Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.532

c7.532

The Gāndharava Vivāha too—the love-marriage without the consent of the parents—seems in the first place to have been a privilege of the nobles and therefore can be connected with the Rākṣasa Vivāha (M. 3, 26; Mah. 1, 73, 13), i.e., the bride, on understanding with her lover, is forcibly carried away from the house of her parents. The best known and often (e.g., Kāmas. 227) quoted example of a pure Gāndharva marriage out of the epic is the story of Śakuntalā and Duṣyanta and a secret marriage of this sort without nuptial ceremonies (nirmantra) has even been called the most appropriate form of marriage for the Kṣatriyas in Mah. 1, 73, 27. Historical instances of love affairs of Indian princes are found, for example, in the Rājatarangiṇī.