Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s1.20

c7.s1.20

³ Compare an estimate of Tod about Rajput women, Vol. II, 744 :— ‘To the fair of other lands the fate of the Rajputni must appear one of appalling hardship. In each stage of life death is ready to claim her; by the poppy at its dawn; by the flames in riper years; while the safety of the interval depending on the uncertainty of war, at no period is her existence worth a twelve-months’ purchase’. Compare also ibid., I, 540 for the tragedy of Krishna Kunwari where in one place the princess summarizes the feminine position as follows : ‘We are marked out for sacrifice from our birth; we scarcely enter the world but to be sent out again; let me thank my father that I have lived so long...’ Also Pero Tefur, 90 for an opinion and illustration. Compare K.R., 200-201 for Ibn Batuta’s observations on the position of women among Turks.