Sexual Life in Ancient India: A Study in the Comparative History of Indian Culture v1.c6.91

v1.c6.91

1 Or: a proxy in begetting (devara) ? From the kurute patim it is hardly to be concluded that a real marriage is referred to. I myself can just as little get this for Bhīshma out of dārām̥c ca kuru dharmaṇa (i, 103.11). True, it seems as though xiii, 44.52-53 at least in the first place allots the widow, too, to the brother-in-law (the brothers-in-law ?) as the regular wife. Note too, the angry words of Sītā later on aimed at Lakshmaṇa. According to Yule’s *Marco Polo*, ii, 376, all Indians even have had the custom of marrying the brother’s widow ! In many parts of India it is moreover still a very usual custom to-day for the younger brother to take the widow of his brother to wife. Crooke, *The North-Western Provinces*, p. 229. Bṛihaspati refers to it as a usage of the people of Khaça that the brother marries his brother’s widow (ii, 31), and in this passage he finds this quite in order there; on the other hand in xxvii, 20 he calls it a very reprehensible practice of “ other lands ” that the brother lives with the brother’s widow. It is open to question whether he is here speaking of the Indian area; and the Khaças were held at least for degenerated, which, it is true, means little for us. As is well known, the law writings only deal with the narrower niyoga, that is to say, the brother or some other near kinsman, usually sapiṇḍa or sagotra (in Gautama, xvii, 5, even piṇḍagotraṛiṣisambandhās or yonimātra) of the dead man and the widow are solemnly entrusted with the begetting of offspring for the dead man, one or even two sons, but not more; and two are allowed only by Manu and Gautama. Apart from the relations needful for this the two must be to one another as father-in-law and daughter-in-law. Even during the embrace all passion must be most strictly kept away. This is very strongly stressed by several law-givers. According to Vasiṣṭha the widow must first lead a life of mortification for half a year, then come in her ṛitu to him appointed for begetting (this last detail is also given by others) ; but according to Baudhāyana a whole year (but he mentions the half, too, as Maudgalya’s opinion). Such a son is then called kṣhetraja ; and for the most part the word is used only in this narrower meaning. On the other hand the expression is in Parāçara, iv, 22, probably like datta and kṛitrima a collective concept, and then denotes any fruit that has grown up on the husband’s “ field ”, that is, also the kānīna, husband, when she does not get the Brahman." Cp. xii, 72.12.