The dharmasastras, including the Manusmrti, mention eight forms of
marriage
Brahmo-daivastathaivarsah
prajapatya-statha 'surah
Gandharvo raksasascaiva
Paisavastamah smrtah
-Manusmrti, 3. 21
The eight types are: brahma, daiva, arsa, prajapatya, asura, gandharva,
raksasa and paisaca.
After the student bachelor has completed his gurukulavasa, his parents
approach the parents of a girl belonging to a good family and ask them
to
give away their daughter in marriage to their son--to make a gift of
their
daughter (kanyadana) to him. A marriage arranged like this is brahma. In
it this girl's family does not give any dowry or jewellery to the boy's
family. There is no "commercial transaction" and the goal of a brahma
marriage is the dharmic advancement of two families. Of the eight forms
of marriage the dharmasastras regard this as the highest.
Marrying a girl to a rtvik (priest) during a sacrifice is called "daiva".
The
parents, in this type, after waiting in vain for a young man to turn up
and
ask for their daughter's hand, go looking for a groom for her in a place
where a sacrifice is being conducted. This type of marriage is
considered
inferior to brahma. In the sastras womanhood is elevated in that it is
the
groom's family that has to seeking bride for their son.
The third form, "arsa" suggests that it is concerned with the rsis,
sages. It
seems the marriage of Sukanya to Cyavana Maharsi was of this type. But
from the dharmasastras we learn that in arsa the bride is given in
exchange for two cows received from the groom. If the term is taken to
mean "giving away a girl in marriage to a rsi", we must take it that the
girl
is married off to an old sage because the parents could not celebrate
her
marriage according to the brahma rite at the right time. The fact that
cows are taken in exchange for the bride shows that the groom does not
possess any remarkable qualities. According to the sastras, in marriages
of noble kind there is no place for money or anything smacking of a
business transaction.
In prajapatya there is no trading and kanyadana is a part of it as in
the
brahma ceremony. But from the name prajapatya it must be inferred that
the bride's menarche is imminent and that a child must be begotten soon
after the marriage. For this reason the bride's father goes in search of
a
groom, unlike in the brahma type. The brahma type is a better type of
marriage than prajapatya since, in it, the groom's people go seeking a
bride who is to be the Grahalaksmi of their household.
In the asura type the groom is in no way a match for the girl, but her
father or her relatives receive a good deal of money from the man who
forces them to marry her to him. In arsa in which cows are given in
exchange for the bride there is no compulsion. Nor is the groom wealthy
or powerful like his counterpart in the asura type. Many rich men must
have taken a second wife according to the asura type of marriage.
The next is gandharva. The very mention of it calls to mind Sakuntala
and
Dusyanta. The gandharva type is the "love marriage" that has such
enthusiastic support these days.
In the raksasa form the groom battles with the girl's family, overcomes
them and carries her away. It was in this manner that krsna Paramatman
married Rukmini.
The eighth and last is paisaca. In asura even though the girl's
willingness
to marry the man is of no consequence, at least her people are given
money. In raksasa, though violence is done to the girl's family, the
marriage itself is not against her wish. Rukmini loved Krsna, did she
not?
In paisaca the girl's wish does not count, nor is any money or material
given to her parents. She is seized against her wish and her family
antagonised.
We have the brahma type at one end and the paisaca at the other. There
cannot be the same system or the same arrangement for everybody. Our
sastras have taken into account the differences in temperament and
attitude among various sections of people and it is in keeping with the
same that they have assigned them different rites, vocations, etc. All
our
present trouble arises from the failure on the part of men, who advocate
the same system for all, to recognise this fact.
There are tribals living in the forests who look fierce and have a harsh
way of life. But at heart they may be more cultured than townspeople,
not to speak of the fact that they are useful to society in many ways.
They
have frequent family feuds. In consideration of this raksasa and paisava
marriages may have to be permitted in their case. After the marriage,
they are likely to forget their quarrels and live in peace with each
other.
Ksatriyas who are physically strong and are used to material pleasure
are
allowed the gandharva form of marriage and their girls have even the
right to choose their husbands as in the svayamvara ceremony.
It is for these reasons that the dharmasastras, which are based on the
Vedas and which constitute Hindu law, permit eight forms of marriage. In
all these eight, the bride and groom have the right to be united in
wedlock with the chanting of mantras. But brahma is the highest of the
eight forms. In it the bride must not have attained puberty. "Pradanam
prak rtoh": -- this statement is in the dharmasastras themselves. A
girl's
marriage, which has same significance for her that the upanayana has for
a boy, must be performed when she is seven years old (or eight years
from conception)
Unfortunately, in the case of some girls, a groom does not turn up in
time
for a brahma marriage to be performed. Meanwhile, they grow old and
their marriage is conducted in the arsa, daiva, or prajapatya way. Only
these types are permitted for Brahmins. But for the rest other types are
also allowed. They may marry a girl who has come of age either in the
gandharva way or in a svayamvara.
The marriage mantras are intended for all the eight forms. It means that
they are employed even in the marriage rite of girls who have attained
puberty. The two mantras quoted above are recited in all the eight types
of marriage. They are addressed by the groom to the bride who comes to
him after she has attained puberty and after she has been under the
guardianship successively of Soma, gandharva and Agni. The mantras are
chanted not only in brahma marriages but also in all other forms. The
same are addressed by the groom to his child bride also. Though his
marriage is being solemnised to the child bride now, he will start
living
with her only after she comes of age, after she becomes a young woman.
