chakravarty, u. - vedic daughter

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

VEDIC DAUGHTERAuthor(s): Uma ChakravartySource: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 81, No. 1/4 (2000), pp. 179-189Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41694612 .

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VEDIC DAUGHTER

By

Uma Chakravarty

Introduction : Before going to our discussion on the position of a daughter in a

Vedic family we are to take it for granted that Vedic culture belonged to the Indo-European tradition which was highly patriarchal. Consequently, it inherited the principal traits of its mother-culture, i.e. Indo-European. Vedic family, like the Indo-European family, was male-dominated. It was the son's duty to pave the path of emancipation of his father after death by offering oblations to him. The daughter had hardly any scope in this regard. And, here lies the reason why the Vedic girl child was unwanted in the family.

(i) Positive aspect of parents-daughter relationship One does not come across single reference to the desire for a daughter

all through the Saiiihitã and the Brähmana literature. Following the law of nature the girls also had to be born along with sons. One cannot hope to get sons only, even though one had so desired. After the girl was born natural parental love and affection made them love their daughters also. So we find in mythological world Usas' mother had nicely decorated her daughter before she set out for her day's journey :

susarhkãsã mãtrmrsteva yosã ãvis tanvan krnuse drše kam

RV I. 123. 11 ab.

'Fair as a bride embellished by her mother thou showest forth thy form that all may see it.'

(tr. Griffith, p. 85)

According to the marriage hymn (RV X. 85) Savitr arranged the marriage ceremony of his daughter, Süryä, with all pomp and grandeur. The verse 13ab in the hymn spaks about the gifts Savitr sent with his daughter :



180 Annals BORI, LXXXI ( 2000)

Süryäyä : vahatuh prãgãt Savitã yam avãsrjat

'The bridal pomp of Süryä, which Savitr started, moved along' 1


RV.X. 17.1, A V.III. 31.5 and XVIII. 1.53 tell us the same story. Instead of Savitr Tvastr arranged the bridal car (or gift?) for his daughter and all teh

gods assembled in that marriage. RV. X. 17.1 ab :

tvastä duhitre vahaturh krnoti idam višvath bhuvanam sameti

'Tvastar prepares the bridal of his Daughter : all the world hears the tidings and assembles.'


The AV. verses read as follows : III. 31.5 :

tvastä duhitre vahatum yunakti idam višvam bhuvanam vi yãti :

Whitney (HOS 7, p. 140) translates tvastä duhitre vahatum yunakti as: 'Tvastar harnesses (yuj ) for his daughter a wedding car iyahatu),

AV. XVIII. 1.53 : tvasta duhitre vahatum krnoti tenedarh višvam bhuvanam sameti

TaiBr. II. 3. 10.1-3 reveals through an interesting story candid, close and sweet relation between father and daughter.

The story in brief is as follows : Prajãpati had a daughter Sítã by name. She wanted to get Soma as her husband. Soma, however, was in love with Šraddha, Prajäpati's other daughter. Helpless Sita approached her father. After having paid homage to her father she put to him her problem and begged a solution thereof. Prajãpati fathomed the process of solution of her daughter's problem. He turned her face to a very attractive one following ritualistic processes. Sítã approached Soma and fully conquered him.

The story reveals that in the age of Brãhmanas a daughter did not hesitate to approach her father seeking solution of problem arisen out of her love for



Chakra varty : V edic Daughter 181

somebody who did not respond to her emotional feeling. A girl of orthodox Hindu family would not dare to do so even today.

The above delineation is based on mythological allusions. One can

logically infer man's lifestyle fiom the story of gods.

Our inference is : the birth of a daughter was undesireable because she was incapable of paving the path to the heavenly region for her father. Her

coming to the family was more a liability than an asset to her father.

