The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c31.s5.1

v2.c31.s5.1

The duty of the Vedic Indian to marry is assumed by all the texts, and the domestic ritual gives precise rules for the performance of the legitimate and honourable form of marriage,⁵ ignoring as a rule the irregular forms based upon capture, violence, or mere mutual love without parental approval, which are recognized by the law books in various forms, Gāndharva, Āsura, Paiçāca, and Rākṣasa, as well as the romantic form of nominal self-choice by the bride of a suitor, the Svayaṁvara which bears traces of a test of skill of suitors by the king or other parent of high rank similar to that of Kleisthenes. The youth should obtain permission from his parents or his teacher to marry: only one Sūtra⁶ prescribes the numbers of brides, three for the Brahman, two for the Kṣatriya, and one for the Vaiçya, and in one view a Çūdra for each: this refers clearly to a rule by which each caste could have a wife of its own and one of each inferior caste. The later texts prescribe that the maiden must be of the same caste and land, but not of the same Gotra as the father or a *sapiṇḍā* on the mother’s side, rules which are difficult to define with precision.⁷ Maidens with names of stars, rivers, or trees are to be avoided, as are those with names with *r* or *l* as the penultimate consonant. The physical marks are most important, but, as it is difficult to be sure of them, the maiden may be given eight or nine lumps of earth chosen from different places, and, as she choses, her disposition can be gauged.⁸ The bridegroom should be of good family and character, have good bodily signs, be healthy and learned. As considerations in marriage family ranks above intelligence, beauty, and wealth.⁹