make changes and should be treated with respect. The analysis highlights ecofeminist threads, linking Vedic nature goddesses to contemporary eco-struggles. Ultimately, these representations urge a return to Vedic ideals for gender justice, informing India's feminist discourse.

Keywords:Vedic rishikas, feminist reinterpretation, postcolonial agency, Indian English novels