Consequently, her birth was undesirable. But as she grew up quite naturally, she was not deprived of the parental love and affection. As she reached

marriageable age and was going to be somebody's wife that awarded her status. A Vedic wife necessarily enjoyed good status. She, therefore, had to be given in marriage with all pomp and grandeur as that was also the prestige issue of her father, especially, with the upper stratum of society. Upadhya's (1942, p.208) (1st ed. 1933) words bear relevance in this regard : "The daughter, was affectionately caressed and fondled by her parents who lavished her with presents at the time of her marriage."1

In the Br. ÄraU. VI. 4.17 (= ŠatBr. XIV. 9.4.16) special diet has been

prescribed for the married couple who desired to have a scholarly daughter, endowed with full length of life. Both the husband and wife are asked to take rice mixed with black sesame, cooked with ghee.2 One would nonetheless note the difference between the status of a daughter and a son as one would read in the next sentences of the same Upanisad the diet prescribed for the

parents desiring son : 'if they desire a scholarly and highly reputed son who would be able to deliver good speeches in the assembly, well- versed in all the Vedas and endowed with full length of life then the husband and the wife would have to take beef mixed with tuce cooked in ghee, either a calf or a bull would do.'3

i Also see RV. X. 85. 38. 2 Œ Br. AraU. VI. 4.17.

atha ya icched duhitã me panditã jãyeta sarvam ãyur iyäd iti tilaudanam pãcayitva sarpismantam asniyãtãm išvarau janayitavai :

3 Cf. ibid VI. 4.18 : atha ya icchet putro me pandito vigitah samitiňgamah susrüsitäm vacam, bhãsitã jãyeta sarvãn vedãn anubruvita sarvam ãyur iyãd iti mãmsaudanam pãcayitvã sarpismantam asniyaum isvarau janayitava auksena vãrsabhena vã :



182 Annals BORI, LXXXI ( 2000 )

Altekar (1938, p. 4) observes we find in one of the early Upanisads recommending a certain ritual to a householder for ensuring the birth of a

scholarly daughter (Br. ÄraU. VI. 4.17). It is true that this ritual did not become so popularas the Pumsavana one, prescribed for producing the birth of a son;...4.

Later, ÄpaGs. II. 4.12 prescribed some rites to be observed by one who desired daughters : Y adi kãmayeta strir èva ity aňgulir èva 'if he wished only daughters may be born to him, he should seize only the fingers (without the thumb).'

(tr.) Oldenberg, SBE 30, Part II, p. 259

(ii) Daugher : unwanted child So far we tried to explore positive elements whatever could be traced

in the Vedic daughter's relation towards her parents. There is no denying the fact that a daughter in any patriarchal society is never born with a silver spoon in her mouth. So how could we except a different scenario in the male- dominated Vedic society.

While Närada had been explainning to the sonless king Harišcandra the necessity of son in a man's life he specified the status of a wife, a son and a daughter in the following words (AitBr. VII. 13) :

sakhã ha jãyã krpanam ha duhitã jyotir ha putrah parame vyoman

'A wife is a comrade, a daugher a misery , and a son a light in the highest heaven.'

(tr. Keith, HOS 25, p. 300)

Sarkar (1085, p. 105 [1st ed. 1928]) observes with reference to Keith's translation of the word krpanam as misery but ' krpanam' there might as well mean evoking tender feelings and compassions. Sarkar may be literally correct but we feel that with reference to the story of sonless Harišcandra 'misery' for

' krpanam

' is more contextual. Zimmer (1879, p. 319) holds : "Never do we come across with the desire for a daughter in the vedic poems. Her birth was outright disliked.5 (tr. mine). V. M. Apte (1965 p.458 [1st. ed. 1951]) states: "The relative position of the two sexes is reflected in the keen

4 Also see. Mookerji, 1947, p. 105 ; S has tri, Subramania, 1961, p. 65n. 59. 5 "Nirgends finden wir in den vedischen Liedern den Wunsch nach einer Tochter; ihre

Geburt wurde offenbar ungern gesehen."



Chakravarty : V edic Daughter 183

desire for male progeny. This may be regarded as natural in a partriarchal society where relationship was recognized through the father. But this natural predilection exceeds all bounds of propriety or morality when we read in the Aitar ey a Brãhmana (VII. 13.) that a daughter is a source of misery and a son alone can be the saviour of the family."

We shall now have a glimpse into a few poems of the AV. in which following the atharvanic way it was intended to arrest the birth of a girl child.

