The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c11.s1.5

c11.s1.5

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.