Woman's influence in the East : as shown in the noble lives of past queens and princesses of India

Front matter

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIR LEPER GRIFFIN, K.C.S.L

PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY

Delavan L, Pierson

Introduction

This work is a sincere and worthy attempt to assign their fair share of historical interest to the women of India, who, in spite of all popular belief to the contrary, have held in the past, and do hold to-day, a great and often a dominating influence in the domestic and political life of the country.

A traveller in the East, whether in China, India, Persia or Arabia, who sees throughout his wanderings no women save those of the lowest classes who are compelled by the exigencies of labour to appear unveiled, might imagine that feminine ihfluence counted for little in the higher ranks of Oriental society. This would be a mistake. The seclusion of women, with their separation from the outward interests and occupations of men, is, in India, an accident, due to conditions which are now passing away, and chiefly to the constant invasions by Mahommedan armies of the Northern Provinces of India, and the consequent anarchy which prevailed over the whole continent. In ancient days, as we see by the delightful comedies of Kalidasa and the epic poems of the Ramayana

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and the Mahabharata, Indian women enjoyed great comparative freedom. They were not married until they had reached womanhood ; they were allowed generally a voice in the choice of a husband and always a veto on the selected suitor. They attended, with men, social and religious festivals, and received an equal share of the education of the day, which seems to have been superior in point of accomplishments to that which is provided to-day in the Government schools. When India fell from its high estate of civilization into comparative barbarism — in the same way as Europe fell from the high ideal of Greece and Rome to the degradation of the Dark Ages — women lost their equahty with men, and became, as is the rule amongst barbarians, the prize of the strongest. Wars for the sake of a woman’s fair face were quite as frequent in Indian as in European history.

In addition to this cause, the example of the Wahommedan conqueroi*s of India, who secluded their women, had a great and lasting effect. The number of Mahommedans in India is ver}^ great, and in the Punjab amounts to exactly half the population ; while, having been for so many generations the ruling race, whether their monarchs held their court at Delhi or at Kabul, the Mahommedan fashion was naturally followed by all those Hindus who desired to stand well with the rulers of the country, and at the same time to save their women from the too energetic admiration of their charms, which the Mahommedan conquerors were notorious for expressing. The harems of the most

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powerful of the Delhi emperors were filled with ladies of Hindu families.

The seclusion of women as enjoined by the Prophet Mahommed, and the rules which he prescribed generally for the treatment of the sex, are ignorantly supposed to be degrading and obnoxious to high civilization ; but it we consider the state of society at the time of l\Iahommed and the savage barbarism of the tribes of Arabia amongst whom he preached, it will be found that, although he was unable to abolish polygamy and probably had no wish to do so, yet that he did everything in his power to ameliorate the condition of women, both slave and free, that he gave the wife a higher status than she had ever before held; and it may be fairly asserted that the position of a married Mahommedan woman to-day is socially and legally more secure and protected against arbitrary violence, either to person or property, than that of an Englishwoman, whose disabilities until the last few years were a reproach to our civilization. Even now, in matters such as divorce, the Englishwoman occupies an ignominious position which it should be the object of all legislators, possessed of chivalry and good sense, to remove as speedily as possible.

In his interesting book, Mr. Pool has made an excellent and representative collection of Indian heroines. But there are many others who have filled a considerable space in the romance and history of the country who may well find a place in a future volume. There is the beautiful Rupmati, whose romantic story is for

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ever associated with the ruined city of Mandu, where her royal lover built for her a palace from the topmost windows of which she might see her beloved Nerbudda, a silver streak of water in the dim distance. The story of Rani Sahib Kour of Pattiala has been told ; but another princess of that house, Rani Anskour, who ruled the State with great energy and ability from 1811 to 1823, is quite as weU worthy of record. Equally remarkable was Rani Rajindar, Avho defied the Mahrattas in the fulness of their power, and of whom I wrote in my biographies of the Punjab Rajas : ‘ Rani Rajindar was one of the most remarkable women of her age. She possessed all the virtues which men pretend are their own — courage, perseverance and sagacity — without any mixture of the weaknesses which men attribute to women ; and remembering her history, and that of Ranis Sahib Kour and Anskour, who some years later conducted with so much ability the affairs of the Pattiala State, it would almost appear that the Phulkian chiefs excluded by direct enactment all women from any share of power, from the suspicion that they were able to use it far more wisely than themselves.’

