Marriage

Published on 4th September, 2021, in Economic Times. Zeus, king of the gods, in Greek mythology had children by many women, both mortal and immortal, nymphs and goddesses and titans. But he had only one wife. The Roman Empire celebrated monogamy and legitimate children, but the reason for this was not moral, it was legal. It made property transmission easier. The virginity and fidelity of the wife guaranteed the heir was one’s own. Prohibition of widow remarriage ensured property did not go to another man. Cousin marriages ensured property stayed within the family. Such compulsions were not there in families where there was no land ..

Published on 7th March, 2021, in Mid-day. Suriya, the daughter of the sun-god, marries the twin-gods, the Ashwins, and rides with them on their chariot. So says the Rig Veda. Later, we are told, that the Ashwins do not actually marry her: they simply woo her for her real husband. In the marriage hymn, Rig Veda X.85, the bride is given to Soma, then Gandharva, then Agni, and only then to the husband. What does this mean? Does it mean that at one time, women could have many husbands simultaneously? When people refer to Indian “tradition” they assume it was fixed for thousands of years, ..

Published on 23rd January, 2018, on harperbroadcast.com . (Please note: These rituals cannot be considered as sanctioned by any religious authority. Also, same-sex relationships are not recognised by the state of India. Hence, conducting this ritual neither implies religious endorsement nor legal sanction.) In Hinduism, gods and goddesses marry. Hindu temples routinely conduct wedding rituals of gods and goddesses with much pomp and revelry. A wedding (vivah) in Hinduism is a rite of passage (samskara) that transforms a single entity into one half of a conjugal pair (dampatya). Being single, however, does not mean being incomplete. The idea of ‘wholeness’ in Hinduism is not necessarily ..

Published on 1st September, 2017, on www.dailyo.in . The Naradasmriti dharmashastra (XII 97), a Hindu law book, states: "When her husband is lost, or dead, becomes an ascetic, is impotent, or is expelled from caste, in these five conditions, a woman may remarry." Katyayana adds that if the husband turns out to be of another caste, or the same gotra, or if he is guilty of foul acts, the wife may remarry. Can we take these verses to suggest that divorce was allowed in Hinduism at some point of time? In many cultures, marriage is a contract. Divorce is the breaking of the contract. Some, ..