Niyoga (Sanskrit: नियोग) was a Hindu practice, primarily followed during the ancient period. It was permitted for the widows or wives who had no child by their spouse to procreate a child with another man.[1][2][3] The basic purpose of niyoga is to ensure the continuation of the family lineage and to mitigate the financial and social precariousness that a childless widow would have faced in society.[4] Niyoga was forbidden in the Kali age by Brhaspati and other smrti writers.[5] It has been held that niyoga has nothing to do with polyandry.[6] Sir Henry Maine thinks that the Niyoga is of a later date than the Levirate, but J. D. Mayne justified regarding the Levirate as merely an enlarged form of the Niyoga, that came into effect after a man's death.[7] The Niyoga system, which enabled a woman to choose and invite a male with the desirable seed, and bear children.[8]
Clauses of Niyoga
There were various clauses associated with this process:
- The woman would agree to this only for the sake of rightfully having a child but not sexual pleasure.[9]
- The child thus born would be considered the child of the husband-wife and not that of the appointed man.
- Niyoga is permitted only for the purpose of childbirth and not for sexual pleasure.
- The appointed man would not seek any paternal relationship or attachment to this child in the future.
- To avoid misuse, a man was allowed a maximum of three times in his lifetime to be appointed in such a way.
- The act will be seen as that of Dharma and while doing so, the man and the wife will have only Dharma in their mind and neither passion nor lust. The man will do it as a help to the woman in the name of God, whereas the woman will accept it only to bear the child for herself and her husband.[10]
- There will be no foreplay or contact of any kind with the upper body. The bodies of the female and male both are smeared with Ghee. There is a curtain between the male and the female so that none can see each other's face so that passion does not sneak into their minds. Only the legs of the female are kept uncovered. The male penetrates and ejaculates inside the woman and the process is completed.
Procedure
A wife or a widow must not, however, be forced to have recourse to Niyoga for inheritance or similar purposes. Baudhāyana and Vasistha say that a widow desiring Niyoga should avoid meat, honey etc. and sleep on the ground for a short period not exceeding one year. After six months of the death of her husband, she offers a funeral oblation to her husband and with the approval and aid of her brother or father, and relatives of her husband, and also in consultation with the Gurus of her family, she chooses the man to have an issue by her. A characterless, mad, diseased or very aged widow is not entitled to Niyoga. Sixteen years after maturity is the proper time for Niyoga. A sickly person is to be avoided for the purpose. She must be economically independent of the person whom. she appoints for Niyoga and provide for the necessary ex-penses for food, unguents, etc. herself i.e. from the estate of her husband.[11]
Limitations
The Niyoga has been declared by Manu, and again prohibited by the same ; on account of the successive deterioration of the four ages(Yuga) of the world, it must not be practised by mortals in the present (Kaliyuga) age according to law. Brahma Purana, cited in the Vira-Mitrodaya and Aditya Purana says "The niyoga, and the taking as sons other than the Aurasha and the Dattaka, are prohibited in the Kali age by the wise.[12] Niyoga or Levirate which Apastamba declares as unfit for practice in a degenerate later age or Manu's repudiation of widow-remarriage as unsupported by Vedic hymeneal Mantras or the text purporting to be Baudhayana's cited in the Smrti-candrika.[13] When in almost the same breath the smrti indicates an institution like niyoga (levirate), and the conditions which should govern its application,and also condemns it as an "animal practice" (paśu-dharma), Manusmriti, IX, 59-63 and IX, 64-69, the juxta-position of apparently opposed views should be treated not as an instance of inconsistency, or carelessness in composition, or of interpolation, but, as explained by Brhaspati, as an indication of applicability and inapplicability to different time-cycles or yugas.[14]
Historical examples
The Haihaya (Kalachuri) ruler Raja Raj Singh (c. 1689–1712) begot a son through niyoga on the advice of his Brahmin councilors.[15][page needed]
In popular culture
Niyoga is the central issue of Anahat, a Marathi feature film directed by Amol Palekar. It was showcased at the International Film Festival of India 2003.[citation needed]
The movie Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007) has this practice as the central plot. The title character, played by Amitabh Bachchan, is torn between his duty and the emotions for his children begotten by the practice of niyoga.[citation needed]
It is also portrayed in the 1989 film Oonch Neech Beech, where the character played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, a sanyasi, is commanded by his teacher to perform niyoga.[citation needed]