The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c7.s6.14

c7.s6.14

When did the marriage become complete and binding? We have seen already that betrothal was not deemed sufficient for the purpose. The majority view is that the parties become husband and wife at the end of the *saptapadī*, when the bride also passes into the *gotra* or the family of the husband.¹ The minority view is that it becomes complete only on its consummation.² In early times when post-puberty marriages were in vogue, the difference between the two views was more or less academical, as the consummation followed on the 4th night at the latest. In later times when child marriages became the order of the day, the question assumed a vital importance. If the marriage was incomplete before its consummation, a girl would be at liberty to marry again as a maiden, if her husband died before that event. Society, however, did not unfortunately accept this view, and held that the marriage should be deemed to be complete with the performance of the *saptapadī* As a natural consequence the problem of child widows arose in an acute form when girls began to be married at the age of 8 or 9. We shall discuss it in due course in Chapter V.