Administrative System of the Marathas c25.s3.20

c25.s3.20

Slavery and imprisonment of an adulteress was perhaps the direct consequence of a regulation of Apastamba which says, "If a young man has had intercourse with a marriageable girl, his property shall be confiscated and he shall be banished. Afterwards the king must support such women and damsels, and protect them from defilement. If they agree to undergo the prescribed penance he shall make them over to their (lawful) guardians."²⁴ It goes without saying that when the king was expected to protect them, he should keep them under strict guard and watch, and as he had to support them, he should in his turn exact some work from these unfortunate women. The Marathas kept them in hill-forts and made them work there, the last portion of Apastamba's regulation however indirectly authorises the state to hand over a misled daughter to her father (lawful guardian) when the latter makes himself responsible for her moral welfare (stands surety for her future good conduct).