CHAPTER 5 WIDOWHOOD and SATI One Unavoidable and Important

CHAPTER 5 WIDOWHOOD AND SATI One unavoidable and important consequence of child-inan iages and the practice of polygamy w as a \ iin’s premature widowhood. During the period under study, there was not a single house that did not had a /vidow. Pause, one of the noblemen, had at one time 57 widows (Bodhya which meant widows whose heads A’ere tonsured) in the household A widow's life became a cruel curse, the moment her husband died. Till her husband was alive, she was espected and if she had sons, she was revered for hei' motherhood. Although the deatli of tiie husband, was not ler fault, she was considered inauspicious, repellent, a creature to be avoided at every nook and comer. Most of he time, she was a child-widow, and therefore, unable to understand the implications of her widowhood. Nana hadnavis niiirried 9 wives for a inyle heir, he had none. Wlien he died, two wives survived him. One died 14 Jays after Nana’s death. The other, Jiubai was very beautiful and only 9 years old. She died at the age of 66 r'ears in 1775 A.D. Peshwa Nanasaheb man'ied Radhabai, daugliter of Savkar Wakhare, 6 months before he died, Radhabai vas 9 years old and many criticised Nanasaheb for being mentally derailed when he man ied Radhabai. Whatever lie reasons for this marriage, he was sui-vived by 2 widows In 1800 A.D., Sardai' Parshurarnbhau Patwardlian, one of the Peshwa generals, had a daughter , whose Msband died within few months of her marriage. She must have been 8/9 years old. Patwardhan wished to get ler remarried. Peshwa Bajirao II tried to help Patwardhan in the matter. Shankaracharya, the holy priest would lot give his pennission to the roiiarriage. "Hie Peshwa tried to collect signatures ol'the Pandits from Kashi and Iter, Siiaiikarachars’a too gave his^pemii.ssion. But tiie remaiTiage did not take place. Some Brahmins ft oin Pune net the wife of Patwardlian mid persuaded her not to set a new tiadition Whatever the reasons, tlie remairiage liti tfiKt' J'lltik thwt tliet-t tiy trvidctiLc prttvd that Bhau had mi intcntinn to rcmnrry ] 'iis wulovvc(i daughter. There is no single reference of tliis case, in either Peshwa Daftar nor in the Patvvardhan iT Dallar. Hence it must be a legend There must be many such girls living a life of a widow. Althougli, Bhau tiiought it extremely unrational that such a young girl should not be allowed to remarry, he could not break away Viom the tradition and get his daughter remarried He atleast tried to collect signatures and one effort was made against tlie widows spending their lives in widowhood. On the other hand, men who had supported the remarriages of the widows, did not follow what they had previously preached. When eveiitually occasion aiose for tliem to contract second marriage, they contracted it . with a girl of 8/9 years. Ramshastri Prabhune, the well known chief judge of the Peshwa Court, who had ' supported the remarriage of widowed daughter of Patvvardhan, in his turn, married at the age of 60 years. The bride must have been 7/8 years old . \Ian iage was a sacred tie, an only sacrament for a woman and therefore irrevocable. ITie marriage laws ^ seemed paitial towards men, they could marry any number of wives, at any age. Remairiage was practised during the period under the study but with discrimination of caste and sex. Society did not advance the slightest objection to men marrying any number of wives, but it did not accord the same freedom to women. Remarriage of a widow was permitted only among the economically handic;,j ped or liumbler castes; it was totally prohibited among the Brahmins, Prabhus, Kasars and high castes Marathas. A letter to Krishnaji Ravaji Subhedar, from the Brahmins of Karhad, informs him that one Bhimi was ^ married to the brother of Topaji Sonar. Since marriage, she lived with her father at Phaltan. When her husband died, and her father, tliiiiking her lo be still a child, which slie was, married her to another. Her second husband, on being infomied of her first marriage, sent hej- to Topaji Sonar. She was therefore living with brotlier-in-law, Topaji. The case before Subhedar was to settle, as to what was her status. In the next letter, it was informed to Ihe Brahmins that according to Panchal Dhnrmn. to which the Sonars belonged, the first marriage conipieled with Ihe ceremonies like SaptHp;j<'t was to be consideied as valid. Hence, tlie second mairiage was a void one ,A widow, however young she may be should never tliink of reinairiage after the death of hei' husbjind seems to Ml' the social attitude. Though widow reman iages wei e