History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c28.2

v2.c28.2

*Polygamy:* Though monogamy ¹²⁷¹ seems to have been the ideal and was probably the rule, the Vedic literature is full of references to polygamy. Ṛg. X. 145 (same as Atharvaveda III. 18) is a hymn meant as a charm for weaning the husband's affections from a co-wife. It occurs in the Āp. M. P. (I. 15) and Āp. gṛ. IX. 6–8 prescribes it for winning over the husband to oneself and for causing estrangement between him and one's co-wife. Ṛg. X. ¹²⁷² 159 is a hymn attributed to Śacī, wife of Indra, who claims to have vanquished and killed her co-wives and to rule supreme over Indra and all men. This hymn also occurs in Āp. M. P. (I. 16) and is prescribed by the Āp. gṛ. (IX. 9) as a charm always to be repeated by a wife for suppressing her co-wives. In a verse (Ṛg. I. 105. 8) Trita who had fallen into a well declares 'the rib-like sides (of the well) cause me pain all round as co-wives make it too hot (for the husband or for themselves)' ¹²⁷³. The Tai. S. (VI. 6. 4. 3) gives a dogmatic and somewhat picturesque explanation of polygamy that 'on one sacrificial post he passes round two girdles, so one man secures two wives; that he does not pass one girdle round two posts, so one wife does not obtain two husbands'. The Ait. Br. (12. 11) similarly declares 'therefore one man has many wives, but one wife has not many husbands at the same¹²⁷⁴ time'. The Tai. Br. (III. 8. 4.) when speaking of the Aśvamedha says 'the wives anoint (the horse); wives are indeed a form of prosperity'¹²⁷⁵. In the Śat. Br. (XIII. 4. 1. 9., S. B. E. vol. 44, p. 349) it is said, 'four¹²⁷⁶ wives are in attendance viz. the consecrated queen (*mahiṣī*), the favourite wife (*vāvātā*), the discarded wife (*parivṛktā* or parivṛkti) and the pālāgalī (who is low-born)'. The Tai. S. I. 8. 9 refers to the mahiṣī and parivṛkti. In the Vāj. S. (23. 24, 26, 28) there are verses which are addressed to the mahiṣī, vāvātā and parivṛkti by the brahmā, udgātā and hotā priests respectively. Hariścandra is said to have had a hundred wives (Ait. Br. 33. 1). It is not to be supposed that polygamy was confined only to kings and nobles. The great philosopher Yājñavalkya had two wives, Kātyāyanī who was worldly-minded and Maitreyī who thirsted for the knowledge of brahma and immortality (Bṛ. Up. IV. 5. 1-2 and II. 4. 1).