The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c14.s2.71

c14.s2.71

There are, however, other records equally numerous and hailing from the same part of the country, which record sales or gifts of landed property by widows made for religious purposes, but which are silent about any permission of the reversioners. A 12th century inscription from Trichinopoly district records the gift of a piece of land by a Brahmana widow made in favour of a temple; a 13th century inscription from Kolar district refers to a sale by a widow of her own share in her landed property; a 15th century record mentions a Brahmana widow building a temple and giving to it a gift of land for the spiritual benefit of herself and her husband; a 17th century inscription describes how a Brahmana lady gifted away a whole village to a temple¹. In none of these records it is anywhere mentioned or suggested that any of the widows had obtained the consent or permission of any reversioner for disposing her landed property. Had any such permission been received, it would have been surely mentioned, as was done by the persons who drew up the documents referred to in the last para. It is to be noted that these epigraphs were lithic deeds of title, intended to last for centuries ; it is natural to presume that they would have carefully mentioned all relevant circumstances that would have been necessary to prove that the transactions recorded were valid ones, and the donees had acquired full and unquestioned titles.