Gandharva marriage: Difference between revisions

A '''Gandharva marriage''' ([[Sanskrit]]: गन्धर्व विवाह, ''[[Wikipedia:IPA for Hindi and Urdu|pronounced]] gənd̪ʱərvə vɪvaːhə'') (known as love marriage) is one of the [[Hindu wedding#Eight forms of marriage|eight classical types of Hindu marriage]]. This ancient marriage tradition from the [[Indian subcontinent]] was based on mutual attraction between two people, with no rituals, witnesses or family participation.<ref name="ref77yodur">{{Citation | title=God of Desire: Tales of Kamadeva in Sanskrit Story Literature | author=Catherine Benton | publisher=SUNY Press, 2006 | isbn=978-0-7914-6566-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cWAh8sL3gOEC | quote=''... male counterparts of apsaras, gandharvas are known to love women; and women fall instantly for the charms of gandharva men ... awaken sexual passion in women ... In a gandharva marriage, a man and woman are so drawn to one another in mutual passion that they run off together without ceremony or consent of their families ...''}}</ref> The marriage of [[Dushyanta]] and [[Shakuntala]] was a historically celebrated example of this class of marriage. It is often considered the best type of marriage according to Hindu Shastras. <ref name="ref04yuhop">{{Citation | title=Sexual life in ancient India: a study in the comparative history of Indian culture | author=Johann Jakob Meyer | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1989 | isbn=978-81-208-0638-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izFNswlJ9LMC | quote=''... Gandharva marriage, which is also part of the orthodox system ... Dushyanta. This king's Gandharva marriage with Cakuntala, which is well-known especially through Kalidasa's drama, is a celebrated example ... only for warrior nobility according likewise to Manu ... Narada states without hesitation that this kind of marriage belongs to all castes alike ... 'survival from the time of promiscuity'; might well be understood from an "inter-ethnic" standpoint ...''}}</ref>

Gandharva marriage over time became controversial, disputed and debated. Majority of ancient scholars discouraged it on religious and moral grounds.<ref>Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, Rajbali Pandey (1969), see Chapter VIII, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, see page 163</ref> One argument found in the classical literature is that Gandharva marriage ignores the sacred rituals and vows the groom and bride must make to each other. Such a marriage, argued these ancient vedic scholars, may or may not be lasting since it didn't involve Agni. Over time, Gandharva marriages were either opposed or alternatively done with the use of Agni to ensure the longevity of the marriage through vows.  

[[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]] argued that Gandharva marriage is the most suitable form of marriage, and very rarely not; he goes on to state that Gandharva marriage is best suited for males who are priests, warriors, serving in the military, administrators, nobility and rulers.<ref name="Johann Jakob Meyer 90">{{Citation | title=Sexual life in ancient India: a study in the comparative history of Indian culture | author=Johann Jakob Meyer | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1989 | isbn=978-81-208-0638-2|page = 90}}</ref> Baudhayana claims that this is the best type of marriage as it is based on love and free will. Narada, yet another ancient scholar who wrote [[Nāradasmṛti]] sometime between 100 BC and 400 AD, suggests Gandharva marriage is best for everyone including the Brahmins, calling it ''sadharna''; Narada claims the only methods of marriage that are wrong are those that are based on abduction, forced, violence, fraud or purchase.<ref name="Johann Jakob Meyer 90"/><ref>Nāradasmṛti xii.44</ref> It also claims if a woman is forced against her will to marry or is prevented from marrying the one she chooses, her curse has a more sinful effect than Gohatya and will destroy the oppressor's ability to attain Moksha.

There is no consensus theory to explain why Gandharva marriages are declined today. One theory claims that as prosperity and wealth increased, parents sought greater control of the activities and social life of their children. Another theory claims that after the vedic period when marriageable age for girls was 16 years or higher, social upheavals encouraged child marriages. The social upheavals included those caused by wars between Indian kingdoms, unexpected attacks and attempts to take young women and men as prisoners during waves of attacks from Persia, central Asia and Muslim Sultans/Emperors. With the arrival of Muslim culture and rulers, which itself favored child marriages, the [[Hindu culture]] too shifted to child marriages where the girl was not mature. This practice eliminated the girl's desire or ability to seek men on her accord, meet them, choose and enter into Gandharva marriage.<ref>Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, Rajbali Pandey (1969), see Chapter VIII, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, see pages 163-189</ref><ref>Kamasutra Of Vatsayana - Richard F. Burton, Penguin Books; {{ISBN|9780143066446}}; see pages 48-51 (Review and Introduction by John Spellman, 1962)</ref> In addition to the influence of foreign conquest, claims Pandey, Hindu ideology shifted from diversity of marriage types to where the social pressures compelled the girl's family to seek arranged early marriages. Yet another theory is that the priestly caste of India, who officiated Brahma marriages and religious ceremonies, over time crafted rules that declared Gandharva marriage for most Hindus as inappropriate and disapproved (''aprasasta''), because traditional marriages were a source of their income, and Gandharva marriages made them poorer or obsolete.<ref>{{Citation | title=Sexual life in ancient India: a study in the comparative history of Indian culture | author=Johann Jakob Meyer | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1989 | isbn=978-81-208-0638-2|pages = 94–97}}</ref>

In modern India, particularly in urban regions, Gandharva marriage is re-emerging. One term for couples choosing their own partners is '[[love marriage]]' in India which usually means a couple choosing each other of their own accord but in most cases following it up with Hindu rituals.<ref>[http://www.canadianhealthdigest.com/love-marriage-and-indian-society/ Love marriage and Indian Society, Zara (July 2013)]</ref><ref>Gupta, Giri Raj. "Gupta, G. R. (1976). Love, arranged marriage, and the Indian social structure. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 7(1), pages 75-85</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=One of USA's exports: Love, American style|publisher=USA Today|date=13 February 2006|url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-02-13-valentine-cover-usat_x.htm}}</ref> However, to that extent 'love marriages' do not fulfill the criterion of Gandharva marriage but the English term [[Cohabitation|'relationship']] arrives at the closest co-relate wherein the parents', state's and religion's word is irrelevant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/india/303608/the-complete-guide-to-live-in-relationships-in-india/|title=The complete guide to live-in relationships in India|last=Anand|first=Ankita|website=Quartz India|language=en|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>