The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c8.16

c8.16

Though supreme authority was clearly vested in the husband, the wife's position was one of honorable subordination. In the Vedic and epic society we find that the wife was treated with utmost courtesty and regard. It was well recognised that the wife was the ornament of the house (*R. V.*, 1, 66, 3); nay, the wife herself was the home¹. The home management was under her direct charge and ordinarily, her views were to prevail there¹. It was she who used to rouse the servants and assign them their proper duties (*R. V.*, 1, 124, 4), and thus arrange for the normal running of the household. Early Indian literature does not recognise, even theoretically, the power of physical correction in the husband. In practice also it was probably very rarely excercised in the Vedic and epic times.