He will bring her home to live with him only after she has come
successively under Soma, gandharva and Agni. So he chants the mantras
in advance.
Nowadays we sometimes perform a number of samskaras together long
after they are due according to the sastras. For example, we perform the
jatakarma if a son as well as his namakarana and caula during his
upanayana when he is 20 or 22 years old and not long before his
marriage. Similarly, instead of such postponement of the rites, in the
brahma marriage the mantras mentioned above are chanted in advance.
I will give you an example in this context. When the brahmacarin
performs the samidadhana he prays before Agni to grant him good
children. How absurd would it be for our reformers to argue, on the
basis
of this prayer, that a young boy must have children when he is yet a
celibate-student and that he may become a householder only later. The
point to note is that the boy prays on advance for good children. The
Vedic mantras cited by reformers must be seen in the same light.
The mantras [quoted by reformers] are appropriate for the marriage of a
girl who has come of age also.
This is our reply to the school of opinion represented by the Rt Hon'ble
Srinivasa Sastri. If the mantras in question are chanted at the time of
the
marriage of girls who have come of age, it does not mean that all
marriages are to be celebrated after the girls have attained puberty.
According to the brahma form of marriage, the girl must not have had her
menarche. There is incontrovertible proof for this in the Vedic mantra
chanted at the end of the marriage rite. .
I told that a girl is under the sway of a gandharva between the time she
is
able to wear her clothes without anybody's help and her menarche. His
name is Visvavasu. The mantra I referred to is chanted by the groom
addressing this demigod. "O Visvasu,” it says,”I bow to you. Leave this
girl
and go. Go to another girl child. Have I not become the husband of this
girl? So give her over to me and go to another girl who is not married
and
lives with her father. “During the wedding the groom performs a puja to
this gandharva and prays to him to free the girl from his control. Here
is
proof that the bride is not under Agni and has not had her menarche
The question now is about the verse (from the Manusmrti) cited by the
reformists. According to it, a girl may wait three years after her
menarche
and then seek her husband on her own.
There is an answer to this. The general rule according to the
dharmasastras is that a girl must be married before she attains puberty:
"Pradanam prak rtoh.” What happens if this injunction is not followed?
If
groom does not come on his own, seeking the girl's hand, her father or
brother must look for a groom and marry her off. But if they turn out to
be irresponsible or otherwise fail to find a groom? Or if the girl has
no
guardian, no one to care for her? The lines quoted by the reformers from
the Manusmrti apply to such a girl. She may look for a husband on her if
none of her relatives, neighbours or well-wishers take the trouble of
finding her a groom even after she has attained puberty.
Though the reformists quote from the Vedas and sastras in support of
their view, they fail to take into account the context in which the
relevant
passages occur. They see them in isolation. That is why they keep
arguing
that the customs followed by people steeped in our traditions are
contrary to the sastras.
In the Chandogya Upanisad there is mention of a sage called Cakrayana
Usasti whose wife had not come of age. The reformists do not examine
such references in our ancient texts with a cool head but are carried
away
by their emotions.
In the past the common people did not know how to counter the
arguments of the reformists. Even so they did not accept their views
thinking it best to follow the practices of their elders, of great men.
That
is why the bill brought twice by the Rt Hon'ble Srinivasa sastri before
the
legislative council to amend the marriage act (with reference to the age
of marriage) did not receive enough support. Later (Harbilas) Sarda
introduced the bill which [on its passage] came to be called the Sarda
Act.
Many people (in the South) think Sarda was a woman and call the law
named after him the "Sarda Act". The Central legislative assembly was
equally divided on the bill -- 50 percent for and 50 per cent against.
Then
the British asked one of the nominated members to vote in favour of the
bill; and thus the minimum age of marriage for girls was raised by a
legal
enactment. The bill was passed not on the strength of public opinion but
because if the government's intervention. The mind of our British rulers
worked thus: "The Congress has been demanding svaraj but we have
refused to grant it. Let us give it some satisfaction by being of help
in
inflicting an injury on the (Hindu) religion. "
Now things have changed. There is no respect any longer for old customs
and traditions. When the Sarda Act came into force in British India,
some
Sanskrit scholars returned the "Mahamahopadhyaya" title conferred on
them by the government. Among them were Pancanana Tarkaratna
Bhattacarya of Bengal and Laksmana Sastri Dravid. The latter was settled
in Kasi and had the "Dravid" tagged on to his name to make it known that
he belonged to the land of the Tamils. How many people today are
inspired to rise in protest against the changes introduced by our
government in our sastric observances.
Our children must be taught the substance and meaning of the sastras in
a comprehensive manner. To speak to them about one aspect here and
another there will lead to a haphazard and confused view. The half-baked
research carried on in the Vedas has given rise to the opinion that the
scriptures favour love marriage. The canonical texts must be seen in
their
entirety. When a subject is examined, its underlying meaning and
purpose must be grasped. Also they must be seen in the light of other
relevant passages occurring elsewhere. A conclusion must be arrived at
only after a thorough inquiry into all points.
The brahma marriage is for all castes. Other forms of marriage are also
permitted for non-Brahmins, also postpuberty
marriage. If the idea is to
give importance to carnal pleasure these other forms may be permitted.
But brahma is the best if the purpose of the marriage samskara is the
advancement of the Self. |