Hindu Widow Marriage

Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar, Brian Hatcher

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9780231526609
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Before the passage of the Hindu Widow's Re-marriage Act of 1856, Hindu tradition required a woman to live as a virtual outcast after her husband's death. Widows were expected to shave their heads, discard their jewelry, live in seclusion, and undergo regular acts of penance. Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar was the first Indian intellectual to successfully argue against these strictures. A Sanskrit scholar and passionate social reformer, Vidyasagar was a leading proponent of widow marriage in colonial India, urging his contemporaries to reject a ban that caused countless women to suffer needlessly.

Vidyasagar's brilliant strategy paired a rereading of Hindu scripture with an emotional plea on behalf of the widow, resulting in an organic reimagining of Hindu law and custom. Vidyasagar made his case through the two-part publication Hindu Widow Marriage, a tour de force of logic, erudition, and humanitarian rhetoric. In this new translation, Brian A. Hatcher makes available in English for the first time the entire text of one of the most important nineteenth-century treatises on Indian social reform.

An expert on Vidyasagar, Hinduism, and colonial Bengal, Hatcher enhances the original treatise with a substantial introduction describing Vidyasagar's multifaceted career, as well as the history of colonial debates on widow marriage. He innovatively interprets the significance of Hindu Widow Marriage within modern Indian intellectual history by situating the text in relation to indigenous commentarial practices. Finally, Hatcher increases the accessibility of the text by providing an overview of basic Hindu categories for first-time readers, a glossary of technical vocabulary, and an extensive bibliography.

HINDU WIDOW MARRIAGE

The Complete English Translation

BOOK ONE

Nowadays most people appreciate the great misfortune caused by our failure to promote the custom of widow marriage. There are many who are now prepared to give their own widowed daughters in marriage.¹ Even those who do not have the courage to go this far will nonetheless acknowledge that it is necessary to begin promoting the practice. In times past, the preeminent scholars of this land debated whether or not the marriage of widows was in accordance with the authoritative treatises. Sadly, when the debate is raised today, scholars hankering for victory are so eager to advance their own position that they rarely consider investigating the truth of the proposal.² It is no surprise that when such scholars gather for debate there is precious little hope that the finer points of the matter will come to light. In those debates both parties race to claim victory over their opponents. We all know what sort of detailed inquiry gets produced like that. While such debates rarely allow a determination to be made in the matter, they have at least produced one important result. There are many who now wish to learn the finer points of the matter. Sensing this eagerness on the part of so many people, I began to examine the matter as carefully as I could. And since I have met with success thus far, I now offer to the general public the present work, composed in the popular language of the land. I ask everyone to read it and consider the matter objectively. Then decide whether or not widow marriage should be promoted.

If we are to consider the topic of widow marriage we must first of all recognize that it is not a custom promoted in this land. Hence, if widows are to be given in marriage, it will be necessary to institute a new custom. But if it should turn out that widow marriage were a forbidden performance, it would be entirely inappropriate to institute it or promote it. No religious person will undertake a performance that is prohibited. Therefore, before all else, we must determine whether or not widow marriage is a required sacred performance. The people of this land will scarcely be persuaded if we appeal to reason alone in order to show that widow marriage is a required sacred performance. However, if we can establish that it is a required sacred performance according to the authoritative treatises, people will consent and will agree to act accordingly. In this land the authoritative treatises are the ultimate valid authority in all such matters. Everyone accepts that actions in agreement with the authoritative treatises are required sacred performances. Therefore, we must begin by determining whether or not widow marriage is in accord with the authoritative treatises.

When setting out to determine whether or not widow marriage is in accord with the authoritative treatises one must first indicate which authoritative treatises consider it a required sacred performance and which do not. Treatises that are authoritative on grammar, poetics, rhetoric, and philosophy are not authoritative in this matter. One must consult those treatises that are considered authoritative treatises on duty; it is these that are considered authoritative in this matter.³ Yajnavalkya Samhita indicates which treatises are dharmashastra, or “authoritative treatises on duty”:

SANSKRIT PASSAGE 1.1: YAJNAVALKYA 1.4–5

The following are composers of authoritative treatises on duty: Manu, Atri, Vishnu, Harita, Yajnavalkya, Ushanah, Angiras, Yama, Apastamba, Samvarta, Katyayana, Brihaspati, Parashara, Vyasa, Shankha and Likhita, Daksha, Gotama, Shatatapa, Vashishtha.

