History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.881

v4.c63.t2.881

The provisions of the sūtras and smṛtis on the subject of expiation for adultery by women varied from time to time. Gaut. 23. 14 and Manu VIII. 371 prescribe that a woman who has intercourse with a man of low caste is to be punished by the king with being devoured by dogs. But other smṛtis and Manu himself (XI. 177) are not so harsh, but are rather humane in their treatment of adulteresses. Manu XI. 176 says that the husband should keep confined to one apartment his corrupt wife and compel her to perform the expiation which is prescribed for males in cases of adultery. Manu XI. 59 and Yāj. III. 235 regard adultery by a male (pāradārya) as an upapātaka and Manu XI. 117 and Yāj. III. 265 prescribe cāndrāyaṇa as an expiation for all upapātakas. Vas. XXI. 12 prescribes that the wives of men of the three higher castes who are guilty of adultery with a śūdra may be purified by an expiation if no child is born of the intercourse but not otherwise. Yāj. I. 72 provides that a woman becomes free from the taint of adultery when she has her monthly illness after the adultery but if she conceives in adulterous intercourse she may be abandoned. The Mit. on Yāj. I. 72 states that both Yāj. and Vas. are to be understood in the same sense and abandonment does not mean driving out of the house but only not allowing her to participate in religious acts and not having sexual intercourse with her. Vas. XXI. 10 states that only four kinds of women are to be abandoned, viz. one who has intercourse with the husband's pupil or with the husband's *guru*, one who attempts to kill her husband or one who commits adultery with a man of a degraded caste. Yāj. (III. 296-7) provides that to women that are patita the same rules apply as to men, but they should be given food, raiment and protection and that intercourse with a man of low caste is one of the three gravest sins for women. Vide Mit. on Yāj. III. 297. The present text states that a woman (such as a mother) who is entitled to honour from a person because of her relationship (as mother, elder sister etc.) is not to be abandoned and cast on the street by him, although she may be guilty of adultery with a degraded or low caste man, in spite of Vas. XXI. 10 and other texts (such as Bṛ.).¹⁸³⁷ That is, this text was more humane to such women than ancient texts. Kṛṣṇabhaṭṭa explains that 'gurustriyaḥ' means 'of a brāhmaṇa woman'. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II pp. 571-573 for further remarks on adulterous women. Āp. Dh. S. I. 10. 28. 9 requires the son always to serve and wait upon the mother even though she may be *patita*. Atri¹⁸³⁸ (195-196) and Devala (50-51) contain two verses (almost in the same words) which are lax as compared with other ancient texts. They say: 'If a woman conceives through intercourse with a male who is not of her caste, she becomes impure till her delivery. When she is delivered or she has her monthly illness after the intercourse she becomes like pure gold'. Atri (197-198) further provides that whether a woman willingly has sexual intercourse or is deceived or is enjoyed against her will or in secret, she should not be abandoned; one should wait till the monthly illness and she becomes purified by that illness'. This comparative laxity of the later smṛtis of Devala and Atri is remedied by this Kalivarjya text which forbids abandonment of only such women as the mother, but allows the abandonment of others when guilty of intercourse with a male of low caste. Devala prescribes expiation by *sāntapana* in the case of those women that are raped by *mlecchas* and conceive (verses 47-49). Vide also Atri 201-202. The Sm. Kau. restricts this half verse to the mother alone. Parāśara (X 24-25) prescribes that if a woman be raped once she becomes free from pollution by undergoing Prājāpatya after she has her monthly illness and in other cases of rape she has to undergo Sāntapana.