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The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c11: Chapter VI. Women and Public Life

The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c11

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English

Contents

Chapter VI. Women and Public Life

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We have so far dealt with the position of women with reference to their family life. Modern readers, however, would be naturally anxious to know what facilities were afforded to women in ancient India to take part in public life and activities. Could they at all come out in public, or were they condemned to a Purda life? If they were allowed to move freely in society, what were the spheres in which they used to take an active part? Were there any careers open to them? If so, which? Could they take any part in the administration of the country? We shall now proceed to discuss these questions.

Purda System

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¹ The Anglo-Indian spelling 'Purdah' is not followed in this work.

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Considerable discussion has been going on as to whether the Purda system was prevalent in ancient India or not. There is a divergence of opinion on the point. Some hold that it was quite unknown in the pre-Muslim days. Others maintain that Hindu ladies used to wear veils even before the advent of the Mahomadens. The available evidence on the point is of a dubious nature, and can be manipulated to support either view. It therefore requires a very careful scrutiny.

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There is no doubt whatsoever that the Purda was quite unknown down to about the beginning of the Christian era. In Indo-Iranian times women could move quite freely in society, and manage the family farms if necessary¹. The same was the case in the Vedic age. We have shown already how girls were often educated along with boys (*ante*, p. 16). We have also shown how love marriages would take place not infrequently, and how youths could approach their sweethearts to win their love, and how both would often go together to see shows and sports (*ante*, pp. 79-80). All this would not have been possible if the Purda system had been observed in society by maidens.

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¹ Dowson, *The Ethical Religion of Zoraster*, p. 153

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Nor did the things change after the marriage. The Vedic marriage hymn requires the bride to be shown to all the assembled guests at the end of the marriage ritual². The hope was further expressed that the bride should be able to speak with composure in public assemblies down to her old age³. The presence of ladies in social and public gatherings was a normal feature in the Vedic times. It was quite welcome to society⁴. Whenever anything charming or graceful is to be described, Vedic poets usually think of the gaily attired lady, going out for a function, as the standard object of comparison (*R. V.*, IV, 58, 7; X, 168, 2; etc.). From the *Nirukta*, (*c.* 500 B.C.), we learn that ladies used to go out to courts of law to establish their claims of inheritance (III, 5). There is no reference to any Purda arrangement being made for their attendance. Nor does *Ṛigveda* I, 167, 3 contain any reference to the Purda system¹. The laddle, now being dipped into the ghee pot and then being taken out and brought forward to pour its contents into the sacrificial fire, is compared in this verse to a lady, now remaining in the privacy of her house, and then coming out in public to attend a meeting.

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² सुमंगलीरियं वधूरिमां समेत पश्यत । सौभाग्यमस्यै दत्वायाथास्तं वि परेतन ॥ । *R.V.*, X, 85, 33.

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³ वशिनी त्वं विदथमावदासि । *Ibid*, X, 85, 26. अथ जिर्ब्रिविदथमावदासि ॥ *A. V.*, XIV, 1, 21.

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⁴ जुष्टा नरेषु समनेषु वल्गुः । *A. V.*, II 36, 1.

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¹ मिम्यक्ष येषु सुधिता घृताची हिरण्यनिर्णिगुपरा न ऋष्टिः । गुहा चरन्ती मनुषो न योषा सभावती विदथ्येव सं वाक् ॥

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The earliest reference to the Purda system is to be found in the present version of the epics. There we see that some kind of Purda was observed in certain royal families, which felt, probably on account of a notion of prestige, that royal ladies should not come within the gaze of vulgar eyes. At the time when Sītā set out with her husband for the forest through the public thoroughfares of Ayodhyā, a regret is expressed in the Rāmāyaṇa that a lady, who had so far not been seen even by the spirits of the sky, should now become the object of public gaze². A similar observation occurs in the Mahābhārata also at the time of Dhṛitarāshṭra’s departure to forest.³ The Rāmāyaṇa further observes that there is no objection if women come out in public on the occasions of marriages, *svayaṁvaras*, sacrifices and public calamities¹. It would follow from this that they should remain in Purda in normal life.

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² या न शक्या पुरा द्रष्टुं भूतैराकाशगैरपि । तामद्य सीतां पश्यन्ति राजमार्गगता जनाः ॥ II, 33, 8.

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³ या नापश्यच्चन्द्रमा नैव सूर्यो रामाः काश्चित्ताः स तस्मिन्नरेन्द्रे । महावनं गच्छति कौरवेन्द्रे शोकेनार्ता राजमार्ग प्रपेदुः ॥ XV, 16, 13.

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¹ व्यसनेषु च कृच्छ्रेषु नो युधे नो स्वयंवरे । न क्रतौ न विवाहे च दर्शनं दुष्यति स्त्रियः ॥ VI, 116,28.

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It would appear that all the three passages above referred to, are interpolations of a later age, when the Purda system was introduced in a few royal families. For the other data in the epics themselves go against the prevalence of the Purda. Thus when Kauśalyā, Kaikeyī and Sumitrā go out to Chitrakūṭa to induce Rāma to return to Ayodhyā, they move in public without any veil. Sītā herself feels no embarrassment of a Purda lady, when she is going out through the streets of Ayodhyā. In the forests too, which were infested with demons and enemies, she is moving about without any veil. So the poet's observation that she had not been seen even by the spirits of the sky is simply a poetic exaggeration made to heighten the pathos of her banishment to forest life. Draupadī's public appearance in the gambling hall presupposes an entire absence of the Purda. Neither Kuntī nor Gāndhārī is seen to be observing it. In the story of king Poshya, narrated in the Mahābhārata (I, 1-3), we find the student Uttaṅka proceeding to the queen in her harem in order to beg her earrings for presenting them to his teacher's wife. This would not have been possible, if there were Purda in the king's palace. Apart from the verses referred to in the last paragraph, the epics show no acquaintance with the Purda system. They are therefore likely to be later additions, made with the desire to heighten the pathos of the departure of Sītā and Dhṛitarāshṭra to forest.

