History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c31.22
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c31.22
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v2.c31.22.1
Certain passages of the Atharvaveda may be considered in connection with the question of the remarriage of widows. Atharva-Veda V. 17. 8-9 are¹⁴⁴⁵ 'when a woman has at first even ten husbands, who are not brāhmaṇas, if a brāhmaṇa takes hold of her hand (i. e. marries her), he alone is her (real) husband. A brāhmaṇa alone is (a real) husband, not a kṣatriya or a vaiśya—the sun goes proclaiming this to the five (tribes of) men'. The first verse is not to be taken literally in the sense that a woman married ten persons in succession and that the 11th was a brāhmaṇa; the first verse contains rather what is called '*prauḍhivāda*' (pompous assertion or boast) and this is indicated by the word '*uta*'. The verse may at the most mean that if a woman has first a kṣatriya or vaiśya as husband, and she marries on his death a brāhmaṇa, then the brāhmaṇa is the real husband. The word '*pati*' may also have been used loosely and all that is meant may be that if a girl is promised to ten persons one after another and then lastly to a brāhmaṇa, the latter is to be accepted as the best. Another passage¹⁴⁴⁶ of the Atharvaveda ( IX. 5. 27-28 ) is ' whatever woman, having first married one husband, marries another, if they (two) offer a goat with five rice dishes they would not be separated (from each other). The second husband secures the same world with his remarried wife, when he offers a goat accompanied with five rice dishes and with the light of fees'. Here the word *punarbhū* occurs.
v2.c31.22.2
It is possible to hold that this may refer to the promise of a girl in marriage, subsequent death of the intended bridegroom before the marriage ceremonies take place and then the bestowal of her on another. Whatever the meaning of *punarbhū* here may be, it is clear that some sort of sin or inferiority attached to her and that such sin or opprobrium had to be removed by sacrifices. Other passages are discussed later on. But it must be admitted that remarriage of women was not prohibited in the times of the Atharvaveda. In the Tai. S. III. 2. 4. 4 'daidhiṣavya' (widow's son) occurs. The gṛhyasūtras are silent about remarriage; so probably by that time it had come to be prohibited generally, though sporadic instances might have occurred. Among the brāhmaṇas and castes similar to them and holding or endeavouring to hold a high place in the hierarchy of castes widow remarriage has been forbidden for centuries. One of the earliest historical instances is the remarriage of Dhruvadevī, queen of Rāmagupta, who was after Rāmagupta's death, married by her brother-in-law Candragupta (*vide* Journal Asiatique for 1923, pp. 201-208, Sanjan Plates in E. I. vol. 18, p. 255, ' Indian Culture' vol. 4, p. 216, Harṣacarita VI, penultimate para).
v2.c31.22.3
Among śūdras and other lower castes widow remarriage has been allowed by custom, though it is held to be somewhat inferior to the marriage of a maiden.¹⁴⁴⁷ Among these castes remarriage is allowed after the death of the husband or during his life-time with the consent of the husband who gives a writing called *farkhat* or *sod-chitti* (a deed of release). Such marriages are called *pat* in Mahārāṣṭra, *natra* in Gujarat, *udki* in the Canarese districts. In some cases the caste in a meeting assembled takes upon itself to bring to an end a marriage and allows the wife to re-marry. But the Bombay High Court does not recognize the authority of a caste to declare a marriage void or to permit a woman to remarry another person without the consent of the husband and have convicted of bigamy women re-marrying without the consent of the first husband but with the permission of the caste.¹⁴⁴⁸ In modern times, the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act (XV of 1856) has been passed mainly through the efforts of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. That Act legalises the marriages of widows notwithstanding any custom or interpretation of the Hindu Law to the contrary and declares that the children of such marriages are legitimate. Owing to the sentiment of centuries widow remarriage is still looked down upon and during more than eighty years since the Act was passed not many widows have taken advantage of it. The Census¹⁴⁴⁹ of India for 1931 discloses certain appalling figures.
v2.c31.22.4
Among infants of less than one year old there were in the whole of India as many as 796 males who were widowers and 1515 females who were widows, among children up to 5 years there were 12799 widowers and 30880 widows (out of these last the Hindus contributed 10266 as widowers and 23667 as widows). It is true that amongst the castes to which most of these must have belonged widow remarriage is allowed by custom, but there must be a certain number of females who are widows before five, who cannot remarry by the custom of the caste and who would not dare to take advantage of the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act. Between the ages of 5-10, 11-15, 16-20 the numbers of Hindu widows for the whole of India are respectively 83920, 145449, 404167. The age of marriage for girls is rapidly rising owing to economic causes, the spread of literacy among the masses, and the operation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act (XIX of 1929) and it may be hoped that these high figures of child widows will be substantially reduced in the near future. Persons finding fault with Hindu society for large numbers of child widows should not forget one thing. According to Hindu notions every girl must be married at any cost. Hence people rush into child marriages. But there has been no problem of old spinsters in Hindu society, as there is in Western countries, though it appears that in the near future that problem will arise even in India.
v2.c31.22.5
Apart from the considerations as to religious texts prohibiting widow remarriage and the great concern among women for preserving a high ideal of chastity and single-minded devotion to the husband, many Hindus feel that, each girl having been given one chance of marriage, if she becomes a widow, that is her ill-luck, but she should not be allowed to compete with unmarried girls in the marriage market, which is already overcrowded with girls waiting to be married.