Sanatan Dharma accords equal honour

Sanatan Dharma accords equal honour to daughters and sons, says saint at Kotla kalan kath
Hoshiarpur/ Sept 1/Daljeet Ajnoha :  In a discourse on the Shrimad Bhagwat Katha at the Radha Krishna Mandir here today, visiting saint Sri Gaurdas Ji Maharaj from Vrindavan said that in Sanatan Dharma, daughters and sons have been given equal respect and rights, and in some contexts the daughter has been honoured even more than the son.
The katha, being held in the presence of national sant Baba Bal Ji Maharaj since 1 pm, also saw a grand celebration of Radha Ji’s birth anniversary (Radha Janmotsav), with devotees participating in large numbers.
Nand–Bhanu vow and birth of Radha
Addressing the congregation, Maharaj Ji recounted the ancient bond between Nand Baba and Bhanu Baba, who were close friends and had mutually vowed that if one was blessed with a son and the other with a daughter, they would become in-laws.
He said that after Lord Krishna manifested in Nand Baba’s home, Bhanu Baba undertook intense penance, praying for a daughter who would win over the Lord Himself through her devotion and service. The saint added that in our tradition, kings and devotees also performed austerities specifically for the birth of a daughter, underlining the high status accorded to the girl child.
“In our Sanatan Dharma, daughters and sons have been given equal respect and rights, and in some places the daughter has been given even greater honour than the son,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.
Krishna’s childhood leelas and message on attachment
Continuing with the narration of Lord Krishna’s childhood leelas, Maharaj Ji said these episodes are not only enchanting but also deeply instructive. He pointed out that at the age of six, Krishna vanquished the demoness Putana, while Lord Rama, in His childhood, first killed the demoness Tataka.
“These demons symbolise ignorance,” he explained. “Only after destroying ignorance can we truly advance on the path of devotion.”
Illustrating the lesson behind Krishna’s act of breaking the old earthen pots of Mother Yashoda’s grandmother’s time, the saint said the Lord was teaching that one should not remain attached to anything except the Divine, His devotees, and service to them.
“Our attachment should be only to the Lord, to His bhakts, and to their seva,” he added, urging devotees to internalise this message in daily life.
Scriptural backing for honouring women
The saint’s remarks on the status of women echo well-known shlokas from Hindu scriptures. The Manusmriti itself states: “Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devatah; yatra etastu na pujyante sarvastatra aphalah kriyah” — “Where women are honoured, the deities rejoice; where they are not honoured, all actions become fruitless.”
Commentators and scholars also cite Vedic and Upanishadic traditions where women such as Gargi and Maitreyi engaged in high philosophical debates, reflecting the tradition’s openness to women’s spiritual and intellectual roles, even as later Smriti texts imposed certain restrictions.
In this context, the saint’s emphasis on equal respect for daughters and sons, and on the special spiritual potential of the girl child as exemplified by Radha Ji, resonates with both the devotional and scriptural strands of Sanatan Dharma.