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Jaina Community - -A Social Survey
their pre-marital sexual behaviour. The bride to be selected for marriage must, in the first instance, be pure. While denouncing pre-marital licence it has been laid down that it is better to marry a prostitute than to marry an unchaste maiden.41 This demand for virginity in the girl to be married is found among Hindus and others. It would be a double standard of morality if premarital chastity is expected only from the female side. This is avoided by prescribing the same rules for males also. It has been emphatically stated that the death of a maiden is preferable to giving her in a family of doubtful character. 43
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6. AGE OF MARRIAGE
Rules regarding the proper age of marriage vary with different kinds of people. It is natural that age should be prescribed as the suitable age for marriage for both males and females when they get their sexual maturity. This is necessary because marriage partners have to undertake a life of sex-experience. Taking this fact into account the Jaina books prescribe that the consummation of marriage should take place soon after the marriage ceremony, 44 which means that the parties to marital union must have attained sexual maturity. As in Jaina literature we come across many instances of marriages contracted according to Gandharva or Svayamvara systems, it can be presumed that marriage partners were sufficiently grown up at the time of marriage.45 From the words' (i. e., having attained youth) occurring in Jaina books it can be seen that marriage is recommended only for grown-up ladies. In 'Pravachanasaroddhāra' it has been mentioned that the progeny born of a couple, wherein the mother's age is 16 years, and the father's 25 years, is bound to be strong. Moreover, it is the solemn duty of a father not to keep a grown-up daughter without marriage as it would mean falling from the path of religion.47 A popular saying in ancient India stated that, if after the attainment of puberty of a maiden, her guardians fail to arrange for her marriage, they go to hell.48 From this it appears that child-marriages as well as late marriages were denounced by Jainas. Of course opinions differed as to when males and females attained puberty. According to Somadeva a girl of 12 years and a boy of 16 years become competent for sexaction,49 and this can be regarded as the proper age of marriage recommended for adoption by the Jainas. In view of this we can
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