The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c11.s1.41

c11.s1.41

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.