''Bhagyawati'' is an 1888 novel by

Shardha Ram Phillauri Shardha Ram Phillauri ( ; September 1837 Singh Bedi, Harmohinder. ''Shardha Ram Granthawali''. Nirmal Publisher. (A three-volume work by the dean and head of the Guru Nanak Dev University Hindi Department.) – 24 June 1881) was an Indian ...

. The book is now acknowledged as the one of the first novels in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

. Previously, Lala Sri Niwas had written his Hindi novel Pariksha guru, which was published in 1882. ''Bhagyawati'' is believed to have been written mainly in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

and was first published in 1888. According to ''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) *'' San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune'' *'' Peru Tribune'' * ''The Trib ...

'' (India), the novel was written specifically to "bring an awakening" amongst

Indian women The status of women in India has been subject to many changes over the span of recorded Indian history. Their position in society deteriorated early in India's ancient period, especially in the Indo-Aryan speaking regions, and their subordinat ...

. The book's main character was a woman, and it offered a progressive perspective on women's rights and status. At a time when

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

s were considered unholy and impure,

child marriage Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a ma ...

was common, and newborn girls were often killed, the novel advocated widow marriage, condemned child marriage, and affirmed the equality of male and female children. The book was often given to daughters at marriage as a part of the dowry.

Notes

19th-century Indian novels 1888 novels Feminist novels Works about widowhood Hindi-language novels Hindi-language literature {{poli-novel-stub