The dharma sastras, including
the Manusmrti, mention
eight forms of marriage Brahmo-daivastathaivarsah prajapatya-statha ‘surah Guandao hiraksasascaiva Paisavastamah smrtah -Manusmrti, 3. 21 The eight types are: brahma,
daiva, arsa, prajapatya, asura, gandharva, rakshasa
and paisachika.
BRAHMA MARRIAGE
Brahma marriage refers to the marriage
when bride’s father
himself invites a man as groom, who is endowed
with learning and character and decides to give his daughter to him, this is called Brahma marriage.
Before giving away
his daughter, she is suitably
dressed (preferably with some ornaments), he worships the couple (bride
and groom).
This type of marriage
is defined in Manu Smriti
(Verse 3.27)
Ācchādya cārcayitvā ca śrutaśīlavate svayam |
Ahuja dānaṃ kanyāyā brāhmo dharmaḥ prakīrtitaḥ ||
DESCRIPTION
Confarreatio marriage practiced in the ancient
Rome also resemble
the Brahma form of marriage, Manu (Latin: ‘manʊs’) and Yajnavalkya (Sanskrit: याज्ञवल्क्य,
Yājñavalkya). This form of marriage
held that the son born of a marriage redeems form sins of ten ancestors, ten descendants and himself. In the Mahabharata, it is found
that the Kshatriyas practiced the Brahma form of marriage, although
as suggested by its name, it was mostly practiced by Brahmins.
In this form of marriage
social decency was maintained to full extent
and the religious
rites were observed to the extent possible.
It also implies an advanced stage of social progress
as the form of marriage
appears to have been intended
as a reward for learning
in the Hindu scriptures and thought to be an impelling force for the study of the Vedas.
This type of marriage has the supreme position and most prevalent type of marriage within Hindu society within the eight types according to the ancient Indian scriptures like Manu Smriti, Mahabharata and Veda, etc., and as specifically mentioned in Manu Smriti (Verse 3.21)
Brāhmo daivastathaivārṣaḥ prājāpatyastathā’suraḥ |
Gāndharvo rākṣasaścaiva paiśācaścāṣṭamo’dhamaḥ ||
Daiva marriage is the marriage, when the parents
of the girl start looking
for a suitable match for their daughter
immediately after she attains puberty.
Their priority is to get her married
off at the earliest. But in case they fail to find and fix her marriage
within a reasonable time to a suitable groom of their choice, they decide to offer the girl as Dakshina to a priest, which is called Daiva marriage. No qualities of groom like good character,
conduct, etc. are emphasized in this form of marriage.
Typically, this type of marriage
literally amounts to giving away the bride to the priest, at times due to inability
of her family to organise
her, being poor.
This type of marriage has been defined
in Manu Smriti in section
IV – Eight types of marriage
(Verse 3.28)
ARSHA MARRIAGE
Arsha means Rishi or sage in Sanskrit and hence Arsha marriage suggests
marriages with the sages or rishis. In this form of marriage
the bride is given in exchange for two cows
received from the groom. Marriages
of this type used to
happen because the parents of the bride
couldn’t afford the expense of their daughter’s marriage at the right time according to the brahma rite. So the girl Is married
off to an old sage.
However, this kind of marriage is not considered noble as there is give and take or business
like transaction is involved.
In this marriage
the father of bridegroom takes nothing and marriage is performed in holy yajna.
Prajapatya is a Sanskrit word that is best known for referring to one of the eight types of marriage outlined
in the ancient Hindu texts,
the Vedas. In this tradition, marriage is a sacred and lifelong commitment between the husband
and wife, and it is one of the samskaras.
Prajapatya marriage was a marriage between
a male and female ,who married after the groom’s
family approach the bride’s family.
Unlike the similar
brahma marriage, in prajapatya
marriage, the bride’s father gave the
bride away to the groom’s
father rather than the groom.
Prajapatya marriage was most common when the bride and groom were very young, and as such the bride’s
father handed his daughter to the groom’s
father for protection during the panigrahan or hand-receiving ceremony. This ceremony was very important
in the Vedic tradition.
Although the
wedding ceremony itself may have taken place immediately after the hand-receiving ceremony, the wedding may
have not been consummated for some years, if the bride
and groom were very young.
ASURA MARRIAGE
The Asura type of marriage Is one in which the bridegroom has to give money to the father
or kinsman of the bride. The bridegroom decides the price according to
the position of the bride’s family in society. The main consideration of
this form of marriage is money. The bride, In this form of marriage, is virtually purchased.
In the Asura marriage, the groom is not at all suitable
for the bride. He willingly
gives as much wealth as he can afford, to
the bride’s parents
and relatives. It
could be looked upon as bribe for getting the girl the boy desires
even if he is in no way is a match for the girl. Therefore, the system of marriage is more or
less like buying
a product, which makes it undesirable in the
present time. Generally
the groom is of lower social rank or caste
than the bride.
GANDHARVA MARRIAGE
Out of the eight classical kinds of Hindu marriages, a
Gandharva marriage is
purely based on love and passion. During the Rig Vedic times,
this was one
of the most popular forms of marriage
in which mutual consent and freedom of
choice were of utmost importance. According to the Gandharva form of marriage,
the boy and the girl can start
living together once they find each other
suitable without the need of anyone else’s
consent, which also included their
parents. The one
and only criterion
for carrying out this marriage
was the couple’s likeness for each other.
The
origin of Gandharva
marriage began when the couple
found mutual attraction in each other. The boy and the girl belonging
to the same village used to meet at fair, temples, festivals
and such other regular village
everyday life events.
That’s how they chose their partners and decided to spend their
lives together. One of the
most famous and celebrated weddings
in the epic era of Gandharva marriage
was that of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala. In the Mahabharata, Bheem and Hadimba
Devi were believed
to have had married under
Gandharva rituals. In
Vaishnav community of certain parts of India, the couple
gets married in a similar
fashion, but in front of Lord Krishna’s idol.
This was a marriage
by capture. Primitive
tribes regarded women
as prizes of
war, part of the plunder
in a fair fight. This form was common in many other ancient civilization. It appealed to the warrior
instinct of the Kshatriya, and was sometimes
practised by them. Hindu scriptures describe this form
of marriage as
forcible abduction of a maiden
from her home, while she cries and weeps, after her kinsmen
have been slain or wounded
and their house
broken. Women, thus,
caused many fights and battles
in ancient times.
This was the worst form of all types of marriages. In this, the bride was abducted, but not in a fair fight with her tribe.
She was molested or stolen,
when she and her relatives
were asleep, or in a state of intoxication during a tribal festival. This form universally condemned. The inclusion
of this form of marriage
in Hindu Sutras
can only be justified on the ground that it was so prevalent among the primitive tribes that the Sutras could not have avoided its inclusion. By recognition of this form, the only advantage was that the children could be regarded
as legitimate.
Written By:
D. Vasanthi, [2nd Year, BA.LLB(Hons.)] under the guidance of Dr. Nagalatha Bathina, Associate Professor, Vignan Institute of Law.
Editorial Director:
Dr. Nagalatha Bathina, Associate Professor, Vignan Institute of Law.
Editors:
Dr. Praveen Kumar, Director, Vignan Institute of Law
Mr. L. Ashish Kumar, Assistant Professor, Vignan Institute of Law
Blog Managed By:
Taj Mahamood Baig [2nd Year, BA.LLB(Hons.)]