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It would however appear that soon after the beginning of the Christian era, a section of society began to advocate a greater seclusion for women. This was more particularly the case in royal families, where the notion began to prevail that royal ladies should not come within the public gaze. The earliest evidence of this view is to be found in the dramas of Bhāsa (*c.* 200 A. D.). In his *Pratimā* we find Sītā coming on the stage with a veil, though subsequently Rāma asks her to remove it in order to allow the weeping citizens to have a parting glance of the princess, whom they adored so much. The widowed queens of Daśaratha are also seen in this drama to be moving with a veil, when they go out to see the gallery of royal statues. This prevents even Bharata from recognising them. In the *Svapnavāsavadattā*, Padmāvatī does not observe any Purda during her maidenhood, but after her marriage she does not like that her husband should receive the ambassador from Ujjayinī in her presence. The king, however, overrules her objection, pointing out that the *elite* of the society would feel offended if the Purda was observed by the queen in their presence¹.

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¹ राजा:—**कलत्रदर्शनाहं जनं कलत्रदर्शनात्परिहरतीति बहुदोषमुत्पादयति। तस्मादास्यताम्।** Act VI.

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It would therefore appear that by about 300 A. D. some royal families were beginning to think it desirable that their ladies should be seen only by the select few; when moving in public they should put on a veil. The royal example was being imitated by a few families in higher and fashionable society; in the *Mṛichchha-* *kaṭika* we find the courtesan Vasantsenā being offered a veil, when she was raised to the status of a respectable lady at the end of the drama.

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This view was, however, shared only by a small section of society, perhaps confined to one part of India. It appeared as altogether irrational to women in general, who began to oppose it with all their might. From the *Lalitavistāra* we learn that when Gopā, the bride-elect of the Buddha was betrothed to him, she was advised to wear a veil. She refused to follow the course, observing that the pure in thought require no such artificial protection¹.

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¹ गोपा शाक्यकन्या न कंचन दृष्ट्वा वदनं छादयति स्म ।

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This rational opposition, which the Purda system was receiving from spirited ladies, resulted in the system not becoming popular for several centuries. It may have been prevailing in a few royal families, but their number was very small. It was probably confined to a small corner of northern India. Sculptures and paintings of the first millennium of the Christian era do not at all disclose any veils over ladies' faces. The sculptures at Sanchi in Central India, for instance, show that the women of the 2nd century B.C. could see a procession from the balconies of their houses without covering their faces with veils (Plate I). The same was the case in the Deccan during the 5th and 6th centuries A. D., as may be gathered from several paintings at Ajanta². This is clearly incompatible with

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² Yazdani, *Ajanta*, Part II, Pl. XXIV.

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Her argument was:—
> ये कायसंवृता गुप्तेन्द्रियाः सुनिवृताश्च
> मनःप्रसन्ना किं तादृशानां वदनं प्रतिछादयित्वा Canto XVI.

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the Purda system. Ajanta supplies further and more significant evidence to show that the Purda was altogether unknown in the Deccan at this time. We find queen Māyādevī seated in the open court without any veil, when astrologers are being consulted about the implications of her dream¹. The wise minister Vidhura Paṇḍita delivers his sermons to royal ladies, none of whom cares to veil her face in his presence². Both at Sanchi and Ajanta we come across mixed throngs of men and women moving together in streets³, and participating in worship at public temples (Plate II); women are, however, not to be seen wearing any veils. To show a veil round the face may be rather difficult for a sculptor, but not at all for a painter. If therefore we see even married women moving about in public without any Purda in Ajanta paintings, the conclusion is irresistible that it was hardly much in vogue even in the higher and fashionable sections of society.

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¹ *Ibid*, Pl. XX.

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² *Ibid*, Plates XXXIV, XXXIX.

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³ *Ibid*, Plates XXIV, XXV; Cunningham, Pl. XXVII.

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The evidence of sculptures and paintings is corroborated by the data of Dharmaśāstra and classical Sanskrit literatur . Several Smṛitis like those of Manu and Yājñavalkya lay down detailed rules about the life of women, but they nowhere lay down that women were not to go out except when properly veiled.

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In Sanskrit dramas, we do not find any traces of the Purda system. The plots of the *Śākuntala*, and the *Mālatī-Mādhava*, for example, would not have been possible in a Purda-ridden society. In the first Act of the *Śākuntala* the maidens do not cover their faces with veils, even when they see and converse with Dushyanta¹. In the Mālatī-Mādhava the heroine and her numerous friends go out to the temple without any veil whatsoever; the hero is thus able to perceive the maddening beauty of the heroine and falls in love with her. Similarly in the Kādambarī of Bāṇa, neither Mahāśvetā nor Kādambarī, nor any of their numerous friends and attendants observe any Purda. From the *Meghadūta* (I, 26) we learn that women of Ujjayinī used to go to the Siprā for sport in water at the time of bath. This would not have been possible if the Purda were in vogue there. Yuan Chuang has given an intimate picture of the Hindu society of the 7th century A. D., but he nowhere refers to the Purda system. We learn from him that Rājyaśrī, the widowed sister of Harsha, used to come out without a veil in her brother's court. The *Rājataranginī* gives a detailed account of the life in Kashmir court and palace during the period 700-1150 A. D.; but we can nowhere get any references to the Purda in it. Abu Zaid, an Arabian traveller of the early 10th century, has noted that in most of the courts in India queens appeared in public without any veils (Elliot and Dowson, I, p. 11). It is therefore clear that the Purda was confined to a very small section of the ruling classes down to the 10th century A. D.

