[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.494 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.494 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.494 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.494](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.494) \*\*A-bhrātaraḥ\*\* (‘brotherless’).—The lot of girls without brothers is referred to in the Rigveda¹ as unsatisfactory—apparently they became prostitutes. The Nirukta² expressly forbids marriage with a brotherless maiden, probably because of the risk of her being made a \*putrikā\* (‘adoptive daughter’) by her father—that is, any son of hers being counted as belonging to her father’s, instead of to her husband’s, family. See \*Ayogū\*. - [Previous: v1.c3.493](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.493) - [Next: v1.c3.495](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.495) - [Up: v1.c3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.494](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.494) · Pramāṇa