Stri

Stri

स्त्री, strī

Literally translated as "woman", "feminine". Often mentioned in sacred texts, poetry and prose to denote a woman without specifying her status. In Kaulism, there is the concept of "stri-puja", which denotes a ritual (puja) that is performed for a real woman. 

The text "Manusmriti", related to dharmashastras, describes the appearance of the first woman in this world as follows:

Brahma divided his body into two parts and made one part male and the other female (stri), and the man embraced the woman, from this union Viratpurusha was born. (1.32)

"Devibhagavata-purana" tells the story of how women acquired the power to charm. Once, Indra forbade some devas from drinking soma. They complained to the hermit Chyavana, who agreed to restore their lost right by performing a sacrifice. Indra prevented the sacrifice. Instantly, by Chyavana's power, an asura named Mada arose from the sacrificial fire. Indra then begged the hermit for mercy. Chyavana divided the asura into four parts and gave one to gambling, another to hunting, a third to liquor, and a fourth to women. From then on, women acquired charm. 

The same scripture contains a verse that mentions passion for women as one of the greatest obstacles to a righteous person:

Love of pleasure (kamaja), drunkenness (pana), gambling (aksha), women (stri) and hunting (mrigaya) are to be considered as the four most pernicious passions in the order in which they are named. (7.50)

In many yogic texts, the company of women (stri), excessive, passionate communication with them is considered a serious obstacle to sadhana, and even as a cause of spiritual decline. However, if a woman devotes herself to practice and becomes a yogini, then communication with such a woman or receiving initiation from her is considered favorable.