History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c26.409

v2.c26.409

In this description of the saṁskāra of marriage there are three parts. There are certain rites that are preliminary, there are then a few rites that are of the essence of the saṁskāra viz. pāṇigrahaṇa, homa, going round the fire and the saptapadī, and there are certain rites like the seeing of the Pole star &c. that are subsequent to the central rites. The essential rites are mentioned by all sūtrakāras, but as to the preceding and subsequent rites there is a great divergence in the details. Even as regards the essential rites the sequence in which they take place differs. For example, the Āśv. gṛ. (I. 7. 7) describes going round the fire before saptapadī, while the Āp. gṛ. describes saptapadī (IV. 16) before the act of going round the fire ( V. 1). The Gobhila gṛhya (II. 2. 16), the Khādira gṛ. (I. 3. 31), and Baud. gṛ. (I. 4. 10) describe pāṇigrahaṇa after *saptapadī* while many other sūtrakāras describe it before saptapadī. Then again there are many acts reference to which is altogether omitted in the Āśv. gṛ., e. g. there is no reference to madhuparka (which is mentioned in Āp. gṛ. III. 8, Baud. gṛ. I. 2. 1, Mānava gṛ. I. 9) nor to *kanyādāna* ( which is referred to in Pār. gṛ. I. 4 and described in detail in Mānava gṛ. I. 8. 6-9). Āśv. probably omitted express mention of kanyādāna, because in defining the first four forms he uses the word 'dadyāt' while in the last four there is no *kanyādāna* and Āśv. wanted to describe ceremonies that were common to all forms.