प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

IX] FEMALE EDUCATION 205
sacrifices enjoined in it down to about 200 B. C. This
need not surprise us, for some of the hymns of the
Ṛigveda are the compositions of poetesses. Even the
orthodox tradition admits that the Ṛigvedic
collection contains hymns composed by twenty
different poetesses. Viśvavārā, Sikatā Nivāvarī,
Ghoshā, Romaśā, Lopāmudrā, Apālā and Urvaśī are
the names of some of them. Man could perform the
Vedic sacrifices only if he had his wife by his side ;¹
both had to undergo a special initiation² on the
occasion and take equally active part in its procedure.³
Down to the end of the Mauryan period, the housewife
was expected to offer oblations in the household
(grihya) fire unaided by the husband, normally in the
evening and sometimes in the morning also.⁴ In the
srastarārohaṇa ritual of the Agrahāyaṇa ceremony, the
wife used to recite a number of Vedic hymns⁵ and
the harvest sacrifices could be performed by women
alone, 'because such was the long standing custom'.⁶
From the Rāmāyaṇa we learn that Kauśalyā was by
herself alone performing a sacrifice on the morning of
her son's proposed installation as an heir-apparent ;⁷
1 अयज्ञियो वा एष योऽपत्नीकः । S. Br., V. 1. 6-10
2 T. Br. III. 3. 3
3 या दंपती सुमनसा सुनुत आ च धावतः । देवासो नित्ययाशिरा ।
R. V., VIII. 31
4 Go. Gr. S., 1. 3. The term patnī denotes the special connec-
tion of the wife with her husband's sacrifices ; cf.
पत्युर्नो यज्ञसंयोगे । Paṇini, IV. 1. 33
5 P. G. S., III. 2. See the commentary of Harihara also.
6 स्त्रियश्चोपयजेरन्नाचरितत्वात् । P. G. S., II. 20.
7 सा क्षौमवसना हृष्टा नित्यं व्रतपरायणा ।
अग्निं जुहोति स्म तदा मंत्रवित्कृतमंगला ॥ II. 20. 15.