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Polygamy
for Hindus
Dateline
05/09/2000
Over
the past few months, the issue of Hindu marriage remained a hot bed of legal
and governmental debates in India. Most of this controversy arose from the fact
that since polygamy is banned by law for the Hindus, an increasing number of
Hindu men have been showing a propensity to convert to Islam whenever they want
a second wife.
A
Historic Ruling
Finally, the Indian Supreme
Court on the May 5, 2000 plugged this last legal loophole for good for all
potential Hindu bigamists. Now, if it's found that a newly converted Muslim
has embraced the faith only to embrace another wife or two, he should be prosecuted
under the Hindu
Marriage Act and the Indian Penal Code. Thus, bigamy for all Hindus, has
been ultimately outlawed.
The
Vedic Marriage
Controversies apart, marriages are still made in heaven for the average
Hindu couple. Hindus regard the institution of marriage as a sacrament and not
just a contract between two persons of opposite sex. What is matchless about
a Hindu alliance is that it's as much a union of two families as between two
individuals. It's a lifelong commitment and is the strongest social bond between
a man and a woman.
Marriage
is sacrosanct, for the Hindus believe that marriage is not only a means of continuing
the family but also a way of repaying one's debt to the ancestors. The Vedas
too affirm that a person after the completion of his student life should enter
the second stage of life, that is, the Grihastha or life of a householder.
Arranged
Marriage
Most people tend to equate Hindu marriage with arranged marriage. The parents
in order to meet this domestic obligation prepare themselves mentally and, more
importantly, financially when their child reaches marriageable age. They search
for a suitable partner keeping in mind the societal rules regarding cast,
creed, natal chart, and financial and social status of the family. Traditionally
it is the girl's parents who bear the cost of the wedding and to jumpstart their
daughter's married life they shower her with gifts and ornaments to take to
her in-laws. Unfortunately, this has aggravated people's greed culminating in
the many evils of dowry system.
Arranged marriages in India differ from community to community and from place
to place. These ceremonies are indispensable, highly religious and significant.
The rites of marriage are also social and are meant to increase intimacy between
the two families. However, with a little variation, the usual custom
and rituals are more or the less the same throughout India.
Love
Marriage
What if the girl or the boy refuses to marry the person chosen by their
parents? What if they choose a partner of their own liking and opt for a love
marriage? Will the Hindu society rule out such a marriage?
The average Hindu
- anchored to the age-old rules of an arranged marriage - would hardly embark
on a love marriage. Even today, love marriage is looked down upon and the orthodox
Hindu priests interdict a love marriage. This is mainly because such a wedlock
usually defies the barriers of caste, creed and age.
Looking
Back
However, Indian history is witness to the fact that time and again, Indian
princesses chose their life mates in Swayamvaras - an occasion when princes
and noble men from all over the kingdom were invited to assemble in a bridegroom
choosing ceremony. It is also interesting to note that Bhishma in the greatest
of Hindu epics - the
Mahabharata (Anusashana Parva, Section XLIV) - perspicaciously
hints at 'love marriage' : "After the appearance
of puberty, the girl should wait for three years. During the fourth year, she
should look for a husband herself (without waiting any longer for her kinsmen
to select one for her)."
Polygamy
In Hinduism
According to the scriptures, a Hindu marriage is indissolvable in
life. Still polygamy was rampantly practised in ancient Hindu society. An address
by Bhishma to King Yudhishthira in the Mahabharata, succinctly endorses
this fact: "A Brahmana can take three wives. A Kshatriya can take
two wives. As regards the Vaishya, he should take a wife from only his
own order. The children born of these wives should be regarded as equal." (Anusasana
Parva, Section XLIV). But now that polygamy has been completely gutted out
by law, monogamy is the only option for Hindus.
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