Types Of Hindu Marriages
Mythology says that there are eight different types of Hindu marriages. Historical records support this perception, by saying that some of these types of marriages were prevalent in ancient India, among the people following Hinduism. Although not all the eight marriages had a religious sanction, it is said that they were observed among many communities of the people, following Hinduism, in the ancient time. People argue that many of them are still seen among the Hindus. In this article, we have discussed about the eight types of Hindu weddings in India. There are eight types of marriages that are prevailing in hindus in India.
Eight Types of Hindu Weddings
1. Brahma marriage
According to the Brahma marriage, a boy is eligible to get married, once he has completed his Brahmacharya (student hood). Parents, who search for a bride for their son, would consider the family background of the girl, whom he is going to marry. On the other hand, the bride's father would ensure that the boy has acquired knowledge of the Vedas. This is how a Brahma marriage was arranged. There was no system of dowry. Among the eight types of marriage, brahma marriage holds a supreme position.
2. Daiva Marriage
In this type of marriage, the girl's family waits for a particular time, to get her married. If they do not find a suitable groom for their daughter, then they would marry her off to places, where sacrifices are conducted. In this case, the girl is generally married to a priest, who conducts sacrifices. According to the sastras, Daiva marriage is considered inferior to Brahma marriage, because it is considered degrading for the womanhood.
3. Arsha Marriage
Arsha marriage is the one, wherein the girl is married to the sages or rishis. References from dharmasastras tell us that in arsha marriage, the bride is given in exchange of two cows, received from the groom. The girl is generally married to an old sage. The cows, which were taken in exchange of the bride, shows that even the groom do not have any remarkable qualities.
According to sastras, noble marriages had no monetary or business transactions. Therefore, these kind of marriages were not considered noble.
4. Prajapatya Marriage
Monetary transactions and Kanyadaan are not parts of Prajapatya marriage, unlike the Brahma marriage, where these two forms an important and basic part. Unlike the Brahma marriage, here, the bride's father goes in search for a groom for his daughter. The Brahma type is considered better than prajapatya, because in the former, the groom's family goes out to seek a suitable bride for their son.
5. Gandharva Marriage
Gandharva marriage is similar to love marriage. In this case, the bride and the groom get married secretly, without the knowledge of their parents. It is not considered a right kind of marriage, as it is done without the consent of the parents. This marriage reminds us of the love affair of the mythological characters - Sakuntala and Dushyanta.
6. Asura Marriage
In the Asura marriage, the groom is not at all suitable for the bride. Although the groom is not suitable for the bride, he willingly gives as much wealth as he can afford, to the bride's parents and relatives. Therefore, the system of marriage is more or less like buying a product, which makes it undesirable in the present time.
7. Rakshasa Marriage
According to Rakshasa marriage, the groom fights battles with the bride's family, overcomes them, carries her away and then persuades her to marry him. This is not considered as the righteous way to woo a girl for marriage, because forcible methods are used by the groom to tie the wedding knot.
8. Paishacha Marriage
Paishacha marriage is the eighth and last type of Hindu wedding. It is considered as the inferior type of marriage, because the girl's wish is not considered, even if she is not willing to marry the person chosen for her. In fact, she is forced to marry. Moreover, the bride's family is also not given anything in cash or kind. Literally, the girl is seized against her wish. Men would marry a woman, whom he had seduced while she was asleep, intoxicated or insane. This kind of marriage was later on prohibited.
Muslim Marriage
In the Muslim community marriage is universal for it discourages celibacy. Muslims call their marriage Nikah. Marriage is regarded not as a religious sacrament but as a secular bond. The bridegroom makes a proposal to the bride just before the wedding ceremony in the presence of two witnesses and a maulavi or kazi.The proposal is called ijab and its acceptance is called qubul.
It is necessary that both the proposal and its acceptance must take place at the same meeting to make it a sahi Nikah.It is a matter of tradition among the Muslims to have marriage among equals. Though there is no legal prohibition to contract marriage with a person of low status, such marriages are looked down upon.
