________________
310 ment of a woman-her Gracious Majesty, Victo ria, Queen, of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, whose birthday and coronation day are national holidays, and who by cur people is more frequently called, not the Empress of India, but the mother.
I will say that the designation of wife in India, of the Hindu wife, is higher and grander than that of Empress. She is called Devi, or Goddess.
If you can reconcile these facts and deductions to the mistaken notions which you have received, from whatever sources, respecting the condition of women of my country, it is your task, to which I cheerfully leave you,
In the lectures which I have had the honor to deliver to you in the class room, I have spoken largely concerning the early marriages among my people, and will not at this time do more than state the reasons thereof. The first reason is that the giving in marriage to the early age to which reference is made, does not imply in any case the consummation of marriage. The ceremony that I have given you, which is the real marriage, is performed among the Jains at the proper age of maturity, and the wife proceeds at once to her husband's home, and this was the custom in the earlier ages, before
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
