From the seventh century, the field of stridhan became more extensive. Deval (600 AD to 900 AD) also included the money and profits received for subsistence in Stridhan. Vijnaneshwar (1070-1100 AD) has included in 'Stridhan' all such property as inheritance from father, property purchased, property received through partition, and property over which ownership has been acquired due to possession for a long time. Gave. In this way, by the twelfth century AD the field of women's wealth became very wide. Most of the commentators agreed with Vijnaneshwar's views. He showed great generosity towards women. There is a doubt that Vigyaneshwar wanted to give the widow the right to sell immovable property. Probably he wanted the widow could give this immovable property to her daughter because he had written that the daughters should get the stridhan, among them first the unmarried daughter and then the married daughters. Deval has written that if the husband uses stridhan, he should return that money to his wife along with interest.
daughter's right to property
During this period, almost all the MLAs were in favor of giving the daughter some share in her father's property. Shukra thought that if the father were to distribute his property during his lifetime, then it should be divided in this ratio - wife 1 part, each son 1 part, and each daughter half apart. Medhatithi was against giving dowry to his daughter.
widow's property rights
Old man Manu and Prajapati were in favor of giving dowry to the widow. Jimutvahan strongly supported it. According to him, even in a joint family, the widow should get dowry, while the author of Mitakshara (Commentary on Yajnavalkya Smriti) considers the widow to be entitled to dowry only in the case when her husband has distributed his property with the joint family during his lifetime. The widow's rights over immovable property were limited. She could spend its income but could not sell it. In Dakshinapath, the widow's right to property was considered since ancient times, but in North India, this right was accepted very late. In Gujarat, till the twelfth century AD, widows were not considered as inheritors, but after 1200 AD, almost all the legislators accepted the rights of widows.
Position of Women
It is known from the literature of the Rajput period that the status of the daughter had deteriorated much compared to that of the son. According to Kathasaritsagar, in the Rajput era, the son was considered a symbol of happiness, and the daughter was considered a symbol of sorrow.
In the Rajput period, girls' education was limited to royal families and rich families. They were often taught music, dance, painting, and literature. Daughters of royal families were also given weapons and horse riding lessons.
Although there are mentions of the existence of the purdah system in the Rajput period, it was limited to a few families. Generally, women did not wear the veil. Abu Zaid has also written that during the Rajput period, women used to come without a veil even in front of foreigners in royal meetings. It seems that the practice of purdah came into existence only after the arrival of Muslims.
Girls were often married before puberty. After marriage, the bride was expected to serve her husband in every way. The husband was responsible for the maintenance of his wife. The condition of widowed women during this period was extremely deplorable. Many restrictions were imposed on them. The practice of Sati was prevalent during the Rajput period, but this practice was limited to the royal families only. Suleman has written that women used to commit sati voluntarily.
Although women were respected at the beginning of the Rajput period, the situation had changed by the end of this era. The condition of women was extremely deplorable in the twelfth century and they were considered objects of luxury. The clear proof of this is that there were prostitutes in almost every city of India. Sandhyakarnandi has given a detailed description of the prostitutes of Ramavati.