The women who have made the most mark in Indian history have been Sikhs, Mahrattas or Mahommedans; and the reason is probably found in the fact that among these races the marriage of girls is generally deferred to a reasonable age, while among the two former the seclusion of women is much less strict than among ordinary Hindu castes. Even among Mahommedans the rule is relaxed in the case of ruling princesses. The present

INTRODUCTION.

IX

Begum of Bhopal, Shah Jahan, was, until her second marriage, always accustomed to attend durbar and perform public business and hear petitions in open court, unveiled ; and while this practice prevailed, and she was easy of access to ministers and subjects, the State was well administered. It was only when she retired into the strict seclusion of the Zanana that the grave maladministration occurred which called for the interference of the British Government. Her mother, the Sikandar Begum, was a woman of great ability, courage and force of character, and ruled the State quite as skilfully as any man could have done.

The Indore State has produced at least one woman of conspicuous ability. Rani Ahalya Bai, widow of Kunde Rao Holkar. She ruled Indore for no less than thirty years, from 1765 to 1795, and has left an enduring reputation for wisdom, purity and muniticence. The time in which she lived was a stormy one, perhaps the most so in Indian history ; but she steered the ship of the State successfully through all the breakers, and procured for her people a lengthened period of prosperity and peace.

Nor should the Rani Durga Batti of Garrah be forgotten, who, to save the estates of her infant son from the rapacity of the Emperor Akbar, called her people to arms, and fought an unsuccessful battle with Asaf Khan, the imperial lieutenant. Scorning to fly, and preferring death to the loss of power and freedom, she killed herself on the field of battle.

By the place of these heroic w'omen who have skil-

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fully administered the States of debauched and imbecile husbands or infant sons, and who have fought in their defence at the head of their troops, some account should be given of other women whose lives have been as romantic and who have as po'vverfull}- affected the course of Indian history, but whose influence has been evil, and whose evil passions have brought about their ruin and that of their States. There are many such, of whom a conspicuous example is the Maharapi Jindan, who rose from the humblest origin to see her son, of nameless parentage, accepted as the Maharaja of the Punjab, and whose unbridled passions and the intrigues of her lovers largely 'helped to bring about the first Sikh war and the downfall of the monarchy which Ranjit Singh had so laboriously built up.

Whether the time will ever come when Indian women, or those of China and Persia and Turkey, will become emancipated in the Western sense, and enjoy the freedom of their English sisters, is more than doubtful ; and in spite of some feeble efforts made by Parsis and Bengalis to draw their women into social intercourse with the outside world, the rule of the seclusion of women — once instituted as a protection — is continued as a mark of position and respectability; it becomes more strict each year, while its area enlarges and tends to include every caste or family which rises from a lower to a higher grade. Indian women do not desire to go beyond the privacy of the Zanana, and would consider publicity as a disgrace. It is foolish to judge the customs of other people by our own, or to suppose

LXTRODUCTION.

XI that the society of London or Paris holds up an ideal which other races must attain or be considered uncivilized. The women of the East are not so much en Evidence as those of Europe, but their influence within the legitimate circle of their domestic relations is quite as great, their manners are as good and their morality is as high. They do not try to do everything which men do, and conspicuously fail; they do not enjoy the delight of seeing their dresses and their looks recorded in the impertinent columns of society newspapers ; they do not rush to the Divorce Court to listen to the unsavoury details of the latest fashionable scandal ; and those who know most of the results of this freedom of women in the West, and the history of the richest and most luxurious society Avhich the world has ever seen, may well doubt whether the Occidental or the Oriental method of treating the fair sex is more in accord with practical wisdom.

