Classical Hindu law distinguishes the childhood, youth, and adulthood of male children in terms of ritual and legal eligibility and duty. Childhood is marked both by freedom from the constraints and obligations of ritual and law and by ritual ineligibility and legal incapacity. The consecratory rite of the sacred thread marks a son’s eligibility and obligation for religious study and ritual. Youth is the period of religious training that culminates in the completion of studies and in marriage. Legal majority is recognized for sons at age sixteen, while full ritual rights and duties commence only with marriage. In the classical texts, the onset of menstruation marks a daughter’s eligibility to marry, though her legal capacity remains restricted in principle. Daughters thus figure prominently in the intricate negotiations of marriage, kinship, and family reputation.
THE RELIGIOUS TRAINING OF CHILDREN