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¹ In the V Act, the heroine no doubt appears with a veil, but that is because she had donned it as a protection against the dust and weather during her journey. It was not doffed by her for some time owing to her sense of bashfulness and embarrassment at her first public appearance before her husband. Her veil in the V Act therefore does not prove the existence of the Purda system.

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Though in Hindu society as a whole there was nothing like the modern Purda system in existence, there were certain restrictions on the movements of women. They could go out to visit their friends and relations, but decorum required that they should not stay at their houses for the night, or when their business was over. They were to observe a certain amount of reserve in the presence of strangers. They could speak with merchants and doctors and transact the necessary business, but they were to be circumspect while dealing with unknown persons¹. They could receive male guests, but they were relieved of this duty, if there were male relatives in the family to discharge it. There were here and there some jealous husbands, who would not allow their wives to go out without their permission to see shows and amusements (*Arthaśāstra*, III, 3), but they were the exception rather than the rule.

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¹ न परपुरुषमभिभाषेत अन्यत्र वणिक्प्रव्रजितवैद्येभ्यः । Śaṅkha in Aparārka on *Yāj.*, I, 83.

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Though there was no Purda system, women who felt themselves to be in a rather helpless condition, would often avoid going out in public. Such was the case of widows and maidens without proper guardians, and of married women, whose husbands had gone out on a journey². Thus in the *Svapnavāsavadattā* of Bhāsa, queen Padmāvatī observes that it was but natural for Tāpasī to avoid strangers, because her husband was out on a journey³. If it was necessary for such women to work for their bread, Kauṭilya lays down that the Superintendent of the Weaving Department should make arrangements to send cotton to their homes for being spun into thread. They were not required to go to his office, unless they chose to do so (II, 23). When they moved out, or had to converse with strangers, they used to put on a veil. When their guardians returned, they used to discard it.

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² क्रीडां शरीरसंस्कारं समाजोत्सवदर्शनम् । हास्यं परगृहे यानं त्यजेत्प्रोषितभर्तृका ॥ *Yāj.*, I. 84.

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³ प्रोषितभर्तृका परपुरुषदर्शनं परिहरत्यार्या । Act VI.

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To conclude, we find that even in pre-Muslim times there was a section in society from *c.* 200 A. D., which advocated the use of the veil for royal ladies for the purpose of increasing their prestige. There is, however, no evidence to prove that even five per cent. of royal families observed this custom during the Hindu period. Women of richer classes led a more sheltered life than what would be welcomed by the educated ladies today. This is shown by the term *antaḥpuram* ‘inner apartment’ used to denote the harem in the palace. Strangers were not expected to enter it. Women themselves would often retire into seclusion, when they found that their natural guardians were not with them. With their return, they would again begin to move out as usual, of course with due regard to decorum and propriety.

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Even in the *Kathāsaritsāgara*, written towards the end of the 11th century A. D., there are hardly any traces of the Purda. In the story of Arthalobha (III, 286) we find a lady participating in mercantile business. Polygamous kings occasionally attempted to introduce some seclusion in their harems, but they were strongly and successfully opposed by their queens. Thus in the story of Ratnaprabhā, we find the heroine protesting to her husband against his view that even his own friends should not enter her apartments. ‘I consider’, says she, ‘that the strict seclusion of women is a folly produced by jealosy. It is of no use whatsoever. Women of good character are guarded only by their own virtue and nothing else¹.

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¹ आर्यपुत्र प्रसंगेन वदामि तव तच्छृणु ।\ रक्षा चान्तःपुरेस्त्रीवृद्ध नैवमेतन्मतं मम ॥\ नीतिमात्रमहं मन्ये स्त्रीणां रक्षा नियन्त्रणम् ॥ 36, 6-7.

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There are absolutely no traces of any Purda observed within the family in the Hindu period. It was the regular duty of a daughter-in-law to pay her respects to elderly relations by bowing at their feet. There is nothing whatsoever in our tradition or literature to suggest that the father-in-law or the elder brother-in-law could not see the face of a daughter-in-law or a younger sister-in-law, as is the case now under the Purda system in northern India.

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The general adoption of the Purda system by the ruling and aristocratic families of Hindu community is subsequent to the advent of the Muslim rule. It was accepted by Hindu society partly in imitation of the manners of the conquerors, and partly as an additional protection for the women folk. In the Muslim ruling families the Purda was so strict that a message had to pass through three intermediaries before it could reach the desired person in the zenana (*J. A. S. B.*, 1935, p. 246). The Hindu chiefs and nobles followed the example of their overlords in their own harems. This happened almost universally in northern India, where the Muslim rule and culture were in ascendancy for a long time. In the Deccan, the Muslim influence was superficial, and so the Purda system got no footing in the Hindu society there. It was, however, introduced in their families by the Maratha rulers with a desire to render themselves as respectable as the Muslim kings whom they had supplanted.

