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Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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At the turn of the century, extremely influential people, among Hindus
themselves, demanded the abolition of child marriage and advocated
that girls ought to be married only after they attain puberty. They held
meetings and passed resolutions against child marriages. Not that they
were wanting in faith in the Vedas, most of them; indeed they claimed
that their view had support in the scriptures themselves. Among them
were distinguished men like M. Rangacaryar, Sivaswami Ayyar,
Sundaramayyar and Krsnasvami Ayyar. Then there was the Rt Hon'ble
Srinivasa Sastri who was particularly vehement in his criticism of the
system of child marriage.
Vaisnavas and Smartas learned in the sastras held meeting at Kancipuram
and Tiruvaiyuaru respectively and put forward the view that, according
to
the Vedas, girls in the past were married after they had attained
puberty.
They found an explanation for the origin of the custom of child
marriages.
Their view was this : After the advent of Islam in India, Hindu girls
were
abducted and dishonoured in large numbers. Girls already married were
spared, they claimed. That is how the now custom of child marriage came
into practise. The reformers now argued that we must go back to what
they thought was the original Vedic practice and put an end to the
uncivilized custom of pre-puberty marriages.
They cited their own evidence from the sastras in support of their view.
One piece of evidence they presented was drawn from the Vedas
themselves, that is the mantras chanted during the marriage rite. The
other was from the Manusmriti which is respected by all as the foremost
among the dharmasastras.
What do the marriage mantras say? Before answering the question I must
tell you another matter. Each part of our body has a deity associated
with
it. ("adhidevata" or tutelary deity). The sun god with the eye, Indra
with
the hand and so on - thus there are divine forces inwardly associated
with
us. Apart from this, during different stages of our life various deities
hold
sway over us. Thus, a girl is under the sway of Soma (the moon god) from
birth until the time she is old enough to wear clothes herself. (The
dhoti
or vesti that men wear is called "soman".) Then, until the girl has her
menarche, she is under a gandharva. Thereafter, for three years, she is
under Agni. When she is under the moon god as a little child she is cool
like moonlight. Gandharvas are playful and beautiful, so when a girl is
under the gandharva she is particularly attractive. Under Agni she has
the
fire that kindles kama. This is a worldly interpretation of how certain
deities have hold over a girl. But let that be.
What is the meaning of the Vedic mantras quoted by the reformers in
support of their view? The mantras are chanted by the groom addressing
the bride: "At first Soma had hold on you; then the gandharva became
your guardian; thirdly Agni became your master. I, as a human being,
have come as the fourth to hold sway over you. Soma passed you on to
the gandharva and the gandharva to Agni. Agni has now given you over to
me."
Are we not to construe from the Vedic mantras, which are chanted at the
marriage ceremony, that at the time of the wedding the girl has already
had her menarche, three years after being under the guardianship of
Agni? The reformers maintain that their argument against child marriage
is not contrary to the sastras. The marriage custom, according to them,
changed after the Muslim invasion and they want the original practice
restored. No sanatani, they argue, can cite any authority better than
the
Vedas.
The reformers also quote a stanza form the Manusmriti in support of
their argument:
Trini varsanyudikseta kumari rtumati sati
Urdhavam tu kaladetasmadvindeta sadrsam patim
The sloka means: "A girl who has come of age must wait for three years
for a groom to come seeking her hand. If no such groom turns up, she
may herself go looking for a groom." Here too it is post-puberty
marriage
that is indicated. Not only that. Manu's code of conduct, it is argued,
is
"modern" in that it permits a girl to look for a husband herself without
any need for her elders to do so. After Manu, the reformers contend, the
orthodox Vedic scholars changed everything and made the marriage
custom barbarous.
"In the light of these Vedic mantras and the dharmasastra quoted, are
not the reformers right? What is your answer, Svamiji?" I will give my
answer. |
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