The Rashtrakutas and their Times c20.192

c20.192

It was during our period that Hinduism came into contact with Mahomedanism both in the south and in the north. In Sindh hundreds of women were forcibly ravished and thousands of men were converted during our period. Many Mahomedan travellers had come and settled down in the ports of western India where, as we have seen already, mosques had begun to raise their heads. What was the attitude of Hinduism towards the problem of reconversion of those who were forcibly converted? Devala Smriti, which was composed in Sindh after its conquest by the Muslims, is essentially a Smriti composed for prescribing the rules for reconversion; it permits reconversion of forcibly converted men within a period of 20 years. Another Smriti writer of our age, Bṛhadyama¹⁵⁰ lays down the general principle that a suitable prāyaśchitta should be prescribed for such persons. With reference to women forcibly ravished by the Mlechchhas, a number of Smritis of our period¹⁵¹ lay down that such unfortunate ladies should be readmitted into theie families after a suitable penitential ceremony, even if the ravishment had resulted in conception.