Ch-8 Women, Caste & Reform

SWAMI DAYANAND
SARASWATI
 EARLY LIFE OF DAYANANDA SARASWATI
 Dayanand Saraswati was born on 6 February, 1824 in Tankara, Gujarat.
• His original name was Mool Shankar.
• His mother Yashodhabai, was a beautiful and virtuous woman. She was like
a mother to all the villagers.
• His father Karsan ji was a tax collector and was a rich person.
• When he attained the age of five, Moolshankar's education started.
• At the age of eight, his Upanayana Samskara (being invested with the holy
thread) was performed.
• He has a very good memory. By the time he was fourteen he had learnt by
heart the Yajurveda, the scriptures and the Upanishads.
• Karshanji wished that his son should follow his footsteps by becoming a
devotee of Shiva.
• He, therefore, used to describe the greatness of Shiva every now and then.
• Moolshankar had a sharp intellect and an extraordinary memory.
 Who is Swami Dayanand Saraswati
 Swami Dayanand Saraswati was an
Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of
the Arya Samaj, a reform movement of
the Vedic dharma.
 He was the first to give the call for Swaraj as
"India for Indians" in 1876, a call later taken up
by Lokmanya Tilak.
 Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship, he
worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies.
 Subsequently, the philosopher and President of
India, S. Radhakrishnan called him one of the
"makers of Modern India", as did Sri Aurobindo.
 Early Life of Swami
Dayanand Saraswati
Reformer brought by him in the
society (Remarriage of Widows)

By the second half of the nineteenth

century, the movement in favour of widow
remarriage spread to other parts of the
country. In the north, Swami Dayanand
Saraswati, who founded the reform
association called Arya Samaj, also
supported widow remarriage.
Yet, the number of widows who actually
remarried remained low. Those who
married were not easily accepted in
society and conservative groups continued
to oppose the new law.