Elements of Hindu Iconography v4.c35.s3.1

v4.c35.s3.1

Another class of semi-divine beings are the Gandharvas. In the *Atharvaṇa Vēda* they are said to be a class of gods, hairy, like monkeys or dogs; they assume at will handsome appearances to seduce the females of this earth. Therefore they are invoked so that they may not indulge in this sort of wrong act but live with their own wives. The Gandharvas are believed to be deities who know the secrets of the divine truths and reveal them to the world. As we have already seen they are included in the class of Pañchajanas and Śāyaṇa links them with Apsarasas: according to him they are the males of a class of divine beings whose females were the Apsarasas. In the *Atharvaṇa Vēda* the Gandharvas are said to be 6333 in number. Of the eight different systems of marriage, according to the classification of the Āryas, one is the Gandharva system. This corresponds practically to the European and other similar systems, namely, a man and a woman falling in love with each other and entering into the life of man and wife until by mutual consent they separate or till the lifetime of one of the contracting parties, in other words the alliance is not a religious sacrament but a sort of contract. Hence the repudiation by Rāvaṇa of the protests of Rambhā whom he seduced and who was not willing to consort with him. The description of the images of Gandharvas is not met with in the āgamas and is, therefore, not possible to be given authoritatively.