Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c10.330

c10.330

The stability of marriage relations was considered in terms of varṇa. In the opinion of Vasiṣṭha, the higher the varṇa the more stable would be the marriage. Thus it was laid down that, if the husband leaves his home, a wife of the brāhmaṇa or the kṣatriya varṇa, who has issue, shall wait for five years, a wife of the vaiśya varṇa for four years, and one of the śūdra varṇa for three years. If she has no issue, the waiting period will be cut down by one year in the case of the brāhmaṇa, and by two years each in the cases of the kṣatriya, the vaiśya and the śūdra,³ with the result that in such a case a wife of the śūdra varṇa will have to wait for only one year. Such a rule again implies the comparative independence of the women of the lower orders, among whom marriage ties were easily dissoluble.