Majority of ancient scholars discouraged it on religious and moral grounds. Gandharva marriage over time became controversial, disputed and debated. Hidamba Devi Temple in Manali (India) - dedicated to the wife of Paandava Bheema, joined by Gandharva marriage In Mahabharata, one of two major epics of Hindus, Rishi Kanva, the foster father of Shakuntala, recommends Gandharva marriage with the statement “ The marriage of a desiring woman with a desiring man, without religious ceremonies, is the best marriage.” Elsewhere in Mahabharata (iii:190.36), the epic says “ No man any longer asks for the daughter, nor does a father give away his daughter, they (women) find the man for themselves.” Historic debate Turn thou the attention of every agreeable suitor to her. To bring hither to this woman the suitor who shall be agreeable to thee.īring hither by thy shouts (Oh lord of wealth!) the suitor – Thus may this woman be a favourite of fortune,ĭo thou ascend the full, inexhaustible ship of fortune Promptly obtain happiness through a husband.Īs this comfortable cave (Oh Indra!) furnishing a safe abode May (Oh Agni!) a suitor after our own heart come to us The translated version of the Atharvaveda (Strikaratâni, ii.36) passage is: The mother of the girl thought of the time when the daughter's developed youth ( Pativedanam, post-puberty), that she would win a husband for herself, it was a smooth and happy sort of affair with nothing scandalous and unnatural about it. A passage in the Atharvaveda suggests that parents usually left the daughter free in selection of her lover and directly encouraged her in being forward in love-affairs. This free choice and mutual attraction were generally approved by their kinsmen. In Rig vedic opinions and classical literature, the commonly described marriage type was Gandharva, where the bride and the groom had met each other in their ordinary village life, or in various other places such as regional festivals and fairs, begun to enjoy each other's company, and decided to be together. According to Vedic texts, this is one of earliest and common forms of marriage in Rig Vedic times. This form of marriage did not require consent of parents or anyone else. They meet each other of their own accord, consent to live together, and their relationship is consummated in copulation born of passion. Īccording to Apastamba Grhyasutra, an ancient Hindu literature, Gandharva marriage is a types of marriage where the woman chooses her own husband.

The other seven are: Brahma, Daiva, Arya, Prajapatya, Asura, Raksasa and Paisacha. The Smritis of Hinduism recognize eight types of marriage, one of them being Gandharva marriage. The son that resulted from their Gandharva marriage was named Bharata. Dushyanta & Shakuntala in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

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