History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c26.375

v2.c26.375

The gāndharva form was very much in vogue among royal families. In the Śākuntala,¹²¹⁶ Kālidāsa gives expression to this practice. In the Mahābhārata¹²¹⁷ Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna who was in love with Subhadrā that carrying away by force one's lady-love is commended in the case of valiant kṣatriyas. In the Sanjan plates of Amoghavarṣa (dated śake 793) it is stated that Indrarāja married the daughter of the Cālukya king at Kaira by the rākṣasa form of marriage (E. I. vol. 18, p. 235 at p. 243). Another and a very famous historic example of the rākṣasa form is the forcible abduction after a most dashing and valiant fight by Pṛthvīrāja Cohan of the daughter of Jayacandra, the king of Kanoj.¹²¹⁸ It is said that the daughter of Jayacandra was a consenting party; in that case this would be a mixture of the two forms of gāndharva and rākṣasa (compare Manu III. 26).