prohibited in Bralimin conuiiunity, they were common among the other classes, for example, there was a tradition of remarriages in the Kayastha caste. Khando Bailal’s son, Jivaji Khanderao, came to Nagaon, and in consultation with Trimbak Mahadeo Dabir and Sabaji Tukaji Chitnis, decided Uiat this tradition should be discontinued. But Baburao Narahari Dimant Manaji Angre did not agree witli tliem :md performed a remarrin<>e, thus violating the rule. The matter was sent to Peshwa Narayanrao for decision and he decided that remarriages should prevail and the community was displeased with the Peshwa’s . decision. Usually decisions of Civil Courts were conducted by the Panchayais appointed by Sarkhel .^ngre, who would eitlier support the decision or himself would decide the case. Wlien matters were be^'ond his jurisdiction such as tilt above maitioned ca.ê, tlien it was sent to tlie Peshwa on behalf of the whole Maratlia Kingdom Each case was determined by the rules of its caste, and the Govemmait did not interlere in the matter. In conthcting or controvo'sial cases, the religious authorities were consulted. In 1798 A.D. Devappa Kenchappa man ied his daughter Limbi, to Lingappa Jain. After some days, Lingappa absconded and could not be traced. Savanta, brother of Lingappa, had no infonnation about his brother’s whei eabouts. Limbi, since her marriage, :ved with her father. She had attained pubert>'. Devappa took Sodchitthi or the deed of divorce from Savanta ' and married her to another groom '^Paat marriage). .After some days, Lingappa returned and filed a complaint that his wife was married to another, during the life-time of her first husband. He claimed her and she was sent to him. She fled I'rom liis house and was living witli hei father Devappa now prays that there was a tr adition of the community, tliat tlie wife does not go to tlie first husband after her Paat man iage. Accordingly, she has not stayed at Lingappa’s house. The second husband should therefore get her custody. ITie vvriter, Gangadharrao Govindrao'Mirajkar Patwardhan, requests the advice of the Jain religious priests about the traditions in the matter ' ','arious interesting points arise out of tin? case. Could the brotlier-in-law give divorce? If he could, and in the above case he did. then, the woman was 12S .;on^:idt-ied a propert\', not only oi ha- liu.sLifUKl but also ol Ins lainily. i.imDi was a girl wno ima aiiained puoeiiy, yet her opinion about marriage was not asked, eAên during her second marriage. She was claimed by both the husbands, but had an interest in the second one with whom she wished to live and hence had fled from the first husband. She was lucky tliat tlie fathei' had understood hei' feelings and had petitioned to tiie Patwardhan on her hehalf. All did not ag?"ee with the decisions of tiie caste or tlie Goia panchayai, in all the matters, e.g. Trimbakji Gurav had a wife by A£ihi.irta Marriage or by remarriage, which had been performed long ago. The caste had taken objection to the relationship and orders Trimbakji to leave her Trimbakji expects that the Goveniment should support him in the matter. He had lived with this wife for a long time and does not wish to leave her only for the caste objections. He wishes to continue her status as his wife and live with her. Not only does he disagree with the caste decision but has gone into appeal against it. The words used for remarriage of the widows denote the attitude towards it. The word Punarbhu is '2enerally applied to a widow that has remarried. The woman could be; a maiden whose hand was taken in maniage but whose marriage was not consunûiiated; in this case the marriage ceremony- has to be performed once .liii. She could also be a woman who first deseits tlie husband of her youtli, betakes herself to another man and she could also be a wom<in who is given by the husband’s relatives (when the husband dies) to a sapinda of 'he deceased husband or a person of the same caste, on failure of the deceased husband’s brother. This was Niyoga and no ceremony is to be perfoniii. .1. According to Yajnj'avalkya, Punarbhu are of two kinds; one whose marriage was not consiinunaied and another, who had sexual intercourse and both have a marriage ceremony to be peifomied again. He literally means, Punarbhu, i.e. the one who is puruih sarttskrala or one who has undergone the sacrament once again. It was the second husband and the son of the second marriage that bear the appellation Pannarhliava (Pati or putra, le hiisb'cind or ?on) 129 P(M2i was meant to be a second and inferior soil of maixiage; especially of the widows of Iowct classes.

Load more