Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s8.937

v2.c4.s8.937

Śvaśura from the Rigveda onwards¹ denotes the ‘father-in-law’ of the wife; not till the Sūtra period does it include the ‘father-in-law’ of the husband.² The daughter-in-law (Snuṣā), in the normal case when the father-in-law was the head of the family to which her husband belonged in fact as well as in age, was bound to pay him all respect.³ When the old man had ceased to exercise control, she became mistress (samrājñī) over him and his wife.⁴ In the plural⁵ the word denotes the ‘parents-in-law.’