The Institution of Levirate[ ]The use of levirate primarily to provide a posthumous heir is evi-
dent among Hindus in India. “Widows present both ideological and
economic challenges to the Hindu system.”^41 Hindu tradition regards
husband and wife as one body. It assigns to the wife the responsibility
of protecting her husband; to that end, a wife performs various rituals
to ensure her husband’s well-being.^42 Ideally, a wife should predecease
her husband. A woman whose husband dies is regarded as an “inauspi-
cious” woman, one whose actions could not safeguard her husband.^43
Furthermore, a widow requires financial support, since she may inherit
little or no property from her husband and is restricted in her ability to
earn income. An older widow may be supported by her adult sons. A
young widow, or a childless widow of any age, presents a problem for
soc iet y.
Hindu religious texts assume that a woman should have one sexual
partner in her lifetime. In many regions of India, particularly in the
north, remarriage is forbidden. Widows are expected to enter a perma-
nent state of mourning, wearing distinctive clothing and eschewing the
jewelry worn by wives. In other parts of India, widow remarriage is ac-
ceptable. Attitudes toward remarriage reflect regional preferences, but
t hey a lso reflect caste. In some reg ions, hig her caste g roups ref ra in f rom
remarriage, emphasizing restraint and purity, while lower caste groups
permit remarriage. Among groups that practice remarriage, levirate
may be employed when a man dies leaving no son.
In Hindu texts, levirate is referred to as nigoya (appointment). Early
traditions indicate that nigoya was sometimes practiced while the hus-
band was still living, enabling him to acquire an heir through his wife.
In some texts, the wife is compared to a field owned by the husband;
whatever crop grows in the field belongs to the ow ner, regardless of who
sows the seed.^44 Thus a husband is the social parent of a son fathered
on his wife by his brother or another surrogate. The widow also bene-
fits from levirate; the birth of a son improves her status, fulfills her ob-
ligations to her husband, and provides her with a source of support.^45
The appropriate levir for a widow is her husband’s younger brother; this
practice is referred to as junior levirate and may reflect a time when only
the eldest son married.
Hindu texts reflect the tensions implicit in levirate unions. As Wendy
Doniger points out: