Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.637

c7.637

Marriages between men of lower castes and women of higher castes are universally disapproved and the sons born of those unions are identified with the most hated castes as contrary to the natural order (*pratiloma*). Only the wife of equal position is regarded as the *dharmapatnī* and the mixing of castes is generally a grave sin and the King must take care to prevent it. In later texts the marriage of Aryans (*dvija*) with women of unequal position is mentioned among the usages no longer permissible in this age of sins (*kalivarjya*).