Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s21.190

v1.c3.s21.190

It was considered proper that the younger brothers and sisters should not anticipate their elders by marrying before them. The later Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas¹⁶ present a series of names expressive of such anticipation, censuring as sinful those who bear them. These terms are the *pari-vividāna*,¹⁷ or perhaps *agre-dadhus*,¹⁸ the man who, though a younger brother, marries before his elder brother, the latter being then called the *parivitta*;¹⁹ the *agre-didhiṣu*,²⁰ the man who weds a younger daughter while her elder sister is still unmarried; and the *Didhiṣū-pati*,²¹ who is the husband of the latter. The passages do not explicitly say that the exact order of birth must always be followed, but the mention of the terms shows that the order was often broken.