History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c15.15

v2.c15.15

*Marriage*. The most important saṁskāra of all. Texts do not point to a society where there was promiscuity and no marriage. Purposes of marriage. Qualifications of a desirable bridegroom. Rules for the selection of a bride. Lakṣaṇas (indicatory characteristics), *bāhya* (visible) and *ābhyantara* (invisible or inferrible). Four or five grounds for preferring a particular girl. Selecting a girl by asking her to take one out of several lumps of clay gathered from various places. In ancient times brotherless maidens not accepted as brides. No unmarried woman was deemed in medieval times to go to heaven. Restrictions as to caste, gotra, pravara and sapiṇḍa relationship. Breach of these rules rendered a so-called marriage null and void. Age of marriage for men not fixed. Age of marriage for girls varied at different periods. In the ancient sūtras girls were married about the time of puberty. Reasons for insistence on pre-puberty marriages in Yājñavalkyasmṛti and other works not clear. Examples of inter-caste marriages in Vedic Literature, in dharma and gṛhya sūtras and smṛtis and in inscriptions. Anuloma marriages allowed till about the 9th century A. D. Sapiṇḍa relationship explained in the Mit. Rules about prohibition of marriage on the ground of sapiṇḍa relationship. Conflict of texts as to these rules. Marriage with one's maternal uncle's daughter. Conflict on this point among medieval writers and among several castes. Narrowing of sapiṇḍa relationship permitted by writers of digests only on the ground of usage. Meaning of ‘*viruddhasambandha*.’ Sapiṇḍa relationship of the adopted son. Meaning of sapiṇḍa according to Dāyabhāga and Raghunandana. Marriage between sagotras and sapravaras forbidden. Meaning of ‘gotra’ and ‘pravara’ in Vedic works. Gotra and pravara of importance in several matters. Gotra in the sūtras and digests. Divisions and sub-divisions of gotras. Each gotra has one or more pravaras. Gotras of kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. Names of kṣatriya kings among gotras and pravaras. Marriage of sagotras and sapravaras void according to the writers of digests. Persons that have power to give a girl in marriage. Sale of girls in marriage in ancient times. Taking monetary consideration for one's daughter condemned. Father's power over his children. Conflict of views among writers as to ownership over one's wife and children. Infanticide, medieval and modern. Auspicious time for marriage. Medieval works introduced difficulties on astrological grounds. Forms of marriage. Meaning of rākṣasa and paiśāca marriages. *Svayaṁvara*. Only two forms of marriage in vogue in modern times. Procedure of marriage in the Ṛgveda and in the gṛhya sūtras. List of the several elements in the marriage rite and their description. When marriage becomes complete and irrevocable. Marriage brought about by force or fraud.