The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c10.s4.3

c10.s4.3

Widows came to be regarded as inauspicious; they could not be present at the marriages of even their own children. They had to lead a dreary life of enforced celibacy, and society did not show much sympathy to them. Many widows waded through their unwanted life, supported by such solace as religion could afford them. Some summoned the necessary fortitude and preferred to escape from life through the frightful door of the Satī custom, which consequently began to become commoner. A few found it impossible to follow either course and lapsed into a life of ignominy and immorality.