Gender Discourse in the <i>Gurucaritra</i>: A Close-Reading of Three Women’s Narratives

Abstract

In this article, the author provides a fresh reading of three women-centered narratives from the Gurucaritra, a sixteenth-century Marathi devotional text. Based on the analysis of three distinct narratives from the Gurucaritra, the author examines the narratives through two key lenses: women’s subjectivity and the “hermeneutics of intersubjectivity”. I argue that although women’s voices are absent or marginalized in religious narratives, we can retrieve and amplify their contributions by reinterpreting traditional narratives to emphasize the roles of female characters. In the process, we can situate these narratives within their social contexts, thereby shedding light on women’s nuanced and multifaceted positions within the social and spiritual fabric of their societies.

Keywords

• women and gender in Hindu literature
• medieval Hindu literature
• regional Hindu literature
• the <i>Gurucaritra</i>
• Hindu narratives
• textual analysis