The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c7.s2.8

c7.s2.8

The traces of Kshātra marriage, however, still remain in the marriage customs and procedure prevailing in some parts of the country. Thus in the marriage songs of Gujarat and U. P., which are sung at the time of the departure of the bride for her new home, the bridegroom is compared to a robber and liberally showered with abuses. It is not possible to suppose that all these abuses are intended for the invisible evil spirits which are supposed to be hovering about the couple. Some of them at least are clearly intended for the bridegroom who is carrying away the bride like a conqueror. In many tribes the formality of chase is still preserved though the marriage union is previously arranged by mutual consent¹. In such cases the drama of the mock chase or fight, that is enacted, is not in honour of force, but in honour of the institution of marriage, which has superseded it.