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22 SUKUMARI DIIATTACIIAKJI

remarks about thc woman - starting from the Vcdas ihrough thc MahSbh&rata down lo thc Puranas -- is ⁴⁴na sin svalantryamarhati ", thc woman is unworthy of indcpcndcnce. In hcr dcpcndcncc shc lost hcr identity of a social unit. ⁴⁴ Aflcr all if wc*re going to cntcr a marriagc system that 's still Icgally designed for a person and a half.... then wc havc lo bc coiwinced that wc’re not wholc persons on our own. *'³ For thc woman this conccpt of marriagc is often impinged on hcr ihrough hcr cxpcricncc of marital lite as a social eoniracl. “...marrying and finding out that it is how women are treated thcrc; marrying and finding out that it is not yet an cqual parlncrship. “⁴

The Mahabharata inheriled thc social ethos and thc conccpt regarding thc various aspccls of marriagc from thc Vcdic and Dharmaśaslra tcxls; most of the lallcr bclong to thc same period as thc cpic. The corc cpic story was inheriled by thc bards and rhapsodes; thc lalcr accrction is of the Bhargava mallcr which accounts for ovcr two-thirds of the prcscnl bulk of thc cpic; this scction soughl to formulatc a vcry dilTcrcnl ethos which it prcachcd cithcr dircclly or illuslratcd ihrough suitable aneedotes. Hcnce thc discrcpancy betwccn thc core scction and thc Bhargava scction, wc fitnd two dilTcrcnl scls of valucs are prcachcd or soughl lo bc inculcatcd ihrough aneedotes in thc two scctions.

Tcxts conccrning thc alliludc to women in generał are, to say thc least, ambivalcnl. ‘Women are cvil likc Iccchcs, they suck (man’s) blood/⁵ ‘The woman is known cvcr dependent, shc is inlcrior to man, withoul (the sacramcnts ol] firc and walcr, and is unlruc.'⁶ ‘A wifc was to bc sclcclcd from a respcctable family.’⁷ We have numerous lcxls tclling us that was cxpcclcd of thc wifc. The Yifpu Purana says “The dutics of wivcs: The practicc of thc same codę of religious conduct as their husbands, worship of thc parents-in-law, thc preceptor, thc gods and guests: shc should bc engaged in clcaning, not givcn lo loo much charity, carcfully kccping thc sccrcls of thc family coffcrs, engaged in the wcll-bcing of thc family... Not visiling others’ houses... in childhood, yoyth and old age being under thc falher, husband and sons (rcspcclivcly). When thc husband dics shc livcs like a mcndicanl or asccnds his funcral pyre.“⁸ Yajflyavalkya says that ‘women should bc worshipped with jcwcllcry and gannents by thc husband, brothers, falher, kinsmen, parents-in-law, brolhcrs-in-law and rclalivcs.^,g Manu also emphasizes thc merits of honouring thc woman.¹⁰ This worship, howcvcr, has littlc to do with a rcvcrcnlial or cvcn rcspcclful atlitudc, it is mcrcly giving of mundanc gifls. This is borne out by Manu*s dictum — ‘The wifc, son, scrvanl, disciple, and brolhcr, when they are guilly should bc bealcn with a ropę or canc.^,M This clearly bcars out thc posilion of thc wifc in socicly, and wc shall latcr sec that this nolion is embedded is communal mcmory. Shc is subordinate lo hcr husband, for “marriagc inciles man to a capricious impcrialism: the temptation to dominatc is the most truły univcrsal, thc most irrcsistiblc one