AV. VIII. 6 has been entitled by Satavalekar ' garbhadosanivãranam' and Whitney 'To guard a pregnant woman from demons.' In verse 25 a desire that the demonic force does not change the male child into female has been expressed: mã pumãmsam striyam kr an 'let them not make the male female' (Whitney HOŠ 8, P. 498). Satavalekar entitles VI. II purhsavanam, and Whitney 'for birth of sons'. The third verse goes as follows :

prajãpatir anumatih sinivãly 'ciklpat : straisüyam any atra dadhat pumãmsam amu dadhat iha ::

"Prajäpati, Anumati, Siniväli, hath shaped, may he put elsewhere woman birth, but may he put here a male.'

Ill .23 consisting of six verses is a hymn against sterility. Each verse, except for the sixth, prays for the birth of a son.

B. S. Upadhya (1942, p.33, [1st ed. 1933]) observes on the total absence of desire for a daughter in the RV. and the AV. : "We find a very frequent longing for a male child in the Rgveda It is surprising, however, that no desire for the birth of a daughter is ever expressed in the entire range of the Rgveda. Her birth is even deprecated in the Atharvaveda. In this Samhitä references are made to mystic charms for undoing the effect of a female foetus and for changing into male." 6

Even princesses were dealt as property by their royal fathers. King Jánašruti Pautrãyana gave his beautiful daughter to the low caste poor Raikva in exchange of his desired knowledge ( ChãndoU . IV. 25). King ààryâta's sons

6 Also see Shakuntala Rao ShasUi, 1954, pp. 43-44.




pelted the old ghostlike Cy avana with clods. To prevent the evil effects which

might be caused by the misbehaviour of his sons towards Cyavana, Sãryãta offered him his young beautiful daughter Sukanyã ( ŠatBr . IV. 5.1.5). It has been prescribed by the ÄsvaSS. V. 3.17 that a daughter could also be given as daksinã to the officiating priest ( Kanyãm ca)?

W. D. Hambly (1926, p. 286) while discussing the status of woman

among primitive people says that woman among commoners even though lived in matriarchal system had to live a very humiliating life : "In Hawaii, descent of rank through the female line gave woman a place of importance and often elevated her to topmost station But among commoners a woman was not allowed to eat with the humblest of man, nor of food prepared in the same oven, nor of more nutritious viands reserved by taboo for males. At birth she was less welcome than her brother and mpre liable to be thrust alive into the

grave."

(iii) Brotherless daughter : The word abhrãtã brotherless (maiden) occurs thrice in the Samhitã

literature8 and not at all in the Brãhmanas and the Upanisads. A brotherless

daughter in the Vedic age was like one born accursed. In course of describing the rumblings of goddess Usas from heaven to earth in her chariot RV. 1. 124.7

gives a very humiliating picture of a brotherless maiden. Usas moves about Uke a brotherless maiden who runs after men. Though the comparison is with a goddess yet it is a very negative imagery. According to Säyana, ¿he went towards her father and the like persons; bhratrrahitã pitrãdin prati or she

approached her forefathers with oblations, the duties of a son in the absence of a brother; sati svabhrãtari sa èva pituh pindadãnãdikam pitrãdin gacctn.i. Säyana's interpretation, however, does not go in accordance with the points of comparison drawn between Usas and the brotherless girl. In Säyana's interpretation one does not get it. As she was brotherless so, according to the prevailing norm, hardly anybody would come of his own accord to marry her. So she had to make her own fortune. Situations led her to become daring and also disgraceful.9

7 For opinions of scholars on the miserable fate of the Vedic daughter see : Winternitz 1920, p.22: Sarkar, 1985, p. 98 (1st ed. Í928) : Altekar, 1938, p. 3 : Indra, 1940, p. 17; Pinkham, 1941, p. 20, Sharma, 1990, p. 60.

» See RV. I. 124.7; IV. 5.5; AV. I. 17.1. « See Geldner, HOS 33, p.l72n. 7a.



Chakravarty : Vedic Daughter 185

Hopkins (1889, pp.340 - 341) observes " it would seem that the brother was scarcely less necessary to the girl's fortune than the father. The brother preserved daughter from a rude fate, since Aryan rule prohibits marriage with a girl that has no brother." Sarkar (1985, p. 108 [1st ed. 1928) holds; "As brothers were normally expected to be on the look-out for a match for the sister's, brotherless girls had often to be very forward turning boldly towards men attracting attention by red garments."

