মুঘল আমলে হিন্দু মহিলাদের অবস্থান অলেষণঃ সমসামহ়িক উৎস থেকে অন্তর্দৃষ্ট

Abstract The period of great Mughals occupied a significant position in entire social life of Medieval India. Society of this sub- continent has been followed by numerous amelioration and devolution of women’s status in course of time. The Mughal period was not divergent regarding such circumstances. In comparison with royal ladies and princess, the life of ordinary women was far more distinctive. This paper attempted to focus on the status of Hindu women’s during Mughal period. Contemporary popular historical sources, like court chronicles, account of foreign traveller, and regional evidences, profoundly collaborated to explore the subject. Their position could be discernible in context of marriage system, divorce, sati, widowhood, dowry and inter-relation with Harem. Keywords: period, widowhood, Mughal, cultural, marriage Introduction: Different offshoots of Hindu Marriage Akbar’s great court historian Abul Fazal Allami asserted child marriage in both Hindu and Muslim society as a popular custom, in which girls had to be married before nine and ten years old [1]. European traveler Manucci pointed out that most of the Hindu families seems to have organize their child’s marriage even before the beginning of verbal capacity. He also enumerates that commonly the daughters of Brahmans performed marriage within four and five years but in several cases the marriage could be adjourn up to ten years2. Pelsaert excerpts “the Hindus joined their children at the age of only 4 and 5 years” [3] . Indian society was much rigid towards the norms of arranged marriage into precise caste and ‘Gotra’. As narrated by Abul Fazal a pure marriage was happened between close relatives or in own caste and clan4. In accordance with the consideration of parents or nearest relatives a genre of arranged marriage said to have performed. Surprisingly, a broad sphere of liberty enjoyed by the girls of upper-class Rajput Hindu families to choose their husbands. As paradigm, the princess of Rangpur invited her lover to manumit her from the ensuing union with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The daughter of Rao Surthan, Tara Bai promised to marry the youth who would regain her father’s Todah from Pathans. Finally, Jamal Raja of Ajmer, the brother of Pritviraj fulfilled her wish and according to oath she married him [5]