Woman is an Adjective, Man is a Noun

By London Swaminathan

This is my second English book on Women. In the first book, I have covered Hindu women and their marriage ceremony. This book covers comments and descriptions of women and some stories from the epics. The study of body features called Shamudrika Lakshana is Alco included here. Mother’s love and its effects on children are also illustrated.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
• Release date: Jan 14, 2023
• ISBN: 6580553509320

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Woman is an Adjective, Man is a Noun

Author:

London Swaminathan

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Contents

Foreword

1.Mother’s Love: Gandhari’s First Night

2.One Mother is greater than 1000 Fathers!

3.Woman is an Adjective; Man is a Noun!

5. Are Women always demanding?

6.GANDHARI and KUNTI DIED IN FOREST FIRE with VIDURA AND DHRITARASHTRA

7. GREATEST MUSLIM QUEEN OF INDIA

8.Hindu and Muslim Wedding

9.Hindu Baby Names and Astrology!

10.How Hindu Women Tackle Those Who Make Advances!

11.Mahabharata about Women!

12.Kalidasa’s Women and Tamil Women

13.FLOWERS IN TAMIL CULTURE

14.Custom of Garlanding and Flower Giving in Tamil and Sanskrit Literature

15.Lotus Flower in the Vedas, Kalidasa and Sangam Tamil Literature

16. Sirisam and Anicham flowers in Tamil and Sanskrit literature

17.Pati – Vati – Mati—in Indus Valley Script

18.QUEEN DIDDA OF KASHMIR – A WOMAN OF INTRIGUES AND EFFICIENCY

19.MORE SCIENTIFIC PROOF FOR SHAMUDRIKA LAKSHAN!

20.STORY OF WOMAN PHILOSOPHER CHUDALA

21.Scientific proof for Samudrika Lakshana

22.MORE ABOUT STUDY OF BODY FEATURES

23.Eaten but Fasting! Had Sex but Celibate Story!

24.Wife’s three Tests to her Husband! Story from Yoga Vasishta

25.Women who could Compose Verses in Eight Languages in 24 Minutes!

26.Murder of a Beautiful Mathematician

27.Women in state affairs are like Monkeys in Glass Shops

28.EMPEROR ASHOKA AND A PROSTITUTE!

29.Finance Minister’s Wife’s Gown – Uncovered Deficit!

30.Manu Smrti on Low Caste Women

Foreword

This is my second English book on Women. In the first book, I have covered  Hindu women and their marriage ceremony. This book covers comments and descriptions of women and  some stories from the epics. The study of body features called Shamudrika Lakshana is alco included here. Mother’s love and its effects on children are also illustrated. Hindu weddings go with flowers, particularly south Indian weddings. Flowers play a big role in Tamil women’s day to day life and in the weddings. A few articles cover this aspect as well.  These are a collection of my write ups during past 11 years in my two blogs. So repetition of some matter is unavoidable. I have given the date of publication of these articles in my blogs and their serial numbers. Some articles are lifted from very old books. I request the readers to go through my first book on women to get a full glimpse of Indian women. Beautiful Hindu Women and

Wonderful Weddings  is the title of the first volume. Hope you enjoy both these books.

London swaminathan

November 2022

1.Mother’s Love: Gandhari’s First Night

From the book SITA MUST LIVE: THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY written by Dr M Lakshmikumari:

An episode from the Mahabharata comes to mind which has some bearing in this context. After the war, the blind king Dritharashtra is consoling his much bereaved queen. He says, Devi, there is no way out of this tragedy for which you are also responsible. Can you recall the words I spoke on our first wedding night when I entered into our bed chamber and saw you sitting mute and blind? I had hoped to see the world through your eyes but you decided to blindfold yourself without caring for me. No doubt, you earned for yourself the great distinction of being a pathivrata (chaste woman, loyal to husband). When our first child Duryodhana was brought to us, I put him on your lap and begged you to remove your blindfold and look at our first born and drench him with mother’s love, pouring through your eyes. But you cared not. Preserving your unique Pathivratya was more important for you than the well being of your child. Your children were brought up without tasting the rare elixir of mother’s love and no wonder, they grew up rebellious, selfish, non caring as embodiments of adharma. On the other side, Queen Kunti magnanimously gave way for Madri to accompany King Pandu to heaven, nurtured her own and Madri’s children with rare maternal love and care. They grew up to become embodiments of Dharma, and today they stand victorious.

Our present day world is getting filled with blind men and blindfolded women who have no time to take out of their selfish pursuits to care and nurture their children. Children losing their childhood could be the first warning signal— that humanity is about to lose its ‘human hood’.

The above write up was from the book Sita must live.

Mother’s power

A mother’s loving look can do miracles- is illustrated by another episode in the epic. Gandhari was given a boon for his lifelong pathivratya. Whatever or whoever she looks at will become indestructible. When she remembered theboon, she thought of using it to make her son Duryodhana invincible. She asked him to come naked before her so that her look will make him completely indestructible. When he was going all naked, Krishna came and ridiculed him for going naked. Having heard Krishna he covered his groin area with a cloth and appeared before his mum. She looked at him but the groin area did not get the magical protection. Krishna knowing this weakness, reminded Bhima when he had one to one mace fight with Duryodhana. As per Krishna’s signal, Bhima struck Duryodhana in the thigh area and eventually he was killed. A mother can save her child by her love is the moral of the story. Unfortunately the child was not ready to receive it fully in this story. That is the fate of people who follow adharma.

2.One Mother is greater than 1000 Fathers!

Where Women are Worshipped…

Ancient Indian women made more literary contributions than women of any other country in the world. Hindus worshipped God as ‘He’ and ‘She’ unlike Semitic religions. Hindu women like Gargi attended big Assembly debates and challenged big scholars. Nowhere in the ancient world, have we seen such women scholars. The word ‘Other Half’ for women came from the Vedas. Hindus worship ‘Half man, Half woman’ god Ardhanareeswara. This gave birth to the Adam (Atma) and Eve (Jeevatma) story of the Bible.

Women were adored not only for their beauty but also for their intellectual acumen. We have 27 Rig Vedic poetesses around 1500 BC and 27 Tamil poetesses around 3rd Century AD. Gatha Saptasati has ten poetesses. We don’t find such a galaxy of women poets in any other part of the ancient world. The following quotations will prove the respect they commanded 2000 or 3000 years ago:

"Yatra naryast pujyante ramante tatra devatah

Yatraitastu na pujyante sarvastatraphalah kriyah"

Manu smriti 3-56, Mahabharata 13-45-5

‘Where women are worshipped, there the gods are delighted; but where they are not worshipped, all religious ceremonies become futile’—Manu Smriti.

One acharya/Guru excels ten Upadhyayas/teachers in glory; a father excels 100 acharyas/Gurus in glory; but a MOTHER excels even a thousand fathers in glory (Manu 2-145)

Her father protects her in childhood, her husband protects her in youth, and her sons protect her in old age; a woman is never independent. Manu IX-9