Women in Ancient India

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For the past four years, I have undertaken a philological research into various problems concerning women in ancient India. I followed the methodology of the late Julia Lesley at the University of London, the leading figure on Ancient Indian Women, the author of the book "Perfect Wife." From time to time, I have consulted specialists of other fields, such as Professor M.Sakurai, specialist of Greek women studies, and Y.Ishii, specialist of legal literature in Thailand.The basic materials which I have used are the so-called Smrti-literature, Law Codes, such as Manu, Yajnavalkya, the two great Epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. and some Buddhist texts.The topics which I have discussed are the concepts of chaste women, warrior's wife, infidelity of women, the position of wife and daughter in the family, mystic power of women's chastity, and how to prove one's chastity when a woman was suspected (ordeal, etc.). The problem of women is inseparable from conjugal life and love. I include here my paper on love in ancient India. Furthermore, three articles in English, which I have published abroad, are also included, i.e., "King as the husband of Earth (Sanskrit mahi-pati)" in a Swiss Journal, "Sri, a mistress of King" in a Norwegian Journal, and "Apsaras and Hero" in a Dutch Journal.