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Pandita Ramabai Saraswati was born in the forest of Gungamal in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Her father, Ananda Shastri Dongre, was a learned Brahmin and a social reformer, who at the age of 44 had taken a second wife, Lakshmibai, of 9 years, in keeping with the custom of child marriage at the time. Shastri educated his wife in Sanskrit, a highly unorthodox move for the times, as girls were denied formal education and learning of sacred Hindu texts, the exclusive right and privilege of males. His unorthodox beliefs and practices led to his ostracization from the community. Consequently, he led a rather nomadic and secluded life, delivering religious lectures and sermons to support his young family. It was in such a context that Ramabai was born, the youngest of six children, but of which only three ultimately survived. Her formative years were spent in this rather drifting and atypical setting. She received early education in the Hindu scriptures from her mother, learnt Sanskrit, and could recite the Puranas proficiently from a young age. She was not married off as a child, but remained unmarried beyond age 10 and continued her learning. After the death of her parents between 1874 and 1877, she sustained their lifestyle and traveled across India with her brother, giving lectures in Sanskrit and engaging religious experts on a variety of social and spiritual matters. At the end ... log in or subscribe to read full text