The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c10.s1.2

c10.s1.2

It may be observed at the outset that the custom of levirate was quite common in ancient times in several civilisations. It was prevailing in Sparta. Among the Jews a widow would become her husband's brother's wife without any ceremony; if he refused to marry her, she would spit in his face (Spencer, *Sociology*, I, p. 661). The Old Testament also declares that if a woman becomes a widow, 'her husband's brother shall go unto her and take her to wife, and perform the duties of a husband's brother unto her' (Deuternonomy, 25, 5-10). The marriage of Hamlet's mother with Claudius and of Henry VIII with Katherine indicate an earlier custom of Niyoga, eventually developing into a regular remarriage with a brother-in-law.