History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c27.21

v2.c27.21

Another question which takes up much space in ancient works but which is now of hardly any importance is *parivedana*. When a male got married before his elder brother or where a person married a younger girl before her elder sister was married, this act was called *parivedana* and was severely condemned as a serious encroachment on the rights of seniority and as a sin. Gaut. 15. 18 and Āp. Dh. S. (II. 5. 12. 22) declare that a younger brother married before an elder brother, and an elder brother married after a younger brother are sinners, and should not be invited at a śrāddha. Āp. adds that one who marries a younger sister before her elder sister is married, one who marries an elder sister after the younger sister has been married, one whose younger brother has kindled the sacred fires or offered a soma sacrifice before him (and a younger brother who kindles the sacred fires or offers soma sacrifice before his elder brother) are also equally sinful. Vas. Dh. S. I. 18, Viṣṇu Dh. S. 37. 15-17 also have similar provisions and Vas. Dh. S. (20. 7-10) prescribes *kṛcchra* penance of twenty days for the husband of the younger sister married before her elder sister and for the husband of the elder sister married after the younger one, requires each of them to offer his wife to the other for the sake of form (to remove the slur) and then to wed her again with his assent.¹²⁶⁵ Vide Baud. Dh. S. II. 1. 40 also. The younger brother who marries before the elder brother is called *parivettā* or *parivividāna* (Manu III. 171, Āp. Dh. S. II. 5. 12. 22) or *parivindaka* (Yāj. I. 223), the elder brother before whom the younger brother marries is called *parivitta* or *parivinna* or *parivitti* (Manu III. 171), the younger sister who marries before the elder sister is called *agredidhiṣū* (Gaut. 15. 15, Vas. I. 18) or *parivedinī*, the elder sister before whom her younger sister marries is called *didhiṣū*. The husbands of these two last respectively bear the appellations agre-didhiṣūpati and didhiṣūpati. The father or other guardian who gives away the girl in any of these cases of parivedana is called paridāyī or paridātā. The younger brother who kindles the sacred fire before the elder is styled '*paryādhātṛ*' and the elder brother who is so treated is called '*paryāhita*' (Gaut. 15. 18). Manu III. 172 (which is almost the same as Baud. Dh. S. II. 1. 30 and Viṣṇu Dh. S. 54. 16) says that the parivettā, the parivitta, the girl whom the younger brother marries before the elder, the man who gives away the girl in marriage and the officiating priest—these five all fall into hell¹²⁶⁶ (and must perform the penance of Cāndrāyaṇa according to Viṣṇu). The Mit. on Yāj. III. 265 quotes Hārīta-dharmasūtra on this topic to the same effect. Medhātithi on Manu III. 171 refers to the view of some that if a son kindles the sacred fire before his father, the same rule applies as between brothers and then refutes that view. Aparārka p. 446 quotes Uśanas that a person may kindle sacred fires even before his father or grandfather with the latter's consent. The Trikāṇḍamaṇḍana (I. 76-77) says that there is no sin in taking agnihotra and performing a sacrifice before an elder brother and the incurring of sin is only restricted to marriage, while the Smṛtyarthasāra (p. 13) holds the opposite view that one should not kindle the Vedic fires before one's father even with the latter's consent. The Viṣṇu Dh. S. (37. 15-17) enumerates parivedana among upapātakas. Gaut. (18. 18-19) prescribes that if an elder brother has gone to a foreign country his younger brother must wait twelve years before he takes a wife or kindles sacred fires or six years according to some.¹²⁶⁷ There is a similar text of Vas. quoted by Aparārka p. 445.