Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.640

c7.640

The position and caste should be equal but race and family must be different. As this principle of exogamy is found even in the Gṛhyasūtras there is no reason to doubt its high antiquity² although the demands in this respect have been more and more increased. Of the Gṛhyasūtras Gobh. 3, 4, 3-5, Mān. 1,7, Hir. 1,19,2, and Vaikh. 3,2 forbid marriage with a *sagotra* or *samānapravarā*—Gobh. and Vaikh. forbid moreover marriage with a *sapinḍa* of the mother.³ The expressions *sagotra* and *samānapravarā* are connected with wider clan organisations (*pravaras*) and of course may be said only of the Brahmans⁴; the *sapinḍa* is a proper blood relation.