The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c7.s3.55

c7.s3.55

The popularity of early marriages therefore went on increasing in medieval times. Some enlightened rulers like Akbar disliked them and recommended to their subjects that marriages should be performed after the attainment of puberty (*Ain-i-Akbari*, p. 277). The advice, however, produced no effect. A number of foreign travellers and merchants tell us that boys and girls were married in India several years earlier than the time of puberty. Fitch, a 16th century English trader, has noted that boys and girls were married at Murshidabad in Bengal at the age of 10 and 6 respectively (Dasgupta, p. 131). Manucci tells us that during the 17th century girls were often married before they were able to speak, but never after the age of 10 (Vol. III, pp. 59-60). According to Tavernier, the usual marriage age was 7 or 8 (Vol. II, p. 197). One of the Brāhmaṇa generals of the Peshva was filled with great anxiety because his daughter's marriage could not be arranged at the age of 9. 'If the marriage is postponed to the next year,' he writes from the battle-field, 'the bride will be as old as 10. It will be a veritable calamity and scandal.'