History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c28.s2.26
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c28.s2.26
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According to Manu V. 150 'a wife should always present a smiling face, should be alert and clever in her domestic duties, should keep domestic vessels well burnished and clean and should not be extravagant in spending.' Manu IX. 11 asks the husband to set to his wife the task of conserving the wealth acquired and looking to its expenditure, of keeping things clean, of the performance of religious acts, of cooking food and of taking care of household paraphernalia. Manu (IX. 13) adds that drinking wine, company of bad people, staying away from the husband, wandering about (to *tīrthas* or elsewhere), sleep (by day), staying in the house of strangers—these six spoil married women. Ādiparva 74. 12 gives¹³¹⁰ expression to the popular notion that people do not like married women staying with their paternal relatives for a long time away from their husbands, since such a stay leads to loss of good name and character. The same sentiment is echoed by Kālidāsa in the Śākuntala (V. 17). The Mārkaṇḍeya purāṇa 77. 19 is to the same effect. Yāj. (I. 83 and 87) requires the wife to keep household utensils and furniture in their proper places, to be clever, to have a smiling face, to be unextravagant, to be devoted to doing what is agreeable and beneficial to the husband, to show respect to her father-in-law and mother-in-law by clasping their feet;
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to conduct herself decently, to restrain her senses.' Śaṅkha¹³¹¹ lays down what is decent conduct for a wife 'she should not go out of the house unless she is asked (by her husband or elders) nor without putting on an upper garment; she should not walk fast; she should not speak with a male who is unrelated to her, except a trader, a saṃnyāsin, an old man or a physician; she should not allow her navel to be seen; she should wear her garment (or *sari*) in such a way that it may reach down to her ankles; she should not expose her breasts, she should not laugh loudly without covering her mouth (with her hand or her garment); she should not hate her husband or his relatives; she should not be in the company of dancing girls, gambling women, women who make assignments to meet lovers, female ascetics, female fortune-tellers, women who live by tricks, magical and secret rites and who are of bad character; since (the wise declare that) the character of women of good family is spoilt by the company (they keep).' The Viṣṇu Dh. S. 25. 1-6 ordains 'now then the duties of wives (are declared); they should perform the same *vratas* (observances and vows) which the husband undertakes; they should honour the mother-in-law, the father-in-law, other elders, gods, guests and keep the household utensils well arranged; they should not be extravagant in giving to others; should keep the goods well guarded;
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they should have no liking for magical practices (to win love) and should be devoted to auspicious conduct.' *Vide* also Viṣṇu Dh. S. chap. 99 last two verses (quoted by Aparārka p. 107). Draupadī (Vanaparva chap. 233) states 'whatever my husband does not eat, drink or partake of, I avoid. I know the total wealth, the income and expenditure of the Pāṇḍavas'. The Kāmasūtra directs the wife to make expenditure that will be commensurate with the yearly income of the husband.¹³¹² Manu (VIII. 361) prescribes the fine of a *suvarṇa* for a man speaking with a woman with whom he is forbidden to speak and Yāj. II. 285 prescribes a fine of one hundred *paṇas* in the case of a woman who is forbidden to speak with a man (by her husband or father &c.) and a fine of two hundred *paṇas* in the case of the man who speaks with a woman with whom he is forbidden to speak. Bṛhaspati¹³¹³ says that a wife should get up from bed before her husband and elders, should partake of food and condiments after they have eaten, should occupy a seat lower than that of the husband or elders. 'A wife can engage in vratas, fasts, observances and worship (of god &c.) with the permission of her husband' say Śaṅkha-Likhita.¹³¹⁴ The Purāṇas frequently descant on *strīdharma*. A few specimens may be noted here. The Bhāgavata VII. 11. 29 says that the wife who looks upon her husband as the god Hari dwells in the world of Hari and revels with her husband. The Skanda Purāṇa (Brahma-khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya section, chap.
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7) has a long description of a *pativratā* 'she should not repeat the name of her husband, as such conduct leads to the increase of the husband's life and should never take the name of another male (v. 18), even when she is loudly blamed (by the husband) she does not cry loudly, even when beaten she is smiling (v. 19). A pativratā should always use turmeric, *kuṅkuma*, sindūra, lamp black (for the eye), a bodice, tāmbūla, auspicious ornaments, and should braid her hair' (vv. 28-29). The Padma-purāṇa (Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa, chap. 47, v. 55) says that that wife is pativratā who in doing work is like a slave, like a *hetaira* in affording sexual pleasure, like a mother in offering food and like a counsellor in adversity.