Volume II,Issue IV, March 2026
Volume-II, Issue-IV, March, 2026 |
Received: 14.03.2026 | Accepted: 16.03.2026 | ||
Published Online: 31.03.2026 | Page No: | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.issue.04W. | |||
বিধবাদের ব্রত পালন: বাঙালি সমাজে ধর্ম, লিঙ্গ ও সামাজিক শাসন অমরেন্দ্র প্রধান, গবেষক, ইতিহাস বিভাগ, মেদিনীপুর কলেজ রিসার্চ সেন্টার, বিদ্যাসাগর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
Amarendra Pradhan, Research Scholar, Department of History, Medinipur College Research Centre, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
This paper discusses the ritual of brata (religious vows) among the Hindu widows in Bengali society and how it fits into the larger category of gendered, religious, and socially regulated practices in the Bengali society. Brata has been a significant mode of religious observance mostly among women in the cultural life of Bengali. But these rituals were not equally experienced. Whereas married women undertook vows in pursuit of household prosperity, marital well-being and family stability, widows were frequently subjected to more severe types of ritual discipline. Widow centered vows like Ekadashi, Ambubachi, and other related practices, controlled the daily life and social status of widowed women who were required to live under the influence of prolonged starvation, dietary restraints, ritual silence and deprivation of bodily pleasures. Based on the analysis of autobiographical accounts, literary sources, and historical debates, this paper will claim that these rituals functioned not just as a way of religious devotion but also as a means of cementing patriarchal rules. Meanwhile, to most widows the practices offered a system of spiritual sense and ethical respect under circumstances of social marginalization. The analysis of these overlapping dimensions demonstrates how the traditions of widow-centred brata help understand the multifactorial connection between the field of religious practice, gendered disciplines, and social authority in the cultural history of Bengal. | ||
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