The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c6.51

c6.51

game with the ball (*kandukakrīḍā*) seems to have been the chief out-door physical exercise. Śāntā and Kuntī are, for instance, represented as spending their leisure hours in this game in the Mahābhārata (V, 93, 63 ; III, 112, 16). Players can so regulate this game as to have just the amount of exercise they want. The Rāmāyaṇa represents girls as going in the evening to gardens for playing and talking with their friends (II, 67, 13) ; but this was probably possible only in towns and cities. We have some references to girls going out to swim as well (*Kāmasūtra*, III, 4) ; it is not, however, easy to say what percentage of girls knew this very useful art. Girls used to play a number of courtyard games like ' hide and seek ' and ' run and catch,' which are graphically described in the *Kāmasūtra* (III, 3). These gave very good physical exercise to the players and were well calculated to help their general development and give a suppleness to their limbs. Though not very often mentioned in literature, these games have been very popular with all classes of society since very early times. They were, however, played usually before the marriage.