The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c10.s4.6

c10.s4.6

The above survey will show that it was but natural that widowhood should have been regarded with the greatest apprehension by Hindu women. The widow did not receive much intelligent sympathy from society as a whole. She had to spend her life with her head shaven and arms bared; she was an outcaste on festive occasions,—a bad omen, her very sight being regarded as most inauspicious. A lady apprehending to be widowed observes in the Mahābhārata that a widow is pounced on all sides by the wicked like a piece of flesh by the birds of prey¹. The greatest danger that can overcome a woman is widowhood, says the Rāmāyaṇa². In the earlier period, when the Satī custom was unknown and remarriages were allowed, her lot was somewhat better ; nevertheless she was regarded as inauspicious. Later on, it became positively unbearable. It was a remarkable amount of fortitude and resignation, strengthened by the solace of religion and the belief in Karman, which enabled the Hindu widow to pass through her dreary life. A vast majority of them dedicated themselves to religious and spiritual pursuits. Service of the family and society was their motto. They were a source of inspiration to all around them on account of their self-sacrifice, disinterested service and devotion to spiritual pursuits. Some, however, found this ideal too difficult to follow, and it was a great pity that society should have failed to take proper steps to facilitate their remarriage. The spirit of the times, however, renderd such a move impossible.