The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c10.s4.1

c10.s4.1

Let us now take a general resume of the position of the widow from age to age. We find that down to *c.* 300 B. C., her position on the whole was fairly satisfactory. The prehistoric custom of Satī having died down, she was not required to immolate herself on the funeral pyre of her husband. If she was disinclined to lead a life of celibacy, she could either contract a second marriage or have recourse to Niyoga, the latter hardly differing from the former in earlier times. The custom of tonsure was absolutely unknown. Her only disability was a proprietary one; as we shall see in the chapter IX, she was not regarded as an heir to her husband's property. This was, however, more or less a theoretical disability. Niyoga and remarriage being common, it was very rare for a widow not to have a son; so what she could not claim as an heir to her husband, she could get as a guardian of her minor son.