Eternal India Encyclopedia

PERCEPTIONS

Eternal India

encyclopedia

VIVAAHA

The prince Sri Rama was hesitating to

take Sita to the forest. She was not asked

by Kaikeyi to go to the forest. She reminded

the Prince as to what his duty was, what

duty she had to perform, and convinced him

that her place was with him in the forest and

not in the kingdom without him. Thus, you

have a duty to encourage him to do the right

thing. The lady has to be ready to make

abundant sacrifices. Sita pointed out to

Rama the duty as had been done by their

forefathers. No sacrifice was too big to

ensure the mental harmony.

Swayamvar

— Choice by self

Marriage - a

Samskaara

The coming together of a man and

woman is necessary for the fulfilment of the

threefold ideals of life i.e.,

Dharma

(right-

eous rules of conduct),

Artha

(wealth and

prosperity) and

Kaama

(desire).

At the time of marriage, the bride’s fa-

ther addresses the bridegroom with the fol-

lowing words :

You shall not transgress her in the

attainment of

Dharma, Artha and Kaama.

The bridegroom accepts the condition

with these words :

I shall not transgress her in the

matters of

Dharma, Artha and Kaama.

Mutual Fidelity

(the highest rule)

Mutual fidelity must continue until

death and this is the highest law for the

husband and wife. The mutual trust be-

tween them is the very foundation for sus-

taining the matrimonial bond.

The stability of a marriage rests on

three pillars, namely, mutual trust, bilateral

respect and sympathetic understanding.

Out of these, ‘trust’ is the most important

aspect for sustaining a matrimonial home.

SAMYOGA

(MARRIAGE - SACRED UNION)

Sthripumdharma

(duties of husband and

wife)

Stripumdharma

and eighteen titles of

Vyavahara

have been laid down in

Manusmriti. Laws of this topic were meant

to regulate the marriages. Obedience to it

was necessary to have a lawful wedlock and

legitimacy of children was intimately con-

nected with the right of inheritance.

One important aspect of this branch of

law was that it did not envisage the institu-

tion of any legal proceedings between hus-

band and wife.

WOMEN

Sthridhana

(Women’s property)

Though women were treated as mem-

bers of a joint family, they did not have any

right of inheritance of the property of the

family. Nor did she have any right to inherit

the property of her husband's family. Thus a

special provision to safeguard the interests

of women was made in the form of

sthridhana

(women’s property). This was a

progressive step to ameliorate her condition

in society.

Any wealth given to a woman by her

father, mother, brother or was received by

her as presents at the time of marriage, or

given by the husband at the time of taking

another wife, so also presents given by

relatives as gifts subsequent to marriage

constituted

sthridhana.

Katyayana, (an-

cient legislator) mentions twenty-seven

items which constituted

sthridhana.

Some of them are -

Adhyagni

- What is given to a woman

before nuptial fire during marriage.

Adhyavaharika-

That which is given to

a woman when she is taken in proces-

sion, from her father’s house.

Pritidatta

- That which is given out of

love by father-in-law or mother-in-law

or by any other elderly person, while

doing obeisance or (bowing down) at

their feet.

Sulka

- Whatever is given as the bride's

fee (in families where there is such a

custom).

Saudayikam

- That which is received by

a married woman or by a maiden, in the

house of her husband or of her father,

from her brother or from her parents, is

termed ‘a kind gift’.

Anavadhyaya

- Whatever is received

from the members of her parent's family

or from the members of her husband’s

family subsequent to the marriage.

Sthrisangrahana

Sthrisangrahana

in-

cluded the offence of:

Winking at a woman, smiling at her or

sending messages, constituted adulter-

ous acts of the first degree.

Sending clothes, fruits, garlands or per-

fumes or spirituous liquor is considered

as adulterous acts of the second degree.

Sitting on the same bed, kissing or em-

bracing is an adulterous act of the high-

est degree (

Manu

)

Punishment for

Sthrisangrahana

Men who commit adultery with the

wives of others, the king shall impose such

heavy punishments which would cause ter-

ror, and he must also banish them.

Viramitrodaya

On taking the seventh step a woman

ceases to belong to her

Gothra

(family) of

birth and acquires the

Gothra

of her hus-

band.

Saptapadi

The most important rite by which an

orthodox Hindu marriage becomes final and

unalterable is the

Saptapadi

rite (rite of

seven steps). In this rite, the bridegroom

and the bride take seven steps commencing

from the western point, from her right foot,

on seven small heaps of rice placed to the

north of the sacred fire.

It is after the seventh step that the bride

gets transformed into wife and the bride-

groom into husband.