Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/614

Rh against the practice of polygamy, apart from the special abuses practised by the Kulin Brahmins."

We have already said, that Vidyasagar was not the man to be put back by one or two failures. When he saw that he had nothing to expect from Government in this matter, he fell to thinking of some other means to remedy the evil. He decided upon persuading his fellow-countrymen of the impropriety and unlawfulness of the practice, and thus leaving the matter in their own hands.

In July, 1871, he issued a paper on Polygamy, the subject of discussion being whether Polygamy was consonant to the Hindu Sastras. In the first portion of the pamphlet, Vidyasagar has admitted that in certain cases the taking of more wives than one is canonical. Maharaja Dasaratha, Rama's father, had many wives. Vidyasagar has said, that Dasaratha married so many wives for the procreation of a male issue, and that what he did was, therefore, not uncanonical. Vidyasagar's arguments were based mainly on the two following passages of Manu:—

(1) "মদ্যপাসাধুবৃত্তাচ প্রতিকূলা চ যা ভবেৎ।
 * ব্যাধিতা ব্যাধিবত্তেব্যা হিংস্রার্থঘ্নীচ সর্ব্বদা॥" i.e.

'If the wife is given to drinking, or is unfaithful, or if she always acts contrary to the wishes of the husband, or if she is ever-diseased, or is of the malicious turn of mind, or is given to dissipation of money, under any of these circumstances, the husband may take another wife.'