________________
Celibacy and Chastity
It is very difficult to say when the institution of marriage came into evolution, though it may be held that there might have been a period in which it evolved as a reform, a possibility which has been accepted by some Indian scriptures. (However one can take it rather as a mythological account than as a historical fact.)
Marriage was a flourishing institution in the Ṛgvedic society; in the Ṛgveda no such account is available where it is considered an evolvement by any human agency. The institution, it seems, had its roots long before the Vedic age. But in the Mañáóñarata, of course, reference is made to a period in which men approached women whenever they felt the urge to mate, which should be supposed to be an age much earlier than the age of the Ṛgveda. According to the Mahabharata, it was Svetaketu who introduced the institution of marriage by observing the ill consequences of a free society. In the prevalent custom, with all its restrictions and limitations, marriage may be supposed to be an evolution at a certain time; however, in so far as marriage means constancy in mates, it is difficult to trace out its origin as suggested by the Mahabharata.
151
Now, in the Ṛgvedic times, as has been told, the institution of marriage was fully flourishing, and it was given a religious sanctity as well. Though the 'aśrama' system as such was not fully prevalent, the ideality of gṛhastha was accepted, and leading the life of a householder was regarded as the supreme ideal of life and was supposed to be a religious sacrament, which every 'Aryan' had to undergo. Certain important aspects of the Rgvedic society can be summarized as follows: (1) Marriage is the most prominent feature of Ṛgvedic India because the number of enemies was much more than the Aryans themselves. So their material prayer was :
'the husband should be the eleventh male member of the family, the rest ten being his sons',1 but that could have been
1. दशास्यां पुत्राना धेहि पतिमेकादशं कृधि । – Rgveda, 10.85.45.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