The treatises composed by these men are the authoritative treatises on duty.¹ The people of India follow all the duties indicated in these authoritative treatises.⁴ All the duties approved in the authoritative treatises on duty are required sacred performances; all the duties proscribed in these treatises are prohibited. If widow marriage is approved by the authoritative treatises on duty, it may be accepted as a required sacred performance. If it is proscribed by the authoritative treatises on duty, it should not be included among our required sacred performances.

Next we must consider whether or not all the duties described in the authoritative treatises on duty are to be followed in every yuga.⁵ The authoritative treatise on duty composed by Manu makes a determination in this matter:

SANSKRIT PASSAGE 1.2: MANU 1.85

Because the energies of human beings decline in sequence with the ages, the duties of the Satya Yuga are one thing; the duties of the Treta Yuga are another; the duties of the Dvapara Yuga are another; and the duties of the Kali Yuga are another.⁶

In other words, the people of later yugas are not capable of following all the duties that were adopted by the people of earlier ages; this is because in every succeeding yuga the powers of human beings decline. The people of the Treta Yuga did not have the power to adopt the duties of the Satya Yuga and the people of the Dvapara Yuga did not have the power to adopt the duties of either the Satya or the Treta Yuga. The people of the Kali Yuga do not have the power to adopt the duties of the Satya, Treta, or Dvapara Yugas. We must conclude, therefore, that the people of the Kali Yuga are incapable of adhering to the duties of earlier ages. Someone might well ask: If that is the case, then what duties should the people of the Kali Yuga observe? The authoritative treatise on duty composed by Manu tells us simply that there are different duties for different yugas. Manu does not specify the different duties for the different yugas. By contrast, in the authoritative treatises on duty composed by Atri, Vishnu, Harita, and the others, we do not find the idea of “different duties for different yugas.” These authoritative treatises on duty merely indicate a selection of duties; there is no investigation of the particular duties that apply in particular yugas (in keeping with the idea that the power of humans decreases with every succeeding yuga). However, the authoritative treatise on duty composed by Parashara does indicate which duties should be adopted during each particular yuga. In the first chapter of the Parashara Samhita we find the following:

SANSKRIT PASSAGE 1.3: PARASHARA 1.24

The duties indicated by Manu apply to the Satya Yuga, the duties indicated by Gotama apply to the Treta Yuga, the duties indicated by Shankha and Likhita apply to the Dvapara Yuga, and the duties indicated by Parashara apply to the Kali Yuga.

In other words, the people of the Satya Yuga should adhere to all the duties indicated by Lord Manu, the Self-Created One. The people of the Treta Yuga should adhere to all the duties indicated by Lord Gotama. The people of the Dvapara Yuga should adhere to all the duties indicated by Lord Shankha and Lord Likhita. And the people of the Kali Yuga should adhere to all the duties indicated by Lord Parashara.² It turns out that only Lord Parashara has indicated duties for the Kali Yuga. The people of the Kali Yuga should adhere to those duties. When one considers the beginning of the Parashara Samhita, it becomes clear that its specific purpose is to indicate the duties of the Kali Yuga.

SANSKRIT PASSAGE 1.4: PARASHARA 1.1–18

Long ago some sages inquired of Lord Vyasa, “O son of Satyavati, please tell us which duties and customs are beneficial during the Kali Yuga.” Lord Vyasa replied, “I am not a master of all matters; how can I speak of duty? Regarding this matter you should inquire of my father.” So the sages went along with Lord Vyasa to the hermitage of Parashara. With folded hands Lord Vyasa and the sages greeted Parashara, circumambulating, bowing, and praising him. The great sage Parashara welcomed them calmly and inquired after their welfare. Then Lord Vyasa said, “Father, I have heard from you the duties indicated by Manu and the other sages for the Satya, Treta, and Dvapara Yugas. Nor have I forgotten what I heard. All duties were created in the Satya Yuga, but all duties are destroyed in the Kali Yuga. Therefore, tell me about the universal duties of the four classes of men.” When Vyasa had finished, the great sage Parasha...

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents 
• Preface
• A Word About the Translation
• Hindu Categories for First-Time Readers
• Chronology: Events Pertaining to the Widow Marriage Movement in Bengal
• Introduction
• Hindu Widow Marriage: The Complete English Translation
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index of Sanskrit Passages
• Index of Names and Terms