Vivaha ( System) By Dr. Subhash Chandra Vivāha is a word for marriage in the Indian subcontinent. The word originates as a sacred union of people as per Vedic traditions, i.e. what many call marriage, but based on cosmic laws and advanced ancient practices. Under Vedic Hindu traditions, marriage is viewed as one of the saṁskāras, which are lifelong commitments of one wife and one husband. In , marriage has been looked upon as having been designed by the cosmos and considered as a "sacred oneness witnessed by fire itself." Hindu families are patrilocal. According to the Veda, and hence people who are now called , marriage is a union between a masculine and feminine entity with commitments to pursue , (possessions), (physical and other desires) and (the liberation) in unison. Scripturally, it is viewed as a celebration of sensual pleasure, progress, prosperity and joy as it is also a pyramid of elevation to the next level of one's Karmic experience. Society recognizes this and puts in place quality controls since it influences the social and cultural growth of society. According to , or Manu's text, there are eight different types of . Not all eight approved by The Scripture. The last four were not advocated and the last one was condemned. These are: Marriage, Daiva Marriage, Arsha Marriage, Prajapatya Marriage, , Marriage, Marriage, Paishacha Marriage. Vivaha is the rite of passage and rituals associated with marriage. While there are many rituals in , vivaha () is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. The wedding rites and ceremonies begin with the of a couple, and extend to rites of passage after the completion of wedding. They are typically very colorful, and celebrations may extend for several days. The detailed rituals and process in a vary. Nevertheless, there are a few key rituals common in Hindu - Kanyadaan, Panigrahana, and , which are respectively, giving away of daughter by the father, voluntarily holding hand near the fire to signify union, and taking seven steps with each step includes a vow/promise to each other before fire. The Vivaha sanskara is essentially a Vedic ritual, with recitation of Vedic hymns. The primary witness of a Hindu marriage is the Vedic fire-deity (or the Sacred Fire) , in the presence of family and friends. Post-wedding rites of passage include Grihapravesa – the welcoming of the to her new home by groom's mother, father, brother(s), or sister(s), and other relatives. Chaturthikarma – literally, "the rite performed on the fourth day after wedding", is the rite where the first domestic fire is lit marking the food-related householder life of the new couple.

Classification of Marriages There are Eight different types of Vivaah have been documented in the ancient Indian scripture Manu Smrti III.20-34 and other texts. In all these types of marriage, an eligible groom

1 is one who has completed his Brahmacharya Ashram (student hood) and an eligible bride is a never-married virgin who has recently attained puberty. The eight types of marriage are: 1. Brahma Vivaah: Brahma vivah is considered the best marriage. In this the boy and girl belonging to good families and the same get married. The boy should have completed his Brahmacharya Ashram (age of learning). There is no extensive inventory of possessions involved and the girl enters the boy's house with two sets of clothes and some ornaments as seen fit by her family. In this marriage, the boy's family approaches the girl's family. “Kanyadaan”, which is the handing of the bride by her father to the groom, is an important ritual of the Brahma Vivah. 2. Prajapatya Vivaah: This type of marriage is the same as the Brahma vivaah in all respects, except that the bride's father gives her away as a gift, not to the groom, but to the groom's father. This type of marriage is resorted to when the groom and bride are both very young. Thus, the protection of the bride or daughter is handed over by her father to the groom's father during the Panigrahan (hand-receiving) ceremony. The wedding ceremony involving the young bride and groom may take place immediately afterwards, but the wedding may not be consummated for several years, until the bride and groom are old enough. 3. Daiva Vivaah: In this type of wedding, there are no feasts or celebrations that are specific to the wedding, but the wedding of the daughter of a poor family is held as an act of charity by wealthy people. It was customary for kings, landlords and rich merchants to facilitate rituals for social upliftment where charity would be given to all. During these great events, a poor man would sometimes approach the wealthy host and seek the charity that his daughter's wedding be performed at this time. This type of marriage may take place if the girl's parents are unable to locate a suitable groom within a reasonable period (several years) after the girl has attained puberty. Often, the reason for this would be that the parents of the bride cannot afford the expense of their daughter's marriage. It was considered improper or unsafe to keep a girl unwed past her teens, and anyway the chances of an aging girl getting a good husband were not better than the same girl getting a good husband at a younger age. So the girl would be bedecked with flowers and whatever small ornaments the parents could provide and taken to the venue of the religious ceremony or sacrifice being performed by a rich magnate. She would be offered in marriage to any willing man and generally this would be one of the priests, young or old. The wedding ceremony would be performed in short order and the feasts which were anyway being hosted as part of the festivities would suffice for this extra wedding also. According to the Dharmashastra, Daiva marriage is considered avoidable but is still respectable since poverty is not culpable; lack of virtue is reprehensible but honest poverty is acceptable. 4. Arsha Vivaah: In this type of marriage, the family of the groom pays kanya-shulkam or bride-price to the parents of the bride. According to certain texts, the prescribed bride-price is a cow with a calf and a pair of bulls. The sacred texts provide various lists of specific communities where this custom prevailed and imply that it is unfitting in general society. However, several instances are found in the of marriage between a man from mainstream communities and a woman from one of the bride-price seeking communities (-Madri; -, etc.). In nearly all cases, the man willingly pays the bride-price and brings his bride home.

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5. Asura Vivaah: In the Asura type of marriage the groom is not at all suitable for the bride. In no way is he a match for the girl but he willingly gives as much wealth as he can afford to the bride's parents and relatives. In Arsha type cows are given in exchange for the bride but there is no such limitation in the Asura type of marriage. Generally the groom is of lower social rank or than the bride. 6. Gandharva Vivaah: When a man and a woman marry for love and without the consent of their families, that marriage is called Gandharva Vivaah or '.' 7. Rakshasa Vivaah: This is essentially marriage by abduction. In cases where the girl is willing to marry the boy but her family is against the alliance, the girl may be abducted and married. It is essential that the girl be willing, because otherwise, the puranas and in The Scripture treat the incident of abduction as rape with consequent cosmic vengeance and retribution. Instances of such marriages include - and -, in all of which cases the girl was willing and the results were good. 8. Paishacha Vivaah: In the case where the bride is intoxicated, possessed or not in a conscious state of mind when being married and thus is married unwillingly, is an example Paishacha vivaah, and which has been outlawed by Manu.

Anuloma and Pratiloma Vivaha: Anuloma and Pratiloma Vivah- Marriage between a from an upper varna and bride from a lower varna is known as Anuloma vivah and the reverse of Anuloma vivah is known as Pratiloma vivah.

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