3 In this form of marriage all the lawgivers
mention that the girl should be decked with ornaments.
The ornaments are to be given according to the best of
h
the ability of the father of the girl. This is one of
the orthodox and approved forms of marriage* In this
form of marriage,as with the three other orthodox forms,
the father has the obligation to give a dowry to the
1. Vas7.Dh. 1*30; Asv.Gr. 1.6.1
2.Baudh.Dh. I.II.2
3 .Ap.Dh.
I. II. 5.
5Asv.Gr.1.6.15 Gaut.Dh.IV.6
;Kam.Ill
.S'IS ^
daughter*
In this form of marriage,the girl has no part in the choice of her husband,which depends entirely on the father or the guardian of the girl.
Daiva
In the Daiva form of marriage the girl is gilsyen to the officiating priest,who performs sacrifice for her father *According to this form the girl is given as part of the sacrificial fee.
1
Govinda1s • commentary on Baudhayana says that the recipient has to accept the gift.Govinda adds that in this case
the regular marriage ceremony must be performed later. According to Jolly" the sacrificial priest i s , as is often the case, inferior in position to the virtuous and learned brahmana*
In the Daiva vivaha also the girl has no choice of her husband,which depends on the will of the father or
guardian.The participation of the priest is probably not necessary because the priest is himself the bridegroom
DW,
^ Baudh.J.11* 120*5
in this form of marriage*
The tPra j a p a t ya
The Prajapatya form of marriage implies the gift of the girl to the bridegroom with the injunction that they should never cease to perform Dharma together*
According to the Mitaksara of Haradatta ono 0 Gautama9though in the Brahma form they are also supposed to perform Dharma together15the injunction that they should
1 perform dharma together1 is the peculiarity of this form* 1
The commentator adds that in this form the bridegroom cannot enter into another Asrama and should not take another wife*This is the difference between the Brahma and Prajapatya forms of marriage*According to Gooraodof
p
Banerjee~ in this form of marriage the bridegroom asked for the bride1s hand ?and that factor distinguishes it from the Brahma form and makes it inferior to the latter9
in which the bridegroom is invited by the father to accept the bride* Altekar thinks that as Brahma and
Prajapatya are virtually synonymous words possibly Brahma marriage was originally identical with the Prajapatya.Hl
t ) k •
1»Harada11a on Gaut *A. IV • 7 •
2*GooruJclas Baner jee <,The Hindu Law of Marriage and Stridhana 3 , A
156
bases his argument on the fact that two of the early
/ — „ „
writers?Vasistha and Apastamba?do not mention Prajapatya marriage at a l l ?bmt refer only to three approved formsf
Brahma? Daiva and lrsa» Prajapatya was added later5probably to make the number of the forms of marriage eight®
The more probable explanation seems to be the suggestion made by Dr.N.C.Sengupta.We find that
/- „
Vasistha and Apastamba mention Gandharva in the place of ©rajapatya marriage®So it may be possible that Prajapatya is only a rationalised form of Gandharva form of marriage® The essential elements of both the Gandharva and the
Prajapatya is more or less the same3only in the Prajapatya form the parents1 consent is necessary.Dr.Sengupta^
thinks that the Prajapatya form is the outcome of the reaction of the sacred law®The sacred law did not approve of the Gandharva or love marriage but had to accept it as it was popular in the society.So the law givers added the injunction that they should never cease to perform Dharma together®So in some of Dharmasutras we find the mention of Prajapatya but not of the Gandharva.
1^7
form of marriage.
Arsa
At the Arsa form of marriage the bridegroom presents the bride’s father ,or any other person who has authority
1
over the girl,with a bull and a cow.Manu tries to prove that the receipt of a pair of cattle does not constitute 'the said of the bride.The commentators say that the price that was given was returned,probably in the form of dowry, and therfore cannot be considered as a price but only as a means of honouring the girl.
In this kind of marriage, like the others, the girl does not have any choice in the selection of the bridegroom ,which entirely depends on the father or the guardian of the girl.The difference between this and the other forms of marriage lies in the fact that the choice is rtiade .first'.by tlle; suitor.,who igives ,:the gift" of- a cow/, and a bull,after which, the parents consent is needed.
These are the four orthodox forms of marriage and universally approved by the lawgiver.The essential element of these four forms of marriage is the gift of the girl with the libation of water.It would seem that the lawgivers Intended that the full marriage ritual should be performed in these forms.Though this is not
explicitly stated the sutra. writers evidently looked, on the ceremony as essential for higher class people at least3 and it can hardly be believed that they intended that any of these approved forms of marriage should be performed without a religious ceremony.The other four forms are independent of any gift*In these folms the\ wife is acquired by the same method as that by which other
property is acquired * These four are called Raksasa,Asura Gandharva and Paisaca*
T^saso.
Raksasa is the form of marriage in which the girl is forcibly carried away against her will from h e r 'father1s house*The essential element of this form is the forcible abduction* Vasistha-*- is of opinion thatjthe guardians had to be destroyed by force of arms .The Kamasutra^- says that they are to be attacked or wounded5while according to
Manu^ they are slain or wounded and. their house broken open*This form of marriage was not approved by the Dharma- sutra. writers 5though they had to make some provision for
i.v&afb ,3>+.
2„Kam