Page:Vikram and the vampire; or, Tales of Hindu devilry (IA vikramvampireort00burtrich).pdf/308

 fully away in a little bag hung round his neck. At this sight Chandraprabha felt abashed, and hung down her head in beautiful confusion. To describe —

'I will have no descriptions, Vampire!' cried the great Vikram, jerking the bag up and down as if he were sweating gold in it. 'The fewer of thy descriptions the better for us all.'

Briefly (resumed the demon), Manaswi reflected upon the eight forms of marriage — viz., Bramhalagan, when a girl is given to a Brahman, or man of superior caste, without reward; Daiva, when she is presented as a gift or fee to the officiating priest at the close of a sacrifice; Arsha, when two cows are received by the girl's father in exchange for the bride; Prajapatya, when the girl is given at the request of a Brahman, and the father says to his daughter and her to betrothed, 'Go, fulfil the duties of religion'; Asura, when money is received by the father in exchange for the bride; Rakshasha, when she is captured in war, or when her bridegroom overcomes his rival; Paisacha, when the girl is taken away from her father's house by craft; and eighthly, Gandharva-lagan, or the marriage that takes place by mutual consent.

Respectable Hindus say that receiving a fee for a daughter is like selling flesh.

A modern custom amongst the low caste is for the bride and bridegroom, in the presence of friends, to place a flower garland on each other's necks, and thus declare themselves man and wife. The old classical Gandharva-lagan has been before explained.