Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Vol. 2 (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Vol. 2The signs of sorrow manifested by a Hindu lady who loses her husband are of so exaggerated a description that one cannot help doubting their perfect sincerity, yet it is impossible that any Hindu widow could face the sad future awaiting her with tearless eyes. Doomed to perpetual widowhood, cast out of society, stamped with the seal of contumely, she has no consola tion whatever, except maybe the recollection of hardships that she has had to endure during her married life.I do not refer here to those unfortunate girls of five or six years of age, who, married to Brahmins of over sixty, very often become widows before they attain the age of puberty. Fortunately their youth and inexperience prevent their brooding over the sad condition in which they have been placed by such inhuman and iniquitous prejudices. But think of the numberless young widows in the prime of life and strength. How do they bear up against this cruel expulsion from the society of their fellow-creatures? The answer is, Better than one would be inclined to believe. The fact is, they must per force be resigned to their fate and however despised a widow may be, there is this consolation, that one who remarries is a hundred times more so, for she is shunned absolutely by every honest and respectable person. Thus there are few widows who would not look upon proposals to remarry as a downright insult, though in this respect they are seldom put to the test. Even an old gouty Brahmin, as poor as Irus, would feel indignant at the very suggestion of marrying a widow, though she were rich and endowed with all the charms of youth and beauty.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.