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There were some further causes to facilitate the general adoption of the custom at about 1200 A. D. As a rule Hindu women at this time were illiterate and inexperienced. The times were unsettled, there was a general feeling of insecurity and Hindu life and honour did not count for much in the eyes of the conquerors. The Purda afforded some additional protection to beautiful women while out on journey from the covetous eyes of an unscrupulous soldiery. It was therefore welcomed by Hindu women. They did not protest against it as Ratnaprabhā, a heroine in the *Kathāsaritsāgara*, had done before.

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The Purda system became quite common among rich Hindu families of Bengal and United Provinces in the 15th and the 16th centuries. Both Vidyāpati and Chaitanya refer to it. When the wives of Raja Rudra Pratap Singh of Puri came to see Chaitanya, they travelled in covered litters. In Rajputana the custom became universal in the ruling families. It was regarded as an essential insignia of respectability and high breeding. As a consequence, down to the present century, persons who had risen in wealth and importance were anxious to introduce Purda in their family in order to command respectability. Women of the peasant and working classes could of course not afford to remain in seclusion; they had to move out for their daily work. They used to move the lapel of their *saris* slightly over their faces when a stranger passed by them.

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The above survey of the history of the Purda system would show that it was confined to an infinitesimal section of Hindu society down to the beginning of the 11th century A. D. In most strata of the community, there was no seclusion of women and they could take a fair part in the social life around them. They could move about with a fair degree of freedom in the earlier period. They could visit temples and monasteries to listen to religious discourses. They could go to see shows in the company of their friends and lovers. These visits afforded convenient opportunities to young people, anxious to settle in matrimony. In urban areas women could go out to public parks for sport and recreation. A fifth century inscription describes the parks of the city of Mandsore in Central India as full of young ladies singing gleefully¹. In the Rāmāyaṇa we are told that when peace and order prevail in society, maidens go out in the evening to gardens for play and recreation (II, 67, 17). Ladies in high families could even take part in dramas that were to be shown to a limited audience.

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¹ प्रजलगार्भिश्च : राङ्गनाभिर्भवनानि यत्र समलंकृतानि ॥

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The situation gradually changed with the lowering of the marriage age. Inexperienced and uneducated wives became incapable of taking part in many of the activities mentioned above. Naturally husbands began to claim and excercise a greater control over them, which proved detrimental to their participation in the social and public life and activities. Jealous husbands with narrow outlook would not allow their wives to mix freely with the outside world. This created an atmosphere favourable for the spread of the theory that women should lead a life of seclusion. During the Hindu period, however, the theory found acceptance only in a very small number of ruling families. With the advent of the Muslim rule it gained a powerful impetus owing to the culture and example of the conquerors. Women were ill-fitted to fight for their earlier freedom on account of their inexperience and ignorance and submitted to the new order.

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It may be, however, pointed out that seclusion of women was not confined to India alone. In Athens at *c.* 500 B. C. women could not meet their husbands’ guests, or go outside the house without proper guards (*E. R. E.*, Vol. V, p. 735). A bridegroom could not see his bride before marriage in the cultural capital of ancient Greece, owing to the strict conventions under which women lived (*Ibid*, Vol. VIII, p. 445). A character in one of the plays of Menander says, ‘A free woman should be bounded by the street door’. At Sparta women had separate apartments and could not be present at a banquet. In ancient Assyria veil was worn by all married women, harlots and concubines being regarded as ineligible for it. In Persia also seclusion of women had become quite common before the beginning of the Christian era. The Bible lays down’ that women should not speak in public at the Church. If they had any difficulties, they were to ask their husbands at home, for ‘it is a shame for women to speak in the Church’ (I Corinthians, 14, 34-5). Early Church Fathers held similar views. Tertullian says, ‘For a virgin of virtuous habits every public appearance with an unveiled face was equivalent to suffering a rape’¹. Clement of Alexandria says, ‘Let the woman be entirely covered, unless she happens to be at home. She will not invite another to fall into a sin by uncovering her face’.² In Russia soon after the introduction of Christianity the Terem system was introduced, which shut out women from friends and foes alike. In the 16th century wives and daughters of noblemen could not be seen even by their own brothers and other near relations (Halle, *Women in Soviet Russia*, p. 11).

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¹ Quoted by M. Lyer in *Family*, p. 229.

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² Quoted by Davies in *A short History*, p. 223.

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To come to modern times, we find that in the west also women lived under strict conventions till quite recent times. Down to 1850 A. D. in England a woman could not take a walk, much less a railway journey, alone; nor could she ask a fellow worker to visit her, unless that fellow worker happened to be not only a girl, but also a member of a familiar family. It was almost scandalous for a woman to address a public meeting. When two ladies spoke at a meeting convened for the purpose of supporting the women's cause in 1869, a member of Parliament said, ‘Two ladies, wives of members of this Parliament, had recently disgraced themselves by speaking in public.’ When the House of Commons was built in 1844, it was with great difficulty that a Ladies' Gallery was sanctioned. It was, however, decided to put a grille before it in order to screen the occupants from the public gaze. This grille was removed only in 1918¹.

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¹ Ray Srachy, *The Cause*, pp. 79, 118, 362.

