The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization

The relaxation in marriageable age of women :

A modern or Vedic concept?

    As the concept of marriage and issues pertaining to marriage is a much discussed topic, we will deep delve into this by discussing the issue of marriageable age. A.S Altekar pointed out the fact, of girls being married at a younger age was not the tradition that has been continuing since ancient times. Altekar says that marriages at a lower age began to be advocated from about the 4th century B. C. The writers of the Dharmasūtras, who flourished from c. 400 B. C. to c. 100 A. D., begin to advise that marriages of girls should not be delayed long after their puberty. Two of them, Vaśishtha and Baudhāyana, are prepared to recommend that girls may be kept unmarried for a period of three years after their puberty, if there are difficulties in properly settling their marriages, and Manu and Kauṭilya concur with them.

काममामरणात्तिष्ठेद् गृहे कन्यर्तुमत्यपि । 

न चैवैनां प्रयच्छेत्तु गुणहीनाय कर्हिचित् ।। Manu, IX, 89.

“Even if a maiden has attained puberty, she may remain in her father’s house throughout her life if she so desires. But under no circumstances should her father give her in marriage to a man devoid of virtues or good qualities.”

     In essence, the marriage of a daughter must be with a worthy, noble, and virtuous man; otherwise, it is better not to marry her at all.

     The Author concludes that during the period 400 B.C. to 100 A.D. the marriageable age was being gradually lowered, and the tendency on the whole was to marry girls at about the time of puberty. There was, however, no uniformity in this practice in the society. The Kämasutra, which belongs to the end of this period, presupposes the existence of both the post-puberty and pre-puberty marriages (III, 2-4). The stories in the Kathasaritsāgara, which depict the social life of about this time, refer both to marriages brought about by parents and to love marriages arranged by the parties themselves (Chaps. 24, 124). Interestingly, in some Kshatriya circles, the custom of child marriage did not take root for a long time even after it had become well established in the rest of society.

     The Author clarified the misconception — of girls being married not at about the age of 14 or 15 during the Mauryan period, but at the much younger age of 6 or 7 — set out by the Megasthenese as the Greek ambassador states that among the Pändyas, who lived in Madura and Tinnevelly districts, girls used to be married at the age of 6. At the outset it may be pointed out that the Megasthenese does not make this statement about the girls at Pataliputra, of which he had first-hand information, but about the brides in Pandya country, which he had never visited. He had no first-hand information about South India and he makes this statement on the authority of a hearsay report.

    Altekar thoughtfully and rationally puts the point, how the people of the present era unconsciously follow the tradition of vedic times which has been painted as the modern concept by the leftists. He says — “The injunction of the later Smritis prescribing pre-puberty marriages is of course there, but the thoughtful section of Hindu society feels that it should be now set aside in favour of the view of the earlier Dharmaśāstra writers, who permitted the postponement of girls marriages to about the age of 16 or 17. In accepting and following the theory of post-puberty marriages Hindu society is merely returning to the old custom of the Vedic and Epic times. It need not therefore be regarded as anti-religious at all. The main reason that was responsible for popularising post-puberty marriages in the early period of Hindu history was the great concern which society felt over the question of girls' education. Precisely the same reason is now helping the cause of post-puberty marriages. In the past a few ladies known as Brahmavādinis used to remain forever unmarried, as they were anxious to devote themselves entirely to the cause of learning and religion. The phenomenon is repeating itself in modern times.”

Divorce : is it really a product of feminism and modernism ?

    Divorce is considered as a recent and constitutional concept by the woke minds in order to prove that hindu society emphasizes being in an unfit marriage — or rather say with a partner — than taking a divorce. But the author puts the fact that divorces were permitted before the beginning of the Christian era under certain well-defined circumstances. It is interesting to note that even Manu himself observes elsewhere in his book that a wife is not to blame if she abandons a husband, who is impotent, insane, or suffering from an incurable or contagious disease. This abandonment of the husband practically amounted to a divorce, for Manu permits such a wife to remarry if her previous marriage was not consummated. The children of the new union were legal heirs to their parents. Now, in actual practice, down to about the beginning of the Christian era, divorces and remarriages took place now and then in all sections of society even after the consummation of the first marriage.

     The author further delineates this issue that “Atharvaveda in one place refers to a woman marrying again, very probably in the lifetime of her first husband; it lays down a ritual intended to unite her permanently in heaven with her husband. Her second marriage of course presupposed a divorce. Dharmaśūtra writers (400 B.C. to 100 A.D.) lay it down that a Brahmana woman should wait for her husband gone out on a long journey for five years; Kautilya reduces this period to ten months only (III 4). If the husband did not return within that time and she was unwilling or unable to go out to join him, she should regard him as dead and unite herself with another member of the same family or gotra. Similar permission is given by the Arthaśāstra of Kautilya which requires judicial permission before contracting the second marriage. Jurists differ only about the period of waiting, which however never exceeds eight years. Parāśara's permission to remarry given to the wife of a person, who is impotent or has become a religious recluse or is boycotted, clearly presupposes the possibility of divorce from the earlier marriage.”

