The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c6.25

c6.25

It must be, however, added that the feeling of dejection and dissatisfaction at the birth of a daughter was a fleeting one; it did not lead to female infanticide in ancient India. There are no references to this evil custom in the Vedic, epic or classical literature. Weber had wrongly concluded that a passage in the Yajurveda referred to the custom of the exposure of new-born daughters. It is, however, now generally admitted by Indian and European scholars that Weber's interpretation of the passage in question is wrong. It will appear from the passage and its translation given below² that it merely refers to the traditional habit of Hindu midwives of keeping the child aside on the ground if it was a daughter, and of lifting it up in joy if it was a son. The passage has no reference to the abandonment of unwanted daughters. How a mistake in translation sometimes gives rise to an unfounded theory would become clear from the present instance.