Very true. E.g., Amir Khusrow wrote that the idol-worshiping Hindu women traditionally rub their vaginas on shiv-lings which they worship to get a good husband. Its well known that women worship Lord Shiva to find a good husband, but I've never heard of any such ridiculous ritual. These perverted rascals like to project their weirdest fantasies on the 'other'.johneeG wrote:FWIW, I doubt the that 'dharmic' society was 'liberal' about feminine. I am thinking that it was more 'liberal' than the Islamic culture(not arabic pagan, but Islamic) and catholic, but 'conservative' compared to the 'modern' society.
Also, the portrayals of foreigners(particularly the hostile ones) are not reliable or credible, in any time period, unless they are corroborated by the local sources. So, I would not put too much validity into some arabian saying Indian women roamed semi-naked. According to some ancient greek 'writers', Indians ate their dead, while the greek cremated them! Is it believable?! To me, its not. Those foreigners had incentive in portraying Indian culture in 'bad' light...depending on what is seen as 'bad' in their times. So, one should not repose much trust in those portrayals.
Or alternatively they may take things out of context of consciousness. For instance, they say how immoral pagan Arab society was because sometimes women devotees would circumambulate the Ka'aba topless. Well, I think it would be like saying that Hindu women are immoral because at the pilgrimage to Gangotri, some women immerse themselves topless in the ice cold waters.
I do believe that there were strong Vedic traditions of modesty and also separation of sexes in some situations. Nevertheless, women were active participants in many areas of life that most Indian women even today are not part of, including martial arts, etc. Womanhood was also considered the foundation of Dharma.
Rigveda 6.75.15: O brave woman, for the criminals, you are an arrow full of poison. For defense of the society, you have donned an armor. You have tremendous valor. We humbly bow to your selfless glory!
Rigveda 10.159.3: My son has destroyed all enemies. My daughter is full of brilliance. My husband is famed. And I am a winner.
Rigveda 10.159.4: My husband has performed exemplary acts of selflessness. I have also conducted similar selfless acts of bravery. Since I am completely selfless and powerful, I have no enemies.
Yajurveda 5.10: O woman, you are a lioness. Destroy the enemies of ignorance, immaturity, negativity and savagery for welfare of all. O woman, you are a lioness.
Yajurveda 17.45: O brave woman, obtain training in martial arts and warfare. Unleash your potential and destroy the enemies. Capture them and do not have mercy on those who spread hatred and vices in society. Imprison them.
Dozens of references here:
http://agniveer.com/woman-hallmark-of-true-valor/
http://agniveer.com/woman-sunrise/
Coded sexual mores differed depending on varNa. For instance, a kshatriya was supposed to always be ready to satisfy the desire of any woman upon request, and there were protocols for a woman to approach a kshatriya to fulfill such a desire, or to signal that she is approachable by walking unchaperoned in certain public spaces. But the same transactional modality is not typical of other varNas. The cardinal value of Loyalty, of Heroism, and of Devotional Service would characterize the 3 basic types of sexual morality in Indic culture. Each section had its other concomitant responsibilities and sacrifices to make.
So I don't think its possible to stereotype Indic culture as libertine or prudish by rather immature "modern" Western yardsticks or Christian-Islamic law that have no holistic philosophical context whatsoever. Indic protocols covered the spectrum of all human types and dovetailed them to serving a central progressive goal.