RV. IV. 5.5 calls her 'sin', 'untrue' and 'untruthful' alongwith women who have left their husbands :

abhrõtaro na yosano vyantah patir ipo na janayah durevãh

pãpãsah santo 'nrtã asatyã idam padam ajanatã gabhlram ::

"Like brotherless maidens who are chasing men, like women of evil

design who cheat on their husbands, bad, dishonest, untruthful, they (the offenders of Mitra and Varuna) have generated this deep (mysterious, deceptive) word."

(tr. H.P. Schmidt, 1987, p. 30)

The AV. 1. 17.1 also describes a brotherless girl bereft of all luster : amür yã yanti yosito him lohitavãsasah : abhrãtara iva jãmayas tisthantu hatavarcasah ::

'Yon women (yosit ) that go, veins with red garments, like brotherless sisters let them stop ( sthã ), with their splendor smitten.

(tr. Whitney, HOS 7, p.18).

The question, why the brotherless daughter's fate was so deplorable has been already pointed out by Hopkins, Sarkar and other scholars. Our thought also obviously follows them. Precisely, a man is born, according to the Vedic

belief, with three debts. The third of them is towards his forefathers which is to be repaid through sons. In the absence of a son the responsibility falls on the daughter through her husband and his son. Any person who would marry a brotherless daughter would have to deprive himself from his right over his son who would maintain the lineage of his right over his son who would maintain the lineage of his maternal grandfather and offer oblations to him

only and not to his father. Nobody would welcome such a situation in his life.




According to Yäska (III.5) 'One should not marry a brotherless maiden, for his (husband's) son belongs to him (to the father of the girl).10

Schmidt's comment in this regard (1987, p.38) : "The aversion to marrying a brotherless maiden was motivated by the fear that the bride's father would claim the future son and leave the bridegroom with the prospect of remaining without a son of his own who would continue his lineage and offer the ancestor worship."

The deep-rooted faith that the essential duty of a Vedic householder was to maintain the lineage and worship the ancestors, a debt which he owned tò his fore-fathers since the moment of his birth, brought all the plights in the brotherless vedic daughter's fate.11

The later literature dealt with this problem in details and tried to bring forth ways and means to mitigate the acuteness of the problem to some extent.12

Conclusion : The Vedic culture belonged to the Indo-Eruopean tradition. Quite

naturally, it inherited the main traits of its mother-culture i.e. Indo-European. Male-domination was one of the principal traits of both these cultures. This fact lies at the root of a vedic daughter being unwelcome to her parents. We could collect the picture of a pleasant relationship between parents and daughter from the mythological sphere in the stories of U§as, Sûryâ, and Prajâpati's daughter Sita. The story in real life, as could be collected from the relevant texts, however, is totally different. Concisely, a girl was not welcome' in a family. The AV. and the AitBr. give evidence in support of this observation. Of all the Vedic daughters, the one who had no brother, suffered the most deplorable fate.

>o Nifukta III. 5 : abhrätrkäyä upaymanapratisedhah : pratyaksah : pituš ca putrãbhãvalf :

1 1 RV. III. 3 1 . 1 is one of the difficult verses of this Saitihiti. The first two verses of this hymn go about the father and his brotherless daughter. The third line of the first verse, probably, suggests a father-daughter incest in quest of a son on the part of the father. flV. III. 31.1 :

(Continued on the next page)



Chakra v arty : V edic Daughter 187

Abbreviations

AitBr. Aitareyabrõhmana ÄpaGS. Apastambagrhyasütra ÃsvaÉS Ašvaldyanašrautasůtra AV. Atharvaveda Br. ÃraU. Brhadãranyakopanisad ChãndoU. Chãndogyopanisad HOS Harvard Oriental Series RV. Rgveda SBE Šacred Books of the East SVOU J Sri Venkateswara University

Oriental Journal, Tirupati TaiBr. Taittirlyabrãhmana

(Continued from p. 186) Sãsad vahnir duhitur naptvam gãd vidvân rtasya dldhilirh saparyan : pitá yatra duhituh sekam rftjant sam iagmyena manasä dadhanve ::

See Schmidt, 1987, p. 32. 12 Hans Peter Schitiidt, ibid. pp. 30-75 has dealt in details with the problems related to

brotherless daughter from the Vedas to the Smjtis alongwith a comparative study with reference to other tranditions like Persian, Greek etc.

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Chakravarty : Vedic Daughter 189

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chakravarty, u. - vedic daughter

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