The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c17.12

c17.12

The position which women occupied in Hindu society at the dawn of civilisation during the Vedic age is much better than what we ordinarily expect it to have been. There are no doubt a few indications to show that brides were sometimes sold in marriage or even carried away by force. But the better conscience of society had already begun to assert itself, and condemn these practices as unholy and unworthy. The ideal marriage of the Vedic period was a religious sacrament, which made the couple joint owners of the household. The old tradition that the wife was the property of the husband had not yet completely died down; the famous hymn about gambling in the Ṛigveda (X, 34) shows that sometimes confirmed gamblers would stake away their wives to their opponents. The advice given to the gambler in this hymn, however, shows that social conscience had already begun to disapprove this practice.