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The above survey of the Purda system shows that the seclusion of women was quite common in most of the eastern and western civilisations down to quite recent times. Owing to the continuance of the medieval atmosphere and the advent and dominence of the Muslim civilisation, India has continued to cling to the custom down to modern times. In recent years, however, the Purda custom has begun to beat a precipitate retreat. Social reformers and medical practitioners have been long pointing out its evil consequences. The education, which women have now begun to receive in larger and larger numbers, is proving fatal to the custom. Strange though it may appear at first sight, the Non-cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements have helped a good deal in the annihilation of the Purda. They inspired many Purda ladies to come out in the public to take part in the political movement, and their example had a magnetic influence. It may be confidently prophesied that in a generation the Purda custom would be completely banished from Hindu society.

Careers for Women

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We have seen above that for a long time there was no Purda in Hindu society and women used to receive education of a fairly advanced type. Let us see now whether they could follow any careers, if urged by a natural inclination or forced by adverse circumstances.

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Three or four lines were open to women. The teaching career was the most common. This is quite clear from the coining of a separate word to distinguish a lady teacher from a teacher’s wife. The latter was by courtesy called ‘Āchāryāṇī,’ but if a woman was herself a teacher, she was to be designated ‘Āchāryā.’ As we have already shown, some of these lady teachers would specialise even in abstruse and difficult branches like theology and philosophy. Lady teachers teaching grammar, poetry and literature must have been more common. It is not improbable that among their pupils, occasionaly there may have been male students as well. Some of the lady teachers were remarkable for their eloquence and depth.

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Women were admitted into Buddhism and Jainism as nuns and were allowed to preach. Some of them like Dhammadinnā developed into remarkably eloquent and successful preachers, as can be inferred from the unstinted encomium showered upon them by the Buddha.

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Medical career was selected by some women. Among the works translated into Arabic in the 8th century A. D. there was one on midwifery written by a Hindu lady, whose name appears as Rūsā in the Arabic garb. Lady doctors in the past, like those in the modern age, seem to be usually specialising in midwifery. It is, however, difficult to make an exact estimate about their number in society. Even at present there are several lady doctors in moffusil treating patients on Ayurvedic lines. Their number in the past could not have been a negligible one.

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In the realm of business we find that women had no disabilities. They do not figure in the list of persons declared incompetent for entering into a valid contract. Women in lower classes and commercial and industrial circles used to take an active part in carrying on the business transactions of their families. They could even pledge their husbands' credit and enter into contracts on their behalf (*Yāj.* II, 47; *Vishṇu*, VI, 31). We have unfortunately no evidence to show what part ladies in higher circles used to take in the business of their families. Probably, then as now, they lagged behind their humbler sisters.

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We have seen in Chapter I that music was cultivated by ladies in cultured families since very early times. Ladies, who could sing or dance, were much admired. Was then music open as a career to ladies in respectable families? The asnwer is probably in the negative. We nowhere come across respectable ladies as music teachers. Girls in royal and rich families were usually coached either by male musicians or by dancing girls. It may be further pointed out that when early marriages came into vogue, it was not possible for ladies in cultured families to get the necessary proficiency in music before their marriage. Music as a career was not possible after the marriage owing to the progressively stringent ideas about decorum and seclusion.

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This state of affairs led to a sad result. The cultivation and propagation of music and dancing came to be confined to the class of professional singing girls. Men, who had an aesthetic taste and a love for music, could not find delight in the company of their own wives. They were driven to the company of women of questionable character, much to the detriment of the happiness of their families. This helped the spread of concubinage and lowered the moral tone of society.

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The numerical strength of the class of singing girls was fairly strong. Throughout her history India has been studded with small princes and princelings, who have been accustomed to extend a liberal patronage to singers and dancers. In the royal courts of the ancient and medieval periods a large number of singing girls were engaged as *chauri* bearers, betel carriers, fan servants, etc. Besides the nominal duties indicated by their names, most of these women used to sing, dance and even stage dramas at the court. Dancing girls were also employed as spies by the Secret Service Department.

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When temples of Hindu gods came to be built and endowed on a magnificent scale, some people began to feel in course of time that there should be singing girls attached to shrines to play music on the occasion of the different services and worships of the day. The custom of the association of dancing girls with temples is unknown to Jātaka literature. It is not mentioned by Greek writers, and the *Arthaśāstra*, which describes in detail the life and duties of dancing girls, is silent about it (II, 27). The custom, however, had come into vogue by about the 3rd century A. D.; for Kālidāsa refers to dancing girls present in Mahākāla temple of Ujjayinī at the time of the evening worship (*Meghadūta*, I, 35). Several Purāṇas also recommend that arrangements should be made to enlist the services of singing girls to provide vocal and instrumental music at the time of divine services. These singing girls were usually prostitutes, and we are pained to find that some of the Purāṇas should have gone to the extent of recommending the purchase of beautiful girls for their dedication to temples¹. One Purāṇa goes to the extent of saying that the best way to win Sūryaloka is to dedicate a bevy of prostitutes to a solar temple².

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¹ क्रीता देवाय दातव्या धीरेणाक्लिष्टकर्मणा । कल्पकालं भवेत्स्वर्गो नृपो वासौ महाधनी ॥ *Padmapurāṇa*, Srishṭikhaṇḍa, 52, 97.

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² वेश्याकदम्बं यस्तु दद्यात्सूर्याय भक्तितः । स गच्छेत्परमं स्थानं यत्र तिष्ठति भानुमान् ॥ *Bhavishyapurāṇa.*, I. 93, 67.

