Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.564

c7.564

On the other hand the Jaimini-gṛ. speaks of an Anagnikā (*jāyām vindetā 'nagnikām*)¹ and the same expression is used by Gobhilaputra 2,27 (*prayacchet tv anagnikām*) where the reading however is not certain; the rare term *ratām* too of the Āpastamba-gṛ. and Yādavaprakāśa’s Vaijayantī² seems to be doubtful. Anagnikā signifies a marriageable girl. In those Gṛhyasūtras in which there is, so to say, nothing about the age of marriage, e. g., in the Āśv., it may perhaps be assumed with Prof. Bhandarkar³ that by this reticense the puberty of the girl is presupposed, for cohabiting, going to live with the husband, and other features of the nuptial ceremonies may apply only to grown-up brides. But as these ceremonies are found also in those Gṛhyasūtras which declare themselves absolutely for child marriage or at least fovour it, there is therefore a self-contradiction in these works. It may be assumed that this self-contradiction is to be explained on the consideration that the Smṛtis contain later and older views side by side as in the case of the theory of Niyoga, for the latter being a part of the traditional Dharma could not be left unmentioned. Thus the authors of the Gṛhyasūtras themselves, e. g., Āp., often circumstantially reproduce ancient marriage hymns in a garbed version and that for wrong application¹ merely because they are pieces from an older and sacred age. Moreover the prattā strī of Āśv. 4, 4, 23, at whose death her blood-relations are impure for three days, mentioned also in Vi. 22, 34,² is to be considered as an early married girl remaining in her father’s house till her maturity.