History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c41.s4.9

v3.c41.s4.9

The prohibition of widow remarriage among the Aryan castes is an ancient custom among the Hindus, as old as the Sūtras or perhaps the Vedas : and Al-Beruni says rightly of his time that widows could not re-marry; they might either burn themselves on the pyre of their dead husband or lead an ascetic life (Sachau Vol. I, p. 155). "The widows of kings" he adds "are usually burnt unless they are old or have sons alive." The new custom of child marriage combined with the ancient custom of the prohibition of widow-remarriage led, however, in due time to that miserable class of women among high caste Hindus called child-widows; and strangely enough the rule of Manu-smṛiti which provided for the remarriage of girls whose husbands died before consummation of marriage was also at this time put into abeyance by a Kalivarja provision. We will speak of these Kalivarjas later and show that these provisions came into being probably during this sub-period itself. It passes understanding why the remarriage of child-widows was also stopped.