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This custom probably became quite common in the 6th century A. D., when most of the Prurāṇas, containing a reference to it, seem to have been composed. In the 7th century Yuan Chwang saw numerous singing girls in the temple of the Sun at Multan. The *Rājātaraṅgiṇī* attests to the existence of this custom in Kashmir from about the 8th century A. D. The famous temple of Somanātha is said to have employed 500 dancing girls in order to provide music before the deity continuously throughout the day and night. Several inscriptions from south India prove the association of dancing girls with temple service from about the 9th century A. D. When king Rājarāja built his famous temple at Tanjore in the 10th century A. D., he deemed it necessary to provide for temple service no less than 400 dancing girls, each one of whom was given a piece of land for her maintenance.

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The introduction of dancing girls in temples tended to lower their moral and spiritual atmosphere. Some people began to visit shrines not so much to pay their respects to deities, as to carry on their love intrigues with the singing girls employed there. To judge from a reference in the *Kuṭṭinīmatam*, we have to conclude that sometimes this used to happen even in the famous temple of Viśvanātha at Benares¹. The custom, when introduced, was therefore vehemently opposed by all the champions of social purity like Brahmanas and ascetics. Alberuni refers to this opposition and says that it proved of no avail, because the custom was championed by kings and members of the aristocracy (II, p. 157). A 10th century inscription from Rajaputana confirms the statement of Alberuni. It records the express instructions of a chieftain to his descendants that if the arrangement that he had made about the services of dancing girls at different temples was interfered with by ascetics and Brahmanas, they should be at once stopped (*E. I.*, XI, p. 28). It is therefore clear from this record that the opposition of the majority of the Brahmanas and puritanical thinkers to the association of dancing girls with temples was so strong down to the 10th century that even kings were afraid that their arrangements may fail owing to the success of the puritanical crusade. It is thus clear that the Purāṇas, which recommend the employment of dancing girls in temples, represent the view of a minority of the Brahmana community, which in its zeal to provide pomp and splendour at temple service, failed to realise the natural effects of the new practice on the moral and spiritual atmosphere of divine shrines. All the moral and religious leaders of the community, however, fought against this innovation. Their opposition, however, proved of no avail. The royal support eventually succeeded in making the custom general and popular.

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¹ Vv. 743-755.

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The modern Hindu public opinion is deadly opposed to the association of dancing girls with temple service. The dedication of girls to temples has been legally prohibited in Madras Presidency, and there is no doubt that other provinces will follow suit in the near future. The relative inactivity of their legislatures is really due to the custom being practically unknown in their jurisdiction.

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Before concluding this 'section it is necessary to point out that the association of dancing girls with temples was fairly common in several countries in ancient time. In Egypt temples of Osiris and Isis were crowded with dancing girls. At Corinth in Greece thousands of women used to dedicate themselves to Venus and sell their bodies for the benefit of the temple. The custom was prevalent among the Hebrews and Babylonions as well.

Women and Public Administration

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Let us now see what part women took in the administration of the country. Political thinkers were not unanimous as to whether it is desirable to permit women to become rulers of the state. One school saw no objection in allowing them to ascend the throne. There is a proposal in the Rāmāyaṇa to offer the crown to Sītā, when Rāma was banished to the forest¹. It could not materialise owing to Sītā’s determination to accompany her husband in his banishment. Bhīshma advised Yudhishṭhira to sanction the coronations of the daughters of those kings, who had died in the war and left behind no male issues². In Orissa when king Lalitābharaṇadeva died towards the end of the 9th century A. D., his widowed queen was requested by the feudatories to accept the sovereignty, come to her in course of succession. In compliance to their request, we are told, she ascended the lion-throne like Kātyāyanī³. It is to be noted that queen Tribhuvanadevī was not a regent for any minor son, but was ruling as a sovereign in her own rights after the death of her husband.

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¹ आत्मा हि दारा सर्वेषां दारसंग्रहवर्तिनाम् । आत्मयमिति रामस्य पालयिष्यति मेदिनीम् ॥ II, 37, 38.

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² कुमारो नास्ति येषां च कन्यास्तत्राभिषेचय । XII, 32, 33.

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³ तदधुनापि प्रसीद । नाथवत्सुचिरं धारयैनाम् । क्रियतां लोकानुग्रहः स्वीक्रियतां प्रक्रमागता करराज्यश्रीः ॥ *J.B.O.R.S*, II, pp. 422-3.

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The examples of queens reigning independently in their own rights are, however, few. This is to be attributed to the fact that the school of the political thinkers, which like the Salique law, opposed the accession of women to the throne, was representing the general opinion of society. It held that women should not be made rulers, for on account of their natural limitations, they cannot become efficient administrators¹. We hardly come across any queens like Tribhuvanadevī of Orissa reigning independently in their own right. Megasthenes had no doubt heard of queen rulers in Pāṇḍya country, but that was because of the matriarchal system prevailing in Malabar and the territory around. Hindu princesses, even when entitled to the throne in their own rights, did not usually like to become the legal heads of their states in supersession of their husbands, whom they revered intensely. Their consorts usually became *de jure* as well as *de facto* heads of the government. Thus when Gaurī, a Raṭṭa princess who was an heir to a fiefdom in Karnatak, married a prince of Banahaṭṭa family in the 10th century, her husband became the ruler over her principality (*J. B. B. R. A. S.*, X, p. 77). The Gupta history provides perhaps the only exception to the rule. The founder 'of the dynasty, Chandragupta I, was ruling the kingdom jointly with his Lichchhavi queen Kumāradevī. The names and effigies of both the king and the queen appear on their coins, along with the name of the Lichchhavi clan from which the queen was descended. The same is the case with the coins of William III and Mary II, who were jointly ruling over England from 1689 to 1694. Political reasons, however, were responsible for this joint rule; in the case of the first Gupta emperor the Lichchhavis were too proud to allow their state to be immersed in the Gupta empire on the marriage of their princess with Chandragupta; and so a compromise was arrived at, under which both the king and the queen were regarded as equal and joint rulers of the state. Normally, however, when a princess with her own right to the throne married, her husband became the *de jure* ruler as well.