Women and Guest Management

     Management courses and HR departments are adapted and polished versions of age-old practice where grown up and educated women naturally played an important part in the management of their parent's households. As the author highlights the fact, the important duty of receiving guests and looking after their comforts was usually entrusted to them. This work solely devolved upon them when their parents were out of station. One finds Śakuntalā and Kuntī discharging this function in their father's households before their marriage. The latter was quite adept in this task; she could extort admiration even from such a notoriously irascible guest as Durvāsas who, being pleased with her attention and devotion, gave her a valuable boon unasked.

Women arts and sports

    While talking about art and sports and the role played by women in this, the author gives certain historical facts with the reference of Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. Altekar highlighted following points :

● During the Vedic and epic periods, music and dancing formed the principal indoor games. Public and dramatic concerts were often organised and girls used to go out to see them along with their elders or lovers.

● In fashionable circles, playing with the ball (kandukriya) seems to have been the chief outdoor physical exercise. Säntä and Kunti are, for instance, represented as spending their leisure hours in this game in the Mahābhārata (V, 93, 63; III, 112, 16). Players can so regulate this game as to have just the amount of exercise they want.

● The Rāmāyaṇa represents girls as going in the evening to gardens for playing and talking with their friends; but this was probably possible only in towns and cities.

● We have some references to girls going out to swim as well, it is not, however, easy to say what percentage of girls knew this very useful art. Girls used to play a number of courtyard games like 'hide and seek' and 'run and catch', which are graphically described in the Kamasūtra (III, 3). These gave very good physical exercise to the players and were well calculated to help their general development and give a suppleness to their limbs. Though not very often mentioned in literature, these games have been very popular with all classes of society since very early times. They were, however, usually played before the marriage.

● The cultivation of fine arts like music, dancing and painting was encouraged in the case of girls since very early times. Musical recitation of the Sama hymns was originally the special function of ladies. It is clear that they must be specialising in music in the early Vedic period; otherwise this important duty would not have been assigned to them.

● In the post-Vedic period also society went on encouraging music and dancing in the case of girls. Among the arts which ladies in cultured families were expected to cultivate, the Kamasútra assigns the most prominent place to dancing and music, both vocal and instrumental (1,3,16). Other arts which they were recommended to master were painting, gar-dening, garland-making, toy-making, house decorations, etc. ( 1, 3, 1).

● Heroines of Sanskrit dramas and poems like Priyadarśikā, Sakuntala and Kädmbari written during the first millennium of the Christian era, are well versed in most of these arts.

● Not infrequently, maidens used to give a dance in the court before a select audience without incurring thereby any social opprobrium. The dance teacher was a regular officer in the royal court and some queens like Lokama hādevi are known to have been experts in fine arts. It is clear that higher sections of society used to take all possible care to develop the aesthetic sense of girls.

Educated women or Women Scholars : A glance at glorious past of popular women

    While discussing the glorious prominence of lady scholars during the first millennium of the Christian era, Altekar emphasised the fact that, in Hindu society, a few famous lady scholars and poetesses flourished undoubtedly like Revă, Roha, Madhavi, Anulakshmi, Pahal, Vaddhavahi and Saśiprabhā. The author, while highlighting the glory and fame of women in ancient times, further says – Some Sanskrit anthologies also have preserved the memory of a few distinguished poetesses, who appear to have composed poetry of a really high order. Silabhatțärikä, we learn, was famous for her easy and graceful style, noted for a harmonious synthesis of sense and sound. Devi was a well-known poetess of Gujarat, who continued to enchant her readers on earth even when she had herself gone to heaven. Vijayäńkä's fame was second only to that of Kalidasa. She seems to have attained a really high position among Sanskrit writers, for a distinguished critic and poet like Räjaśekhara compares her to goddess Sarasvati herself. Nature was not very kind to this gifted lady, because it had chosen to give her a blue-black complexion. Rājaśekhara boldly declares that even masters of Sanskrit verse were clearly in the wrong when they declared that Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, was all fair in complexion. For in that case, how could poetess Vijayänkä, the incarnation of that goddess, have had a complexion resembling the blue, rather than the white lotus? This is of course all a play of poetic fancy, but it proves beyond all doubt that Vijayänkä was a celebrated poetess. Räjaśekhara's wife, a Kshatriya by caste, was a good literary critic and poetess. The recently published drama Kaumudimahotsava, whose central theme is an important political revolution at Pataliputra, has proceeded from the pen of a lady courtier; it shows that cultured ladies used to take a good deal of interest in the complications of contemporary history and politics. Märula, Morika and Subhadrä are other poetesses referred to in Sanskrit anthologies. The umpire in the fateful controversy between Sankaracharya and Mandanamišra was the latter's wife. Obviously she must have been very well grounded in literature, philosophy and theology; otherwise she would not have been accepted as the sole judge in this momentous controversy. Some women were attracted by medical studies also; the majority of these, like our lady doctors today, specialised in women's diseases…”

Women in administration : A modern initiative ?