LEPEL GRIFFIN.

Preface

Woman’s influence for good or for evil is admittedly great in all Western lands, and I think the perusal of the lives of past Queens and Princesses of India, as related in this volume, will show that woman in Eastern lands also, notwithstanding the fact that she is immured in a zenana, and is invisible to the eyes of the world , exerts a powerful influence, not only over her friends at home, but on society at large.

While in this work I illustrate ‘ Woman’s Influence in the East ’ by glancing at the lives of those only who have moved in the higher walks of life, I shall probably seek in a future work to demonstrate the same truth from the annals of the poor.

Every year the interest of the people of the West deepens in all that concerns the women of India, so that I am not without hope that this book will be welcomed b}- many readers.

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PREFACE.

With the spread of education in the East, and the granting of greater freedom of thought and action to women, we may expect that woman’s influence will be yet more strongly felt in the difterent grades and walks of Eastern life.

F our of the lives in this work are more or less mythological, but the rest are authentic history.

JOHN J. POOL.

Reims, Januarif, 189'.^.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. SITA, THE CONSORT OF RAMA - - - - 1

II. THE PRINCESS URAUPADI - - - - 20

I. Sita, The Consort Of Rama

]^1any centuries ago — how many cannot be determined, but some think long before the birth of Christ — King Janaka ruled over the fair and fertile land of IMithila, in the north of India, And to Janaka was born a daughter, named Sita, whose eventful history we are now about to relate.

Nothing is known about the real mother of Sita, who doubtless died when her child was born, but the story which is generally accepted respecting the birth of our heroine is as follows. It is a strange but beautiful tale, and we give it as related by Sita herself on one occasion when questioned as to her pedigree :

‘ There is a King of Mithila,’ she said, ‘ who loves his people as his own children. His life is very full of care, for on all occasions he feels with them and strives to think for them, as a righteous king should do. And this righteous King Janaka is my revered father.

PFOA/^N’S INFLUENCE IN THE EAST.

‘ Some time back, as he was tracing with a plough the circle which encloses the ground where sacrifices are ofiered, a sudden ecstasy seized him. His heart, which had been mournful and depressed, glowed with new warmth, and into his mind, which anxiety had filled with clouds, came a rush of light. “ 0 gentle spirit of the earth,” he cried, “thou alone givest me comfort for humanity ! Noble goddess of the soil, thou sayest to men. Comrade, put thy hand in mine, and let us work together ; feed me, and I will give thee food ; tend me, and I will guard and shelter thee ; love me, and I will cast my beauty at thy feet ; observe and study me, and I will teach thee to be strong and pure and brave.”

‘ As he spoke, a dreamy haze stole over the sweet earth’s face, like to the misty tenderness which veils a maiden’s eyes when told she is beloved. Little by httle, the amorous clouds merged into ethereal semblance of a woman’s form. It floated into the embrace of his extended arms, and rested on his impassioned breast most lovingly a moment ; then died back into the formless air, and left him, thrilled by that ineffable caress, enraptured, but very tremulous. “ I have had a vision,” he said presently, and sighed. “ Only a vision !” he repeated, and half wept. But as he put his hands to the plough once more, lo ! before him, in the gaping furrow, he saw the loose soil move ; and at length, slowly and with difficulty pushing through the heavy earth, emerged before him, as he stood wonderstruck, a pretty babe, with large bewildered eyes, who rested its tiny dimpled hand upon the broken turf, and struggled hard, and

SIT A, THE CONSORT OF RAMA.

asked by plaintive cries to be released. I have heard my father say, that when he saw me thus, his heart cried out loudly, “ This is my child,” and a whisper from the deep bosom of the earth answered, “And mine.” So J anaka ran forward and snatched me to his breast ; then I wept no longer, but smiled happily and nestled there. And my father taught me ever to reverence the generous earth, my mother, and to strive to be as pure and true and brave as she. And he called me Sita (a furrow), because I sprang out of a furrow of the ground.’*

And Sita, whether a genuine child of Janaka, or whether found in the fields and adopted by him, was brought up under kind nurses in the palace at Mithila, and grew into a sweet girl and a beautiful maiden. Happy, very happy, were those days of youth, passed with a kind and indulgent father and loving and devoted attendants ; and all too soon the decree went forth that the princess must think of mari'iage.