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¹ अनवकाशं यमित्थी राजा अस्स चक्कवर्ती। *M. N.*, III, 65-66. यत्र स्त्री यत्र कितवो बालो यत्रानुशासिता । मज्जन्ति तेऽवशा । जन्मन्द्यामश्मप्लवा इव ॥*Mbh*, V, 38,92(B).

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Though queens usually did not assume the reins of government when their husbands were alive, they did not hesitate to assume full control of the administration as regents, when their husbands died or sons were minors or taken prisoners. During the captivity of king Udayana of Kauśāmbī, his mother had taken full charge of the administration. The way in which she discharged her duties excited the admiration of even experienced ministers¹. Many dowager queen regents also are known to ancient Indian history. The queen of Masaga was directing the attack against Alexander the Great, when her husband was killed in the battle with the invader. In the second century B. C. queen Nayanikā was at the head the administration of the extensive Sātavāhana empire of the Deccan during the minority of her son. In the 4th century A. D. Prabhāvatīguptā was directing the Vākāṭaka administration in the Central Province for more than 10 years after her husband's death as the Queen Regent for her minor son. In medieval Kashmir queens Sugandhā and Diddā were actively governing the country during their widowhood. In Rajput history there are several instances of widowed queens carrying on the administration efficiently during the minority of their sons even in troublesome times. Thus when her husband Sāmarasi died on the battlefield along with Prithvīarāja in 1193 A. D. Kūrmādevī took the administration of Mevad in her own hands, and fought at the head of her troops resisting the invasion of Kutbu-d-din¹. Karṇavatī, one of the widows of Rana Sang, took a prominent part in the defence of Chitor, when it was attacked by Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. Her moving and inspiring address rekindled patriotism in a sullen and alienated nobility, which as a consequence, immediately mustered strong in the defence of the famous fort. The odds, however, were too heavy against the gallant defenders. Undaunted by the inevitable defeat that was staring them in the face, Jawahirbai, another queen of King Sanga, fought at the head of the army and died on the battle-field while defending the castle². Many other similar instances of able queen regents can be given from the medieval 'Rajput history.

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¹ *Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa*, Act I.

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¹ Tod, *Annals*, vol. I, pp. 303-4.

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² *Ibid*, p. 362.

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In the Maratha history Tarabai of Kolhapur, Anubai of Ichalkaranji, Ahalyabai of Indore and Lakshmibai of Jhansi are well known for the skill, diplomacy, efficiency and bravery with which they carried on the government during their regencies. In spite of the most adverse circumstances Tarabai, the founder of the Kolhapur ruling family, showed remarkable grit and statesmanship in continuing and organising the Maratha opposition to Aurangzeb after the death of her husband Chhatrapati Rajaram in 1700 A. D. The fact that her opponent had the resources of the whole of India at her command did not deter her from her patriotic duty. During her regency of 30 years (1745-1775 a. d.), Anubai Ghorpade of Ichalkaranji (near Kolhapur) conducted most efficiently the administration of her state. She used to participate in many of the campaigns of the Peshwas with her own forces. She was in fact the maker of her state and had inherited all the qualities of her illustrious father, Peshwa Balaji Vishvanath. Ahalyabai Holkar of Indore was entrusted with administrative duties by her father-in-law, Malharrao Holkar, when she was only 24. Her regency during 1766-1795 a. d. covered a critical and troublesome period of Indian history. She, however, managed to steer the ship of her state clear of all shoals and rocks. While the rest of the country was torn by wars, her dominions enjoyed peace and prosperity. Her extensive and judicious charities, her repairs and reconstructions of old and demolished temples, illustrated to the whole country how the Maratha rule stood for the revival and progress of Hindu culture. Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi was a lady of ideal character and great administrative abilities. She was a trained soldier and a born general; the skill, bravery and generalship which she showed in fighting with the English against heavy odds have excited the admiration of frends and foes alike.

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Hindu kingdoms under lady regents were usually well governed. An Anglo Indian officer of long standing had observed to J. S. Mill that if a Hindu principality was vigilantly and economically governed, if order was preserved without oppression, if cultivation was extending and people prosperous, in three cases out of four he found it to be under a woman's rule. This high praise would show that Hindu queen regents were not mere figure heads of government, but used to actively guide and supervise the state administration.

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Queens used to excercise a good deal of influence on the administration even when their husbands were ruling. They were often entrusted with most delicate missions and their advice was eagerly awaited. When Duryodhana was adamant in his resolution to go to war with his cousins, the last effort to dissuade him from his resolve was entrusted to his mother queen Gāndhārī. The influence which the masterly mind of Draupadī excercised upon the Pāṇḍavas and their policy is well known. Kuntī sums up her inspiring and eloquent message to her sons by asking them to follow the advice of Draupadī. This shows how great was the confidence which was placed in her judgment by all her relatives.