     The intelligentsia of the author can be seen when he did not miss any single aspect associated with women and sadly, not given any chance to so-called centralist – gen-Z youth to blame, demean and label hindu society as orthodox. Altekar elucidated the role of women in administration and military by stressing the fact, girls in ruling families used to receive some military and administrative training also. He went on to describe a few instances of queens like —

● Nayanika of the Sätavahana dynasty (2nd. century B. C.),

● Prabhāvati Guptä of the Väkätaka family (4th century A. D.),

● Vijayabhattärikä of the Chalukya house (7th century A.D.)

● Sugandha and Didda of Kashmir (10th century A. D.)

    The author adds that in the Chalukya administration (c. 980-1160 A. D.), queen governors and officers were quite common. In ordinary Kṣatriya families, ladies used to receive a fairly good amount of military training. Women guards of kings, referred to in dramas, belonged to this class; they were usually experts in the use of the bow and the sword. South Indian inscriptions of the medieval period disclose the existence of many Kshatriya heroines defending their hearths and homes in times of danger. Women from Karnataka seem to have led the way in this matter. A heroine from Mysore is known to have died in a village affray at Siddhanhalli in 1041 A. D. In 1264. A.D. Another Karnatak heroine was honoured by the government of the day with the reward of a nose jewel in recog-nition of her bravery in overpowering a dacoit. A Nilgund inscription records a military expedition led by a feudatory queen. In 1446 a Mysore heroine died in Shikoga Taluka fighting to avenge the murder of her father.

   Altekar turns his pen to delineate the great glory of rajput and maratha women by describing how gallant and resilient they were. He adds – “It is quite well known that Rajput princesses were adept in the use of the sword and the spear. They could lead the armies and direct the government in the hour of need. Kürmä-devi, a queen of king Sämarasi, took over the administration of her kingdom on her husband's death and repulsed the attacks of Kutub-ud-Din. Javähirdevi, a queen of king Sangă, died fighting at the head of her army, while defending Chitor after her husband's death. Rajput history is full of such instances and they need not be all enumerated here. ……This tradition of giving military training to girls continued in the Maratha royal families, which were ruling over a considerable part of India during the 17th and 18th centuries. Rani Bhimabät, the daughter of Yeshwantrao Holkar, told Sir John Malcolm that it was an incumbent duty on a Maratha princess to lead her troops in pension, when there was no husband or son to do so. Tarabai, the founder of Kolhapur state, used to lead her army and direct her government. The example of queen Lakshmibal of Jhansi, who excited the admiration even of her opponents by her remarkable bravery and sound general-ship, is well known. The late princess Kamaläbär Scindia, the sister of the present Maharaja of Gwalior, was an adept in all military exercises. Her father was carrying out the old Maratha tradition when he laid down detailed directions in his will in this connection.

The Biggest question of Economic Independence : Were women of ancient time able to achieve it?

     The author of this book clearly mentions that those who followed the medical or the teaching line could of course become economically self-reliant. The same was the case with singers and dancers. Along with that, he mentions, women who did spinning and weaving were of great help in times of difficulty. The textile industry was a very important and prosperous one in India down to 1850 A. D. It was organised and conducted mainly as a cottage industry and so it afforded good scope to women in financial distress. In early Buddhist literature (c. 300 B. C.), the author says, one comes across ladies assuring their dying husbands that they need not worry about the financial future of their families; for they could earn the necessary income by spinning and weaving cotton and woollen yarn and piece goods. The Arthaśāstra of Kautilya lays down that the state should provide special facilities to destitute women to enable them to earn a living by spinning. From medieval commentators one learns that spinning continued to be the mainstay of poor widows at that time as well. It may be pointed out that cloth was much costlier in ancient and medieval India than what it is today; Indian fabrics were in great demand through-out the three continents down to the beginning of the last century. Women in distress, who resorted to spinning as a means of maintenance, had therefore ample scope for work and got fair wages.

    Well, women, is indeed a vast topic. If the fundamental, ubiquitous and the essential unit for all civilizations is a woman, so are the issues related to them. Definitely, the vast field of topics taken by the author can't be described in a single shot ; not even in double, hence keeping the other vital ones like — dowry, sati system, purdah system, the condition of widow and the general attitude towards women — for the next and final part.

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