Women’s Condition in Early Medieval Northern India

The position of women in northern early medieval India in the social framework reflects the
progress of society. In Indian society women are generally seen with great respect and honor.
However, the attitude of society towards fair sex differs from time to time. In this period marriage
has been looked upon as a great and sacred social institution that unites man and women in the
social and religious bonds.
According to Panini’s Ashtadhyayi, in the first part of their life, the women were called Kumari,
Kisori, Kanya. Some women remained unmarried through life (Kumaryamvayasi) were still
called kumari, now in the old age these women were called as Vriddha kumari, Janat kumari
etc. when a unmarried girl became mother, then the offspring was called ‘kanina’, which means,
the issue of a Kanya, not formally married”.When Kumari become engaged she was called as
Vritya. In this period girls were free to choose their husbands if they are unmarried till the mature
age and now they were called as ‘Patinvara’ (chose her husband by herself). The newly married
bride was called as ‘Sumangali.

Education :
About the women’s education of this period we find that by about the period the marriageable
age of girls was further lowered to 9 or 10, this gave practically a death below to any education
worth the name. No doubt two or three years were still available, when some primary education
could have been imparted, but both the girls and their guardians used to devote their attention
during this period more to the problem of marriage than to that of education.Vatsyayana gives a
list of sixty four subsidiary branches of knowledge (angavidya) which should be learnt
by a Ganika. These include not only music, dancing and singing solving riddles of words,
chanting recitations from books, completing unfinished verses, knowledge of lexicons and
metres, archery, gardening, logic, making artificial flower, teaching parrots, languages, flower
arrangement, preparation of perfumes and cosmetics, gymnastics, carpentry, writing in cipher
etc.Kavyamimamsa describes higher education for the women of royal officials rich families and
the class of dancing girls.
Girls of ruling families used to receive some administrative training. We learn from legends of
the medieval coinage, the names of the queens – “Didda and Sugandha” of Kashmir and
“Somaladevi” of Rajputana, who took part in the administration of the states.Women in this
period were also gaining education in religious and literary fields. In Kadambari Bana mentions
about Mahasveta, as performing the Sandhya daily and muttering the Agnamarasana Mantra.

Purdah System :
Purdah was not much common in this period, but this system was not strict and popular as we
find today. Harsha in his work mentions that “village wives hastened to the neighbouring villages
with baskets filled with various forest flowers.It seems that, the ladies of higher families did not
observe strict purdah, because Yuan-Chwang records that Rajyasri was present at both
religious assemblies at Kannauj and Prayag without any veil.18 In Ratnavali of Harsha ,we find
that “some ladies took the vow that they would see the face of none, but of their husbands, but
there is no statement as the ‘Purdah system’, but “Parpurushadarshana”. Bana also mention
this word, but he simply indicates the undoubted loyalty of wives towards their husbands.We
also find the terms like ‘Antahpur’ and ‘Avarodhika’, which indicates atleast partial seclusion of
women. Abu Zaid and other Arab travellers mention that the women of royal harems came to
the court rooms without veil in the presence of courtiers and members of public. He also tells
about the free mixing of sexes on the occasion of different hindu festivals and celebrations.

Widows :
Widows were the most unhappy sections of the female population in the society. Widows were
regarded as inauspicious and had no place of any recognition on auspicious
occasions, like a marriage ceremony, where only “unwidowed” ladies were sought after to add
grace by their participation.
About the re-marriage of widows we find in Yuan Chwang work that widow remarriage was
unpopular in India, but not absolutely forbidden. This kind of marriage was not allowed in higher
varnas, but in the lower varnas this system existed.We have many references of the provision of
re-marriage in circumstances, while Vatsyayana pointed out that a marriage for the second time
for a women neither liked or disapproved. Amarkosa gives the synonymous opinion not only for
the Punarbhu (remarried widow) and her husband but also for twice born man,
having a Punarbhu as his principal wife. Katyayana refers to the case of a widow betaking
herself to another man regardless of her adult or minor son, and deals under his low and
partition and inheritance, with the share belonging to the son of a women, who has left her
impotent husband.
Besides the remarriage of a widow we find some information about the custom of “Niyoga”
(levirate). This was a system, by which a widow makes relation with the other man to find a son
(Devaratasutotpalli), but popular opinions were against this practice.

Stridhan :
Most schools of law allowed a women some personal property (stridhana) in the form of
jewellery and clothing. The husband had certain rights over his wife’s property, he might sell it in
dire emergency, and he might restrain her from giving it away wanterly, but for practical
purposes it was her own, and when she died, it passed not her husband or to her sons, but to
her daughters.

Sati System :
An assessment of the position of women will remain incomplete without writing something
about sati custom. The custom of sati was ofcourse prevalent when a wife burnt herself with her
dead husband in fire is called as ‘sati.
THE epigraphic records of early medieval period throw much light on the practice of Sati and
smriti laws of post Gupta period strongly urge the widow to sacrifice herself on her husband’s
fire. Such as Sankha, Angiras and Harita are definite on this point except the self immolation by
a brahmana widow still the smritis of Gupta age prescribed a life of vows and strict celebacy for
widow and allow her to inherit her husband’s property.
We also find the information that after the treacherous assassination of Grahavarmana, Rajyasri
his wife, was prepared to entire the pyre but saved by her brother Harsha.41 Among the Rajputs
this custom became very popular between 9th to 12th century A.D. The average Rajput
Princess welcomed the opportunity to become a sati and would not allow her husband to be
cremated alone.42 We find about the sati of the mother of the Chahmana king
chandramahasena, she became a sati in 842 A.D. The next case is that of Somapalladevi, who
became a sati at Ghaliyala in Rajputana in 890 A.D.43 An inscription from Haveli (Jodhpur)
refers to two cases of Sati of Rajaputa queens.So during the period 700-1100 A.D. sati became
more frequent in northern India. Bana, Kalidasa, Bhasa Sudraka and Kalhana tends to show
that the sati custom was getting gradually popular in the royal families of northern India during
the period from 200 A.D. to 1000 A.D. Sometimes we find that queens burnt their bodies after
the death of their husbands, who died in wars. This was technically called “Jauhara”.

Other occupation of women :

In this period between women were involved with the service in court as the personal attendant
and the queen.Besides this we also find information about the female guards of the kings. The
court Harsha was attended by a female chauri-bearer. She was listening to poetical
compositions and enjoining confidential talks. In this period females were also involved in the
administrative service.
There was other professions for which ladies were appointed as :
● Gavadhyaksha (who had access to cow herdesses)
● Sutradhyaksha (the superintendent of spinning and weaving, dealing with widow and
helpless women and female medicants, who spun yarn for the Government and brought
it to him for his approval and also for their wagh).
● Asvadhyaksha (the master of horses)
● Kanchukiya (women overseer of the women’s apartments)
● Mahattarika (employed in Harems of kings).

So the women’s condition in this period was a little better than the earlier. The lowering age of
marriage was one of sign of rigidity in this period. We have examples of highly accomplished
women, both from real and fiction life. Some social vices like the sati and jauhara became more
popular in the society which makes women’s condition poorer but when we see that the women
were occupying the administrative rights and following different occupations, shows the
improvement in the women’s condition in northern early medieval India.