Slavery In Hindu Dharma

Female Slaves in Hinduism

📖Baudhayana Dharmasutra 1.11.21.2
Now they quote also (the following verses): ‘It is declared that a female who has been purchased for money is not a wife. She cannot (assist) at sacrifices offered to the gods or the manes. Kāśyapa has stated that she is a slave.”

• The offspring born to a slave belongs to the one who owns her, rather than the one who engages in intercourse with her 

📖Manusmriti 9.54-55
If seed, carried away by rain or wind, germinates in a soil,—that seed belongs to the owner of the soil, and the owner of the seed does not receive the produce. This same law should be understood as applying to the offspring of cows, mares, slave-girls, she-camels, she-goats and ewes; as also of birds and buffaloes.

• Slaves can be used as Prostitutes in order to earn, by their owners.

📖Narada Smriti Quotations from Narada 8.9
It is by permission (of the owner) only that a female slave, cattle, or an estate may be enjoyed (by a stranger). He who enjoys that which had not been given up to him (by the owner), must pay for the (illegitimate) enjoyment of what he had been enjoying.

• Importing female slaves.

📖Yajur Veda 7.5.10.1
They pierce the hide; verily they remove the sin of the (sacrificers). ‘Do not miss, do not pierce through’, he says; verily they now remove their sin. Slave girls dance round the Marjaliya fire with water-pots on their heads, beating the ground with their feet, and singing ‘This is honey.’ Honey indeed is the chiefest food of the gods; verily they win the chiefest food. They beat the ground with their feet; verily they endow the (sacrificers) with might

• Dancing slave girls

Female slaves in Rig Veda

📖Rig Veda 8.56.3
A hundred asses a hundred woolly sheep, a hundred slaves, beside garlands.

📖Rig Veda 6.27.8
The opulent supreme sovereign Abhyāvartin, the son of Cāyamāna, presents, Agni, to me two damsels riding in cars, and twenty cows; this donation of the descendant of Pṛthu cannot be desroyed.

📖Rig Veda 8.19.36
A gift of fifty female slaves hath Trasadasyu given me, Purukutsa’s son, Most liberal, kind, lord of the brave.

We can get Apsaras (celestial nymphs) for gifting slaves to Brahmins

📖Agni Purana 211.39
One who gives a maid servant to an excellent brahmin would reach the world of nymphs.

• According to the context, the word ‘slave’ would be more appropriate to use than the word ‘servant’ or ‘maid’, as in Sanskrit, the word used to designate both ‘slaves’ and ‘servant’ is identical i.e. ”Dasa” or ”Dasi”  (for more info check link)

📖Rig Veda 6.27.8
The opulent supreme sovereign Abhyāvartin, the son of Cāyamāna, presents, Agni, to me two damsels riding in cars, and twenty cows; this donation of the descendant of Pṛthu cannot be desroyed.

• The text describe a person named Abhyāvartin, who is making a donation to Agni, the fire deity. Abhyāvartin is offering two damsels in chariots and twenty cows. The donor claims that this gift, coming from the descendant of Pṛthu, is indestructible or cannot be destroyed. It is a religious context where offerings are made to Agni. the term “damsels” in this context refers to female slaves or attendants being presented as part of the donation by Abhyāvartin to Agni.

📖Ramayana 1.74.5
Then that king Janaka of Mithila, the one from Videha lineage, gave innumerable patrimonial riches. He has also given umpteen number of cows, millions of excellent shawls and silk dresses, and elephants, horses, chariots, foot soldiers, besides hundreds of highly decorated girls, divine in their mien, as unexcelled chambermaids and handmaidens to the brides

• Even Rama received such slaves as wedding gifts from King Janak when he married Sita. This is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayan, Baal Kaand, Sarg 74, shloka 5. The duty-conscious (maryada purushottam) Rama, of course, did not see anything inhuman or barbaric in accepting an enormous dowry which included slave girls

📖Mahabharata Virat Parva Chapter 72:2
And Krishna gave unto each of the illustrious sons of Pandu numerous female slaves, and gems and robes.

📖Mahabharata, Book 16: Mausala Parva: Section 7
The Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas, and wealthy Sudras, set out, keeping before them the 16,000 women that had formed Vasudeva’s harem, and Vajra, the grandson of the intelligent Krishna.

📖Manu Smriti 8.415
There are seven kinds of slaves—(1) captured under a banner, (2) slave on food, (3) born in the house, (4) bought, (5) presented, (6) hereditary, and (7) slave by punishment.—(415)

Manu Smriti (Chapter 8, verse 415) classifies them into seven categories:

• war captive,
  a self-volunteered slave,
  born of a female slave,
  a slave purchased,
  slave given by parents,
  inherited through will and
  penalised by the king

How does one acquire slaves

📖Manusmriti 7.96
Chariots and horses, elephants, umbrellas, wealth, grains, animals, women, all goods and baser metals belong to him who wins them.

📖Narada Smriti 5.24-26
One appointed to manage the property (of the family) and to superintend the household, must also be regarded as a labourer. He is also termed Kautumbika (the general family servant). Thus have the four classes of servants doing pure work been enumerated. All the others do dirty work and are slaves, of whom there are fifteen kinds. One born at (his master’s) house; one purchased; one received (by gift); one obtained by inheritance; one maintained during : general famine; one pledged by his rightful owner.

Sex With Female Slaves

📖Narada Smriti 12.78
Intercourse is permitted with a wanton woman, who belongs to another than the Brahman caste, or a prostitute, or a female slave, or a female not restrained by her master (nishkâsinî), if these women belong to a lower caste than oneself; but with a woman of superior caste, intercourse is prohibited

Slaves Cannot Own Property

📖Manusmriti 8.416
The wive, the son and the slave,—these three are declared to have no property; whatever they acquire is the property of him to whom they belong.

References:

1. Reference: Baudhayana Dharmasutra 1.11.21.2
2. Reference: Manusmriti 9.54-55
3. Reference: Narada Smriti Quotations from Narada 8.9
4. Reference: Yajur Veda 7.5.10.1
5. Reference: Rig Veda 8.56.3
6. Reference: Rig Veda 6.27.8
7. Reference: Rig Veda 8.19.36
8. Reference: Agni Purana 211.39
9. Reference: Rig Veda 6.27.8
10. Reference: Ramayana 1.74.5
11. Reference: Mahabharata Virat Parva Chapter 72:2
12. Reference: Mahabharata, Book 16: Mausala Parva: Section 7
13. Reference: Manu Smriti 8.415
14. Reference: Manusmriti 7.96
15. Reference: Narada Smriti 5.24-26
16. Reference: Narada Smriti 12.78
17. Reference: Manusmriti 8.416