Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c7.498

c7.498

When a person marries, he becomes a Gṛhastha. The bride should have certain qualities to be an ideal wife. The girl should be only a third of the age of the male. She should not have hair either too much or too little. She should not be black or of a piṅgala hue. She should not have any of her organs extra at the time of birth. The following types of girls are to be avoided for marriage. (1) Girls bred up by low-caste people (2) girls with hair over the body(3) not born of a good family (4) sick ones (5) ill-natured ones (6) girls who use abusive language (7) with hereditary diseases (8) with śmaśru (hair on the face) (9) girls with masculine features (10) with the sound of males (11) lean ones (12) with the voice of a crow (13) with thick eyelashes (14) round eyes. Again avoid girls having hair on their legs, raised heels and those with small depressions on their cheeks when they laugh. Girls whose bodies are too bright, with white nails, red eyes and fat hands and legs are not good for marriage. Girls too tall or too short, with eyelashes touching each other, with broad and raised teeth are to be avoided. A true Gṛhastha is one who marries a girl who is separated from him by five generations on the maternal side and seven generations on the paternal side.