1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910781527703321

Autore

Bidyāsāgara Īśvaracandra <1820-1891.>

Titolo

Hindu widow marriage [[electronic resource] /] / Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar ; a complete translation, with an introduction and critical notes, by Brian A. Hatcher

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Columbia University Press, c2012

ISBN

1-281-96107-8

9786613793263

0-231-52660-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (271 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

HatcherBrian A (Brian Allison)

BidyāsāgaraĪśvaracandra <1820-1891.>

Disciplina

306.84

Soggetti

Remarriage (Hindu law)

Widows (Hindu law)

Remarriage - India

Widows - India

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- A Word About the Translation -- Hindu Categories for First-Time Readers -- Chronology. Events Pertaining to the Widow Marriage Movement in Bengal -- Introduction -- HINDU WIDOW MARRIAGE. The Complete English Translation -- Book One -- Book Two -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index of Sanskrit Passages -- Index of Names and Terms

Sommario/riassunto

Before the passage of the Hindu Widow's Re-marriage Act of 1856, Hindu tradition required a woman to live as a virtual outcast after her husband's death. Widows were expected to shave their heads, discard their jewelry, live in seclusion, and undergo regular acts of penance. Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar was the first Indian intellectual to successfully argue against these strictures. A Sanskrit scholar and passionate social reformer, Vidyasagar was a leading proponent of widow marriage in colonial India, urging his contemporaries to reject a ban that caused countless women to suffer needlessly.Vidyasagar's brilliant strategy paired a rereading of Hindu scripture with an



emotional plea on behalf of the widow, resulting in an organic reimagining of Hindu law and custom. Vidyasagar made his case through the two-part publication Hindu Widow Marriage, a tour de force of logic, erudition, and humanitarian rhetoric. In this new translation, Brian A. Hatcher makes available in English for the first time the entire text of one of the most important nineteenth-century treatises on Indian social reform.An expert on Vidyasagar, Hinduism, and colonial Bengal, Hatcher enhances the original treatise with a substantial introduction describing Vidyasagar's multifaceted career, as well as the history of colonial debates on widow marriage. He innovatively interprets the significance of Hindu Widow Marriage within modern Indian intellectual history by situating the text in relation to indigenous commentarial practices. Finally, Hatcher increases the accessibility of the text by providing an overview of basic Hindu categories for first-time readers, a glossary of technical vocabulary, and an extensive bibliography.