Smritis describe eight forms of marriage:
1. When, the bride’s father chooses a groom considering his learning and virtue and offers his daughter to him the marriage is said to be of the Brahma form.
2. When the host of the sacrifice offers his daughter after adorning her with ornaments etc. to the officiating priest of the sacrifice, it is known as the Daiva form.
3. Giving daughter to a groom after taking from him one or two pair (male and female) of cattle is known as the Arsha form.
4. If a daughter is formally offered to a groom with words, together pursue the course of piety’, it is known as the Prajapatya form.
5. After offering money to close relatives and to the daughter as per one’s capacity when a daughter is married voluntarily it is the Asura form.
6. When a woman and a man contact each other and get married voluntarily it is Gandharva marriage and is based on copulation resulting from passion.
7. If a girl, even as she is shouting and crying, is forcibly taken away from her father’s house by resorting to killing, splitting and destroying (anyone who comes in the way) it is Rakshasa form of marriage.
8. If a girl is kidnapped during sleep, state of intoxication, infatuation or when she is going on the road unescorted and is then taken for a wife it is the worst type of marriage known as Paishacha’.
Rama’s marriage does not belong to any of these eight forms due to absence of those respective conditions. It is the Prajapatya form as Janaka’s words to Rama are, “She is your wife. Follow the dictates of dharma along with her” clearly indicates this.
Ashvalayana- Words like ‘Follow dharma together are used in Prajapatya”
Gautama: “The mantra for uniting the couple recited in a Prajapatya marriage is, ‘Together follow dharma’.
Manu: Prajapatya rite consists of offering the bride to the groom, ‘Both of you together follow the dictates of sacred law’.
Bodhayana: “A girl should be clad in luxurious clothes, adorned with ornaments and then given to the groom” with words, ‘together practise dharma’.
Forms of marriage and Caste-system
For the brahmins, brahma, daiva, arsha, prajapatya, asura, and gandharva; for the kshatriyas, asura, gandharva, rakshasa and paishacha; and for the vaisyas and sudras asura, gandharva and paishacha, brahma, daiva, arsha, and prajapatya for brahmins, rakshasa for kshatriyas and asura for the vaisyas and sudras have the special sanction of Manu.
Bodhayana: ‘Among these eight, the first four are recommended for brahmins. There also each previous one is better than each following one’. ‘Among the last four, each following one is worse than each previous one’. Thus the Smritis, do not include Prajapatya as a legal form of wedding for the kshatriyas.
Then how does Rama’s marriage fit into the Prajapatya form?
Manu says, ‘three out of the five are i.e prajapatya, gandharva and rakhsasa, and the remaining two paishacha and asura are illegal. They should never be adopted’. Thus the rakshasa form of marriage is permissible for a brahmin following the occupation of a kshatriya while asura and paishacha are permissible as alternative forms to the vaisyas and sudras. Brahma etc. are prescribed for brahmins as per Raghavanandiya. Accordingly, when forms of marriage primarily prescribed for different castes are impracticable prajapatya, gandharva and rakshasa are permissible for all castes. Hence, a kshatriya is entitled to marry according to the prajapatya rites.
To conclude, this is certainly the prajapatya rite by which the marriage is performed. A marriage performed according to this rite is said to be highly rewarding:
Manu: ‘Prajapatya is performed by uttering the words; “Together you follow the sacred law”. A son born to a girl married according to this rite sanctifies eight previous and eight succeeding generations’.
Gautama: ‘As a result of prajapatya ten generations are sanctified’.
Holy water suggests that the offering of the girl must be done after wetting the hand with water. Apastamba agrees, ‘All religious gifts should be given after wetting the hand by pouring water’.
Devala: ‘The first four forms of marriage adhere to the dictates of dharma and the bride should be offered after pouring water on hand’.
The right of holding the hand of bride 1.73.27
When the bride and the groom are of the same caste holding of the bride’s hand by the groom is obligatory as a part of the rite. In case of others it is a shaft or a whip or the end of the garment, which is held. Manu says, ‘the rite of holding of hand is recommended for brides and grooms of the same caste. For those who belong to different castes the rule is that a kshatriya bride should hold the end of a shaft, Vaisya bride should similarly hold a whip while Sudra bride should hold the end of the garment in recognition of the groom’s upper caste. The groom of the upper caste should hold the shaft held by a kshatriya bride (at the other end). The bride should not hold the end of the shaft held by the groom of the upper caste. The same should be followed in the case of whip etc.
