The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c12.35

c12.35

During the age of the Brāhamaṇas (*c.* 1500 to 1000 B.C.), the volume of Vedic studies became very extensive, as a number of subsidiary sciences were developed and lengthy commentaries were written on Vedic texts. The spoken dialect of the age had begun to differ considerably from the language of the Vedic hymns, and the theory had found universal acceptance that to commit a single most minor mistake in the recitation of a Vedic Mantra would produce most disastrous consequences to the reciter². As a natural consequence, society began to insist that those who wanted to undertake Vedic studies must be prepared to devote a fairly long period, of about 12 to 16 years to the task. We have seen above (*ante*, pp. 60-62) that at this time women used to be married at about the age of 16 or 17, and could thus give only 7 or 8 years to their Vedic studies. So short a period was quite insufficient for an efficient grounding in the Vedic lore in the age of the Brāhamaṇas. Society was not prepared to tolerate dilettante Vedic studies, and as a consequence, lady Vedic scholars began to become rarer and rarer.