The run-away marriages called kifa when the girls run away with boys and marry them on their own choice are not recognized. Marrying idolaters and slaves is also not approved. There is also provision of preferential system in mate selection. The parallel cousins and cross cousins are allowed to get married.Marriage that is held contrary to the Islamic rules is called batil or invalid marriage.Meher or dower is a practice associated with Muslim marriage. It is a sum of money or other property which a wife is entitled to get from her husband in consideration of the marriage.
Muta is a special type of marriage for pleasure which is for a specified period only.Iddat is the period of seclusion for three menstrual periods for a woman after the death /divorce by her husband to ascertain whether she is pregnant or not. Only after this period she can remarry.
Muslim marriage can be dissolved in the following ways:
Divorce as per the Muslim law but without the intervention of the court: They are of two types- Kula where divorce is initiated at the instance of the wife and Mubarat where initiative may come either from the wife or from the husband.
Talaq represents one of the ways according to which a Muslim husband can give divorce to his wife as per the Muslim law by repeating the dismissal formula thrice. The talaq may be affected either orally by making some pronouncements or in writing by presenting talaqnama.
Divorce as recognized by Shariah Act 1937 provides for three forms of divorce:Illa,Zihar and Lian.There is also provision of divorce as per the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act 1939.
Tribal Marriages
There are various different types of tribal marriages in India. These are as follows :-
• Marriage by exchange.
• Marriage by capture is where a man forcibly marries a woman.
• Marriage by intrusion is where a woman forcibly marries a man.
• Marriage by probation allow a man to stay at woman place for weeks together after which if they decide to get married.
• Marriage by purchase or giving b ride price. A man is required to give an agreed amount of cash/kind to the parents of the bride as price which usually varies according to the physical beauty and utility of the bride.
• Marriage by service is where the man serves at his father-in-law's house before marriage.
• Marriage by trial.
• Marriage by mutual consent.
• Marriage by elopement.
Rules of Marriage
There are two main rules provided by the society for the marriage. No society gives absolute freedom to its members to select their partners. Endogamy and exogamy are the two main rules that condition marital choice.
1. Endogamy
It is a rule of marriage in which the life-partners are to be selected within the group. It is marriage within the group and the group may be caste, class, tribe, race, village, religious group etc.We have caste endogamy, class endogamy, sub caste endogamy, race endogamy and tribal endogamy etc.In caste endogamy marriage has to take place within the caste. Brahmin has to marry a Brahmin. In sub caste endogamy it is limited to the sub caste groups.
2. Exogamy
It is a rule of marriage in which an individual has to marry outside his own group. It prohibits marrying within the group. The so-called blood relatives shall neither have marital connections nor sexual contacts among themselves. Exogamy is futhur classified into various other forms :-
Forms of exogamy
1. Gotra Exogamy: This is the Hindu practice of one marrying outside one's own gotra.
2. Pravara Exogamy: This means that those who belong to the same pravara cannot marry among themselves.
3. Village Exogamy: Many Indian tribes like Naga,Garo,Munda etc have the practice of marrying outside their village.
4. Pinda Exogamy: Those who belong to the same panda or sapinda( common parentage) cannot marry within themselves.
5. Isogamy: It is the marriage between two equals (status)
6. Anisogamy: It is an asymmetric marriage alliance between two individuals belonging to different social statuses. It is of two forms - Hypergamy and Hypogamy.
a. Hypergamy: It is the marriage of a woman with a man of higher Varna or superior caste or family.
b. Hypogamy: It is the marriage of high caste man with a low caste woman.
7. Orthogamy: It is the marriage between selected groups.
8. Cerogamy: It is two or more men get married to two or more women.
9. Anuloma marriage: It is a marriage under which a man can marry from his own caste or from those below, but a woman can marry only in her caste or above.Pratiloma marriage: It is a marriage of a woman to a man from a lower caste which is not permitted.