Forms of marriage 1.73.27-28
Smritis describe eight forms of marriage:
1. When, the bride’s father chooses a groom considering his learning and virtue and offers his daughter to him the marriage is said to be of the Brahma form.
2. When the host of the sacrifice offers his daughter after adorning her with ornaments etc. to the officiating priest of the sacrifice, it is known as the Daiva form.
3. Giving daughter to a groom after taking from him one or two pair (male and female) of cattle is known as the Arsha form.
4. If a daughter is formally offered to a groom with words, together pursue the course of piety’, it is known as the Prajapatya form.
5. After offering money to close relatives and to the daughter as per one’s capacity when a daughter is married voluntarily it is the Asura form.
6. When a woman and a man contact each other and get married voluntarily it is Gandharva marriage and is based on copulation resulting from passion.
7. If a girl, even as she is shouting and crying, is forcibly taken away from her father’s house by resorting to killing, splitting and destroying (anyone who comes in the way) it is Rakshasa form of marriage.
8. If a girl is kidnapped during sleep, state of intoxication, infatuation or when she is going on the road unescorted and is then taken for a wife it is the worst type of marriage known as Paishacha’.
Rama’s marriage does not belong to any of these eight forms due to absence of those respective conditions. It is the Prajapatya form as Janaka’s words to Rama are, “She is your wife. Follow the dictates of dharma along with her” clearly indicates this.
Ashvalayana- Words like ‘Follow dharma together are used in Prajapatya”
Gautama: “The mantra for uniting the couple recited in a Prajapatya marriage is, ‘Together follow dharma’.
Manu: Prajapatya rite consists of offering the bride to the groom, ‘Both of you together follow the dictates of sacred law’.
Bodhayana: “A girl should be clad in luxurious clothes, adorned with ornaments and then given to the groom” with words, ‘together practise dharma’.
Forms of marriage and Caste-system
For the brahmins, brahma, daiva, arsha, prajapatya, asura, and gandharva; for the kshatriyas, asura, gandharva, rakshasa and paishacha; and for the vaisyas and sudras asura, gandharva and paishacha, brahma, daiva, arsha, and prajapatya for brahmins, rakshasa for kshatriyas and asura for the vaisyas and sudras have the special sanction of Manu.
Bodhayana: ‘Among these eight, the first four are recommended for brahmins. There also each previous one is better than each following one’. ‘Among the last four, each following one is worse than each previous one’. Thus the Smritis, do not include Prajapatya as a legal form of wedding for the kshatriyas.
Then how does Rama’s marriage fit into the Prajapatya form?
Manu says, ‘three out of the five are i.e prajapatya, gandharva and rakhsasa, and the remaining two paishacha and asura are illegal. They should never be adopted’. Thus the rakshasa form of marriage is permissible for a brahmin following the occupation of a kshatriya while asura and paishacha are permissible as alternative forms to the vaisyas and sudras. Brahma etc. are prescribed for brahmins as per Raghavanandiya. Accordingly, when forms of marriage primarily prescribed for different castes are impracticable prajapatya, gandharva and rakshasa are permissible for all castes. Hence, a kshatriya is entitled to marry according to the prajapatya rites.
To conclude, this is certainly the prajapatya rite by which the marriage is performed. A marriage performed according to this rite is said to be highly rewarding:
Manu: ‘Prajapatya is performed by uttering the words; “Together you follow the sacred law”. A son born to a girl married according to this rite sanctifies eight previous and eight succeeding generations’.
Gautama: ‘As a result of prajapatya ten generations are sanctified’.
Holy water suggests that the offering of the girl must be done after wetting the hand with water. Apastamba agrees, ‘All religious gifts should be given after wetting the hand by pouring water’.
Devala: ‘The first four forms of marriage adhere to the dictates of dharma and the bride should be offered after pouring water on hand’.
The right of holding the hand of bride 1.73.27
When the bride and the groom are of the same caste holding of the bride’s hand by the groom is obligatory as a part of the rite. In case of others it is a shaft or a whip or the end of the garment, which is held. Manu says, ‘the rite of holding of hand is recommended for brides and grooms of the same caste. For those who belong to different castes the rule is that a kshatriya bride should hold the end of a shaft, Vaisya bride should similarly hold a whip while Sudra bride should hold the end of the garment in recognition of the groom’s upper caste. The groom of the upper caste should hold the shaft held by a kshatriya bride (at the other end). The bride should not hold the end of the shaft held by the groom of the upper caste. The same should be followed in the case of whip etc.