History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c47.s2.6

v3.c47.s2.6

²²⁶¹ The paddhati in the com. on Kāt. IV. 13 remarks उपवेशनव्यतिरिक्तं पत्नी किमपि न करोतीति संप्रदायः। तच्च साधुतरम्. This shows how gradually the wife lost all importance in Vedic rites and came to be a mere silent spectator of all the weary details that had to be gone through by the sacrificer and the priest. Jaimini VI. 1. 17-21 stated generally that the husband and wife co-operated in performing yajña, but in VI. 1. 24 he qualifies the general statement by saying that the wife cannot do all the actions which are to be done by the sacrificer, but only those which she is expressly asked to do in the texts.