Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/288

 SOCIAL LIFE IN THE AGE OF PHILOSOPHY

T 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 Rh