Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c4.1477

c4.1477

BAHUBHĀRYATVA. (Polygamy). Polygamy was a custom in vogue in ancient India. It was not prohibited for a man to have more than one wife. It was customary to give dowry also. It is said in the Ṛgveda, Maṇḍala 10, Anuvāka 3, Sūkta 11 that the bride should proceed to the house of the husband, after the marriage. A spell (mantra) meant for keeping down one's co-wife, is seen in the Ṛgveda, Maṇḍala 10, Anuvāka 11, Sūkta 17. It is a prayer to destroy the love of husband for a co-wife and to direct that love towards oneself. The deity of this spell is Indrāṇī the wife of Indra who was a polygamist. In those days marriage was an essential duty. Widow marriage was not forbidden.