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Inscriptions testify to several queens and princesses taking an active part in the administration. This was particularly the case with the Deccan. Thus Vijayabhaṭṭārikā, the senior queen of king Chandrāditya of the Chālukya family, was ruling over a portion of the Bombay Deccan by the middle of the 7th century. We have got a charter given by her in the 5th year of her reign (*I.A.*, VII, p. 163). In 786 A. D. we find Śīlamahādevī, the crowned queen of the Rāshtrakūṭa king Dhruva, making a land grant on her own authority (*E. I.*, XXII, p. 98). Obviously she felt that being the crowned queen, she had an inherent right to issue routine administrative orders without any reference to her husband; or, the latter may have expressly invested her with certain ruling powers, including the important power of making land grants. Mailādevī, a queen of Someśvara Chālukya, was governing the extensive province of Banavāsī in 1053 a. d. Ketalādevī, another queen of the same king, was the governor of the *Agrahāra* of Ponavad. Akkādevī, an elder sister of Jayasimha III, was ruling over the district of Kinsukad in 1022 a. d. Kumkumadevī, a sister of Vijayāditya, was ruling over a portion of Dharwar district in Karnatak in 1077 a. d. Lakshmīdevī, the chief queen of Vikramāditya VI, was in charge of the administration of 18 religious endowments¹. Guntur district was being governed by a queen at the time of the vistit of Marco Polo towards the end of the 13th century a. d. We have already referred to the great influence which Rajput wives and mothers used to excercise over the internal and external policies of their husbands and sons. They often used to show remarkable originality and presence of mind in the face of grave danger. Thus it was queen Padminī who suggested the device which secured the release of her husband.

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¹ Altekar, *The Rāshtrakūṭas and their Times*, p. 154.

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Let us now see what part ordinary women took in the administration of the country. There were democratic assemblies in the Vedic age. The marriage hymn expresses the hope that the bride would be able to speak with composure and success in these public assemblies down to her old age². It is thus probable that some ladies used to take an effective part in the public discussions of the democratic assemblies of the age. In the later Vedic period, the state of affairs changed; a text expressly informs us that women do no longer go to public assemblies¹. Later on popular representative bodies at the seats of central and provincial governments disappeared. Village, town and guild assemblies remained the only popular bodies known to the later period (*c.* 200 B. C. to 1200 A. D.). Rules about the administration of these bodies given in Smṛitis and south Indian inscriptions do not show that women were usually among their members. Female education was on the decline; marriage had become obligatory for women, and it was taking place very early in their life. Ordinary women of this period did not naturally feel much interest in the problems discussed in these bodies. Child marriages led to maternity at an early age, and most women were naturally too much engrossed in family duties and responsibilities to find leisure to take part in public affairs. During the last two thousand years, therefore, ordinary Hindu women have not been taking any part in public administration. It may be pointed out that the same was the case in the west till quite recent times.

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² **वशिनी त्वं विदथमावदासि ।** *R.V.*, X, 85, 26.

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¹ तस्मान्मांसः सभां यान्ति न स्त्रियः । *M.S.*, IV, 7, 4.

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We shall now take a brief survey of the position of women in public life during the last seventy five years. They hardly figured in it down to the beginning of the present century. This was but natural, for women were for a long time unable to get the benefit of western education, which was mainly responsible for creating a new social and political consciousness. Mrs. Anandibia Joshi, Pandita Ramabai, Mrs. Ramabai Ranade and a few coworkers of theirs braved the public opinion and courageously proceeded with the work of female emancipation. Things however changed when female education began to become more widely diffused since the beginning of the present century. Lady workers in the public life began to become more numerous. In the beginning they were naturally engaged in tackling the problems mainly concerned with their own sex, like female education, maternity welfare, widow remarriage, the abolition of the Purda custom, etc. From about the time of the Non-co-operation movement of 1920 they have begun to figure in the political movements as well. Several of them have distinguished themselves as platform speakers and hundreds of them have gone to jail to win freedom for their motherland. One Hindu lady, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, has adorned the chair of the Indian National Congress, which is the highest honour in the gift of the Indian people. Some ladies have creditably discharged the onerous duties of the Deputy Speakership of legislatures, while others have adorned the benches of Honorary Magistrates. With the introduction of Provincial Autonomy, we find now two ladies serving as Parliamentary Secretaries in the Punjab and Bombay, and the United Provinces enjoy the unique distinction of having the first lady minister in the able person of Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit.

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In order to co-ordinate and direct the different movements connected with their welfare, women have organised Indian Women's Congress, which is regularly meeting every year since 1926. In order to afford a forum to women in all stations of life, this conference eschews all political questions from its deliberations and discussions.

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In the matter of franchise, Indian women have been very fortunate. They have got it almost without asking. The angle of vision of looking at the question changed profoundly subsequent to the Great War, and the British Parliament granted franchise to British women in 1918. The Parliament took up the question of Indian Reforms soon thereafter, and decided to leave the question of the enfranchisement of Indian women to provincial legislatures. The latter bodies showed a liberal spirit and Indian women thus got their franchise without having recourse to breaking of windows and courting of imprisonment. The Government of India Act of 1935 has introduced a differential lower franchise for women in order to enfranchise a large number of them. It has also reserved a few seats for them in every provincial legislature.

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As far as professions are concerned, women have made good progress in the medical and teaching lines. There are also a few lady advocates, but they have not yet begun to shine at the bar. There is extensive unemployment among educated men at present, but educated women are yet better off in this respect. Of course things may change when the supply becomes greater than the demand.

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