Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/288

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CHAPTER XXII

SOCIAL LIFE IN THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY

IT is in the Sutras that we first find mention of the different forms of marriage with which we are familiar from the later metrical codes of law. Vasishtha mentions six forms:—

Brahma marriage; the father pours out a libation of water and gives his daughter to a suitor, a student.

Daiva marriage; the father decks his daughter with ornaments and gives her to an officiating priest, while a sacrifice is performed.

Arsha marriage; the father gives his daughter in exchange for a cow or a bull.

Gandharva marriage; the lover takes and weds a loving maiden.

Kshatra (or Bakshasa) marriage; the bridegroom forcibly takes a maiden, destroying her relatives by force of arms.

Manusha (or Asura) marriage; the suitor purchases a damsel from her father.

The lawgiver Apastamba recognizes only these six forms of marriage ; but the older writers, Gautama and Baudhayana, sanction eight forms of marriage, adding

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