Lots of love for all my dear readers. Marriage is a pious union of two souls in different cultures around the globe. Today, I am gonna talk about marriage practices in my country India and culture Hinduism specifically. I warmly respect all the cultures and variety of practices they follow and here I am, ready to share my culture with all of my enthusiastic pumped readers.
In my society, marriages are a very sensitive affair and also topic of pride. Both of the sides try their best as permitted by their budget & resources and leave no stone unturned in giving their best. Preparations fire off months before marriages with invitation cards and here in India, they are printed on paper in different fancy varieties. Now-a-days with boom in creativity and sources to advertise businesses, skies are limit for both variety of cards and prices. I am attaching below a picture of typical marriage invitation card in India(my north Indian society specifically).
Marriage invitations are always in vibrant and lively colors and they often portray our idols and holy symbols from pious holy books and Vedic culture.
They have sacred writings(mantras) which are often taken from holy books or are written as praises for godly worship.
Whole lot of styles with varying prices are available in the market and recently, modernization has hit this industry too...I have heard of a couple in India who got their card printed as WhatsApp chats symbolizing their pre-wedding phase.
I earlier wrote about marriage ceremony and different functions organized before both bride and groom tie knot. You may read it on this link : -https://read.cash/@DM/weddings-in-india-bcb41698
CONCEPT OF ARRANGE MARRIAGE AND LOVE MARRIAGE IN INDIA:-
Arrange marriage is one which is arranged by the families and not individuals participating in that on their own. They meet through some common connection in both the families. There are many messengers who are available for this work in families. For example : your daughter may get introduced in your sister's family through your sister only, some neighbor of yours suggests you a superb "sarv-guna-sampanna" girl for your son and believe me, once you attain the age, everyone will be a matrimonial website for you in family meetups or functions. Once you get introduced through a third party and families agree to meet, to be bride and groom get a chance to see one another and if families are frank enough to let them decide whether or not to continue, they let them meet on some specific date on their own. Depending on open mindedness of families, various modifications are being made to this arrange marriage system thus making it quite flexible for those who were hell lot of busy for love and all during their college days and now want their families to set them up with their worthy partner.
Arrange marriage itself is a very complex process when in early phase.
Firstly, both the partners should like each other and their families too. Their occupations should also be compatible. And all of this is ensured once they meet or in some cases only family have a say in whether they like each other or not and not the to be bride and groom.
Secondly, they need to be matched as per their kundlis(it is a religious document as per a person's birth in Hinduism) need to match.
This practice of arrange marriage is highly appreciated in most of the Indian socities.
Love marriage is another practice which is not very much like by families. In this, individuals themselves have found their partners maybe at their college or workplace or anywhere as love may happen in a glimpse of moment as most of you might know. They then introduce each other in their families when they have decided that they want to be together for lifetime. Now, many families like modern Indians who are not based out in rural areas or conservative regions of country where caste system is deep rooted agree to love marriages once they meet and like the choice of their progeny but most of the families are those who disapprove of love marriages as the shift hasn't yet occurred in my country in discrimination on the basis of caste. If you talk of caste system, it is an entire study of lifetime and is taught as a major portion in History of country but at this point in this article, you may consider as different origin of people based on their work , birth, community in which they live and there are a different variety of metrics which different society introduce on their own.
Those in love struggle a lot if not from a same caste as they have to go against their families with whom they are since birth, blood relations and sincerely respect them. They have taken care of your every single need and now suddenly you guys have different opinions on an arrangement of lifetime, it really gets hectic over here and individuals participating either succeed in marrying or they part for the sake of families or they separate, really very sensitive topic and matter of pride for families as I said earlier.
Also, families believe that since she/he is not of their choice and hence they don't know how good of a support he/she will be to them. Whether the choice is good or they will have to compromise for rest of their lives and this also makes them unwilling to support love marriages.
Different castes here in India have different food choices, cultural practices, rituals and the seniors think that someone of other caste won't be as compatible in these terms as someone from ours.
Love marriages are big riddles here and are really unpredictable in terms of outcome and conduct.
According to Hinduism there are eight types of marriages:-
The two types are wrote above are the modernized practices and below are those from earlier periods which were prevalent in the times of kings and gods.
Brahma marriage :- This is the supreme of all the eight types. In this a man first completes his study period and the after learning, his family finds the right girl for him and girl's father ensures that the partner has the right knowledge of Vedas. As you might know, there is a practice of dowry in Indian marriages but it is discouraged in this kind and is considered sin.
Daiva marriage:- In this type, girl's family waits for a time when she is to be wed and if suitable groom is not found out, she would be married to someone chose by family on the basis of priest's matchmaking. This is kind of like arranged marriage.
Arsha marriage:- This is the practice in which girl is given to a sage. In case of the sages with lots of knowledge and persona, the kings often gave them their daughters in exchange of some cows.
Prajapatya marriage:- In this practice, bride's father went out to search groom and then married his daughter with him, treating him with respect. In this kind, there is no monetary transaction unlike arsha but it also unlike Brahma in which groom's father searches bride.
Gandharva marriage:- This kind is relatable to love marriage. Both the individuals used to get married without the knowledge or sanction of parents. Unlike the modern dating, they took vows in presence of some deity, person or tree etc.
Asure marriage:- This is kind of use of wealth to fulfil desires. In this kind, male part gives all the wealth to bride and her kinsmen in order to marry her. Its like buying a commodity to fulfil desires with the help of your wealth. It may be because of the greed of bride's father. As of know, it is not accepted by Indian law.
Rakshasa marriage:- When kinsmen of bride are slain or wounded, the bride is abducted forcibly and taken by the groom. Its much like a rape and is highly unlikely to happen in present scenario. Rakshasa means devil in Hindi and thus marriage's name explains it all. It is a sinful act.
Paishacha marriage:- This kind is one in which the male seduces female under the influence of some intoxication, sleep etc. It is a sinful act and was also condemned when it was practiced. It is relatable to date rape in present times.
I have taken help from wikipedia to support my article and hope you liked it. Its not aimed at hurting any sentiments of any community and is a step toward sharing my religion's depths with the greater world outside.
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