King Janaka, proud of the wonderful beauty of his daughter, and anxious to see her united to a brave and warlike prince, issued a proclamation that he would bestow her in marriage upon that hero who could bend a certain large and strong bow that had been in the possession of his family for many generations. Suitor after suitor arrived at the court of Mithila and essayed the task, but without success, and departed crestfallen and enraged, but only to return with combined forces to vent their wrath upon the city of Mithila. Janaka,

* Frederika Richardson’s ‘ Iliad of the East.’

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WOMAN’S INFLUENCE IN THE EAST.

however, and his brave soldiers defeated the assailants and drove them back with great loss.

Many months passed by in these painful events, and Sita, the unwilling cause of war and bloodshed, was stiU unmarried, when one day there came to the court of the king two youthful strangers, the sons of a neighbouring monarch. Rama and Lakshman, for such were the names of the young heroes, requested, through their preceptor, a famous saint, who was with them, a sight of the bow which none so far had been able to bend, for they would try their luck

‘ King Janak, at the saint’s request.

This order to his train addressed :

“ Let the great bow be hither borne.

Soon as the monarch’s words were said,

His servants to the city sped :

Five thousand youths in number, all Of manly strength, and stature tall,

The ponderous light- wheeled chest that held The heavenly bow, with toil propelled.

At length they brought that iron chest,

And thus the godlike king addressed :

“ This best of bows, O lord, we bring,

Respected by each chief and king.

And place it for these youths to see If, sovereign, such thy pleasure be.”

‘ Then Rama at the word unclosed The chest wherein its might reposed,

Thus crying, as he viewed it : “ Lo !

I lay mine hand upon the bow :

May happy luck my hope attend Its heavenly strength to lift or bend.”

SIT A, THE CONSORT OF RAMA.

“Good luck be thine !” the hermit cried ;

“ Assay the task !” the king replied.

Then Eaghu’s son, as if in sport,

Before the thousands of the court.

The weapon by the middle raised,

That all the crowd in wonder gazed ;

With steady arm the string he drew.

Till burst the mighty bow in two.’*

Thus Rama performed the wonderful deed which had been beyond the strength of many mighty princes and warriors to accomplish, and King Janaka, true to his royal word, betrothed him to Sita, the beautiful and the good, and arrangements were made as speedily as possible for the marriage. Couriers were sent off to acquaint King Raghu, or Dasaratha, of Ayodhya, with the success of his son, and at the same time urging that monarch and his suite to be present at the approaching nuptials. Promptly and gladly did Rama’s father comply with the welcome request, and ere many days had elapsed arrived at Mithila with a great army and magnificent presents.

What an anxious and yet joyous time it was for Sita as she prepared for her marriage ! She grieved at the thought of having to leave her father’s palace, for all its associations were sweet and dear ; and yet she could not but rejoice that she was about to be joined in wedlock with one who was youthful and wise, and tender and brave.

The eventful day at length arrived, and Rama, with his four brothers, who wei’e to be married at the same

* Griffith’s ‘ Ramayana.’

WOMAN’S INFLUENCE IN THE EAST.

time to relatives of Sita, -vrent to ‘ the ground for rites addressed.’ There the bridegrooms waited till the brides arrived, just as is the custom now in Western nations. By command of the priests or saints, an altar was erected, on which fire was placed, and around the altar the marriage party gathered.

‘ Then by the hand King Janak drew His Sita beautiful to view,

And placed her, bright in rich attire,

Rama to face, before the fire.

Thus speaking to the royal boy Who filled Kansalya’s heart with joy :

“ Here Sita stands, my daughter fair.

