In Hindu Vedic society : The women occupied a very important position, in the ancient Bharat Varse,In fact far superior position to the men of the that time. "Shakti" a feminine term means "power" and "strength".
APPROX 3100BCE .... It is said that Goddess Parvati had cursed the land to be such that the women folk remain devoid of male partners, which was then decreed to be freed of the curse only when Arjun would arrive in pursuit of the sacred horse of the Aswamedha yagya /
STORY OF PRAMEELA : Prameela, a woman-queen of unparalleled beauty, valour, wisdom and spirituality, a misogamist who ultimately weds Arjuna (Pandava hero). She is said to have ruled the region that is now Kerala (then Seemanthini Nagara) which sort of explains the matrilineal society still prevalent in Kerala.
The story begins where Dharmaraja (post-Mahabharata victory) is advised to hold ‘Ashwamedha Yagna’ (horse sacrifice) to re-establish the Pandava sovereignity. A white handsome horse is let loose across all the kingdoms and whoever holds the horse captive is considered to question the supremacy of the Pandava king and would therefore have to battle the king or his representative who is accompanying the horse.
Queen Prameela does exactly this. Meanwhile, Arjuna’s ego, which had taken a beating at the Mahabharata war front with Krishna’s Gitopadesha (sermon), re-surfaces, questioning the need for Krishna’s presence in accompanying a mere horse! Kamala Kumari was able to explicitly bring out the human tendency to bloat with self-conceit at victory and challenge the Divine (Krishna) due to one’s own egoistic blindness. The ban on entry of any male into Prameela’s kingdom confounds Arjuna who is forced to humble himself and seek Krsishna’s intervention time and again till he wins the queen’s hand.
This echoes Devi-Mahatmiyam prayer:
By you this universe is borne, by you this world is created; By you it is protected, By you it is consumed at the end, O Devi! You are the Supreme Knowledge, as well as intellect and contemplation...
Women were held in higher respect in India than in other ancient countries, and the Epics and old literature of India assign a higher position to them than the epics and literature of other religions. Hindu women enjoyed rights of property from the Vedic Age, took a share in social and religious rites, and were sometimes distinguished by their learning. There was no seclusion of women in India in ancient times.
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