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Eternal India
encyclopedia
LIFESTYLES
the arena unarmed. They Made no attempt to kill the bull but
tried to master it, The bull fight was looked on as an ordeal
to test the manhood of young men. Girls who were among the
spectators would choose their husbands from the successful
competitors.
Animal fighting was also popular with the Mughal emperors
and their courtiers. There were fights between elephants and
between men and animals. Jehangir once ordered a Pathan to
wrestle with 3 lion and after the man had been killed he sent
in ten
more
to wrestle with the beast. All the ten were
seriously injured and
three
lost their lives.
The other outdoor amusements were wrestling, polo and
pigeon-flying. Polo known as
Chugan
or
Chaugan
was introduced
into India by the early Muslim rulers of India. Kutb-ud-din Aikab
met with his death while playing polo. Abul Fazal, Akbar's
chronicler, writes : "Superficial observers regard the game as a
mere amusement and consider it mere play. But those with more
exalted views see in it a means of learning promptitude and
decision-making. Strong men learn, in playing the game, the art
of riding, And the animals learn to perform feats of ability and
to obey the reins, It tests the value of a man and strengthens
bonds of friendship. Hence His Majesty is very fond of this
game. For the sake of adding splendour to the game, His Majesty
has knobs of gold and silver fixed to the
Chaugan
sticks. If one
of them breaks, any player that gets hold of the pieces may keep
them." We are told that in 1564 Akbar played polo continuously
for many days. The game lost its popularity in the reign of his
successors.
Pigeon flying was also popular. Akbar learnt it from one of
his tutors and ascending the throne kept more than 20,000
pigeons.
MARRIAGE AND DOWRY
The child marriage of girls appears to have come into vogue
in late medieval times. There is no indication that child marriage
was practised in early times since the heroines of early Indian
literature were apparently married only when they were fully
grown. The
Sushruta Samhita,
the text book on Indian medicine
compiled in the 4th century A.D., states that the best children
are produced by mothers who are sixteen. Some authorities have
suggested that child marriages became prevalent with parents
marrying their daughters well before puberty lest they bring
disgrace to them when they grew up. Moreover a daughter would
prove to be an economic burden and, therefore, it was better
to get her married as soon as possible.
These early marriages were no doubt in the nature of
betrothals since the actual consummation took place much later
after the attainment of puberty. But the fact is that the custom
was one of the many evils in medieval India and was in vogue
among Hindus as well as Muslims. Political and social
circumstances compelled the marriage of girls, at least among
the Hindus, at a very early age. Custom forbade girls to remain
in the house after they had attained the age of six to eight years.
According to Mukumdarma, the author of a famous Bengali poem
Chanimangala,
written between 1544 and 1555 A.D., a father
who could give his daughter in marriage in her ninth year was
considered lucky and worthy of the favours of God.” The custom
had become so rigidly coercive that a Maratta general who could
not arrange the marriage of his daughter at nine could not help
expressing his anxiety in a letter to his home from the battle
field: "If the marriage is postponed to the next year, the bride
will be as old as ten. It will be a veritable calamity and a
scandal.”
No attempt seems to have been made to check the evil till
the advent of Akbar. The enlightened monarch was of the opinion
that the offspring of such marriages would be unhealthy
weaklings and issued orders that boys were not to marry before
the age of 16 and girls before 14. He also decreed that the
consent of the bride and bridegroom, together with the permission
of the parents was essential for the confirmation of a marriage.
It was the duty of the Kotwal to verify and note down the ages
of the couple, before giving consent to the marriage. Although
Badauni writes that in consequence corruption became rife and
large profits found their way into the pockets of the police
officers, he admits that “no son or daughter of a person was
allowed to be married until their ages were investigated by the
chief police officer.” This order was not rigorously enforced or
renewed by the later emperors and must have fallen into disuse.
Monogamy was the rule although polygamy was not
unknown. Rich and very wealthy persons who could afford more
than one wife practised polygamy but the ordinary people were
monogamous. The
Arthashastra
of Kautilya lays down various
rules with a view to discouraging wanton polygamy, including
the payment of compensation for the first wife.
Almost all the travellers, Alberuni, Della Vale, Mandelso,
Hamilton, Orme and Stavorinus, who visited India during the
medieval period - testify that the Hindus practised monogamy
and married a second time only if the first wife proved to be
barren. However, the Muslims practised polygamy. Akbar who
considered it highly injurious to a man’s health, and also
detrimental to domestic peace, to have more than one wife
consulted the
ulema
in his famous
Ibadat Khana
(House of
Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri on the question. In spite of the
decision of the
ulema
that a man might marry any number of
wives by
mutah
(a temporary marriage among
Shias
) but only
four by
nikha,
Akbar issued orders that a man of ordinary means
should not marry more than one wife, unless the first was barren.
Dowry appears to have come into vogue from the earliest
times and has persisted down to the present day. The
complicated and expensive ceremonies by which the marriage
was solemnised, together with payment of dowry, imposed a
heavy burden on the bride’s family. The contrary practice of
bride-price, the payment of money by the bridegroom, was also
prevalent.
The ancient texts enumerate eight types of marriages
1.
Brahma,
marriage of a girl to a man of the same class
after the payment of dowry.
2.
Daiva
in which a householder gives a daughter to a
sacrificial priest as part of his fee.
3.
Arsa
in which a token bride-price of a cow and bull are
paid in place of the dowry.
4.
Prajapaty
in which the father gives the girl without dowry
or demanding bride-price.