The duties of thy life to share.

Take from her father, take thy bride ;

Join hand in hand, and bhss betide !

A faithful wife, most blest is she.

And as thy shade will follow thee,”

Thus as he spoke the monarch threw O’er her young limbs the holy dew ;

While gods and saints were heard to swell The joyous cry, “ ’Tis well ! ’Tis well !” ’

The marriage over, Sita and the other young brides had to say ‘ good-bye ’ to Mithila and to all the friends of their youth, and were taken away to begin a new life in Ayodhya, over which good King Dasaratha reigned. And now is the time to speak more particularly of the family into which Sita had married, and of the young prince her husband.

King Dasaratha had three queens and seven hundred and fifty concubines, but for a long time he had no children. At length, however, four sons were bom, and great was the rejoicing of the royal household. Rama, who married Sita, was the eldest, and from all accounts the wisest, strongest and most worthy. Perhaps it would be well to mention, once for all, that the Hindus generally believe that Rama and his brothers were incarnations of the god Vishnu. Rama partook of half the nature of Vishnu, Bharata of a quarter, and Lakshman and Satrughua each of an eighth. It will thus be seen that Sita had become the consort of no common hero, and his virtues are eloquently described in the Ramayan :

‘ Rama was beautiful and strong,

From envy free, the foe of wrong,

With all his father’s virtues blest.

And peerless in the world confessed.

With placid soul he softly spoke :

No harsh reply could taunts provoke.

He ever loved the good and sage Revered for virtue and for age.

And when his martial tasks were o’er Sat listening to their peaceful lore ;

Wise, modest, pure, he honoured eld.

His lips from lying tales withheld ;

Due reverence to the Brahmans gave.

And ruled each passion like a slave ;

Most tender, prompt at duty’s call.

Loved by all men, he loved them all.’

For a time all went happily and even merrily with Sita at Ayodhya, for her husband was thoughtful and kind, and her husband’s friends did all they could to make her happy. When, however, the question of formally recognising an heir- apparent to the throne came up, as it did ere long, on account of the growing irOA//lA'’S INFLUENCE IN THE EAST.

feebleness of the king, palace intrigues began, and there was trouble. Kaikeyi, the second and favourite queen, the mother of Bharata, was roused to jealousy on behalf of her ovTi son, by a spiteful female servant, and she intrigued to bring Rama into discredit. Rama, as the eldest son, and as the wisest and bravest, was generally regarded as the most hkely one to take up the reins of government; but still Dasaratha, as an absolute monarch, had power to set him aside if he chose. Such a deed, however, was far from the king’s thoughts, for he dearly loved his eldest born ; but the intrigues of Kaikeyi at length prevailed, and in a weak moment he promised her any boon she might demand at his hands, even unto the half of his kingdom ; and she exclaimed :

‘ Then forth to Dandak’s forest drive Thy Rama for nine years and five,

And let him dwell a hermit there,

With deerskin coat and matted hair.

Without a rival let my hoy The empire of the land enjoy;

And let mine eyes ere morning see Thy Rama to the forest flee.’

And the king was sorry ; nevertheless, for his oath’s sake, he felt constrained to comply. Better for his own happiness, and the happiness of his kingdom, and his children’s happiness, had he regarded his rash promise as more rightly kept in the breach than in the observance ! With great grief, however, he called Rama into his presence and told him all, and urged him to depart in peace. And Rama, seeing his father’s ti’ouble, did not oppose his will, but agreed to the terms of banishment in hopes of preventing further strife and misery.

With a heavy heart the prince wended his way homeward, for Sita knew little or nothing of the palace intrigues, and was full of joy as the time drew near when she expected to see her husband and lord presented to assembled thousands as the heir-apparent. Rama, in an agony of grief, poured out his troubles in the ears of his sympathetic bride, and he found, what many a man has found since, that his wife was not one to upbraid him or give way to despair in the hour of disaster, but was rather a true friend and helpmeet. If banishment was inevitable, then, she exclaimed, would she share its trials with her lord. Rama protested that the dangers and the risks were very great, and more than a delicatelynurtured lady ought to brave ; but the princess earnestly and lovingly sought to overcome his objections.

