Exploring Female Consciousness and Socio-Economic Dynamics: A Journey Through Ancient Texts, Modern Data, and Kannada Literary Narratives of Vasumati Udupa and Sunanda Kadame

Abstract

This article delineates the multifaceted representation of female dignity and economic status in ancient India, primarily through textual analysis of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Manusmriti and others. It compares the dichotomous representations of these ancient texts concerning those of present-day female consciousness and socio-economic realities, using examples from recent times cited in the sources. While the paper intends to link this historical analysis with the theme of modern Indian literature, specifically the writing of Vasumati Udupa and Sunanda Kadame, the source material provided does not have any information on these authors or modern Indian statistics. On the contrary, it provides the ancient textual setting combined with relevant socio-economic dynamics presented in the sources (mainly Western), tracing the pathway for the scholarly endeavor in analyzing the resonance of these themes in modern literature with focus on the works of Vasumati Udupa and Sunanda Kadame in which the authors reclaim these central themes of female consciousness and socio-economic realities with suggestions.