The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c11.s1.32

c11.s1.32

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.