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SOCIAL LIFE
99
Marriage
Forms of Marriage—Marriage (vivaha, pariņaya or udvaha)? was a necessary step for the individuals to enter the familylife (gļhibhava). Of the forms of marriage prescribed by the Brāhmaṇic authorities, examples of only three are to be usually found in the Jaina Āgama Texts. These are : (i) marriages arranged by the parents, (ii) marriages by purchase and (iii) marriages by self-choice (svayamvara).8 Instances of all the three are to be found in the NC. Besides, certain unorthodox types of marriage like the sister-marriage, cousin-marriage and marriage in exchange have also been referred to.
Marriage Arranged by the Parents Marriage was usually arranged by the parents in which the daughter was given away to the bridegroom after decorating her person with beautiful clothes and ornaments. This type of marriage corresponds to the Brāhmyat or Prājāpatya form of marriage prescribed by the Brāhmaṇic authorities. Most of the examples of marriages referred to in the text belong to this category. This shows that it was the usual form of marriage practised by the Indians during these centuries.
Marriage by Purchase--Marriage by purchase was also common in which the bridegroom gave a settled amount of money as 'bride-price' to the father or guardian of the bride. This type of marriage corresponds to the Asura form of marri
1. NO. 1, p. 17; NC. 3, pp. 140, 423. 2. Manusmrti, 3. 21; Baudhāyanadharmasūtra, 1.21.1. 3. Jain, K. C., Bauddha aura Jaina Āgamon mem Näri-Jivana. Accord
ing to J.C. Jain, three types of marriage mentioned in the Jaina Sūtras are : marriages arranged by parents, svayamvara aud Gandharva
LAI., p. 155; see also-Sikdar, op. cit., pp. 211-12. 4. # erat faaret 27 atras sit amet rata--Nitivā., p. 374. 5. fafatata traty[TITIETTI: -Ibid. For marriages like Brāhmya or
Prājāpatya sec-Sangave, V. A., Jaina Community, p. 146. See also Chaterjee, H. A., Study of the Prājāpatya Form of Marriage, IHQ,
Vol. 32 (1957), pp. 44-51. 6. NO. 1, p. 17; NC. 3, p. 150.
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