‘ I swear it by thy gracious love, by thy dear life I swear,

In heaven itself I would not dwell unless my lord were there ; For not on mother or on son, on father or on friend,

But on her own dear husband must the faithful wife depend. Thou art my refuge and defence, my guide, my god art thou ;

I swear that I will follow thee, and naught shall change my vow. If thou art banished to the woods, thy wife has firmly sworn To trample down, before thy feet, the bramble and the thorn ; For royal courts and palaces to me are not so sweet.

Nor heaven so pleasant, as the place where treads my husband’s feet.’*

Yet Rama was loth to give his consent and expatiated on the discomforts and annoyances and even dangers of

* Griffith’s ‘ Idylls from the Sanskrit.’

lo fVOMAN’S INFLUENCE IN THE EAST.

life in the woods when under sentence of banishment ; but Sita had her answer ready :

‘ The woes that thou hast counted up, the toil, the care, the pain, All these, my love, for love of thee, I look upon as gain.

At Indra’s might I tremble not, when guarded by thine arm : And can the rovers of the wood do happy Sita harm ?

I will not dread the lion’s roar, nor turn away to fly From tigers bounding through the brake if thou art only nigh. And death to me were sweeter far, with thine arms round me thrown.

Than life in thy father’s palaces, in safety, but alone.

Now, hear my word, my lord and love : with thee must Sita go. Or die, by thee deserted here, in grief and bitter woe.

With thee my spirit will be glad, and aught that I endure While, pilgrim-like with thee I roam, will make me yet more pure.

And very blessed shall I be in this and the coming life ;

For thou, my Rama, ever art a god unto thy wife.

The wife’s eternal duty is, as holy priests declare.

To follow where her husband goes, his weal and woe to share ; And for the true and loving wife remains the endless bliss Of sharing all this life with him and the life that follows this.’

Rama, •won by such sweet words, acquiesced in Sita’s wish to accomjDany him, and with his brother Lakshman, who also would not leave him, he set forth upon his travels, amid the lamentations of the whole city of Ayodhya. The wanderers passed through Sringavera, the modern Sungur, and Prayaga, the modem Allahabad, where they rested at a famous hermitage, and then came to Chitra-kutra, south of the Jumna, in Bandelkhand. From thence Rama sent back his charioteer to Ayodhya, and the people of the city seeing him return without their prince, again filled the air with lamentations.

SITA, THE CONSORT OF RAMA. ii

King Dasaratha was also grieved to the heart, and took to his bed ; and, distracted by his sorrow, while imploring forgiveness of the mother of Rama, he fell back and died in her arms.

Then was there mourning deep and loud for the dead king and the banished prince ; and Bharata, the son of the queen who had caused all the trouble, and for whom she had caused it, refused to assume the sovereign authority, but declared his determination to bring back the exiled Rama. After the funeral rites of his father, Bharata did what was in his heart. He set off to find his brother ; but when he arrived at Chitra-kutra Rama declined to assume the Raj until the term of his sentence of banishment had been completed. Bharata as firmly refused to ascend the throne, and finally it was arranged that he should return to Ayodhya in the character of Rama’s vicegerent.

For ten long years Rama and Lakshman and the faithful Sita wandered about the country from hermitage to hermitage, receiving kindness at the hands of many, and doing good wherever they went. At the hermitage of the sage Atri, near the forest of Dandaka, a little episode occurred which should not be overlooked in the story of Sita’s life. Atri had a wife, a very aged person, who is described as ‘ a miracle amongst saintly women.’ When Sita entered the hermit’s dwelling, she found this ancient lady seated on a couch of the sacred grass, kusa; ‘ her figure was bent and withered, her countenance wrinkled, her eyes dim, and she trembled always as the aspen does, when the rough north wind is abroad.