The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c7.s2.40

c7.s2.40

of religious duties renders polygamy impossible and prohibits the husband from entering into the Vānaprastha or Sanyāsa stage without the consent and company of his wife¹. This view, however, is not correct, for the same corollaries can be drawn from the usual exhortation in the Brāhma marriage, enjoining the husband and the wife to be inseparable companions of each other in all their activities in the spheres of religion, love and wealth. Brāhma and Prājāpatya are synonymous words and it is quite possible that the Brāhma marriage was originally identical with the Prājapātya one. This conclusion is supported by the fact that two of the early writers, Vasishṭha and Āpstamba, do not mention Prājāpatya marriage at all; they refer to only three approved forms, Brāhma, Daiva and Ārsha. Prājāpatya was added later, probably to make the number of the forms of marriage eight. Smṛiti writers therefore naturally fail to bring out the difference between the two.