Asura Marriage

One of the eight ways to perform a marriage recognized in the Dharma Shastras,
the treatises on religious duty (dharma).
It is named after the asuras, a class of
powerful divine beings whose interests
are often at odds with those of the
gods (deva); thus, the name carries an
unfavorable connotation.
An asura marriage takes place when a
man gives money to the bride’s family and
the bride herself. This is one of the four
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Asthi-Sanchayana
In the asthi-visarjana funeral ceremony, after cremation
the remains of a body are gathered and immersed in sacred water.
reprehensible (aprashasta) forms of marriage because of the connotation that the
bride is being sold, yet like all the other
reprehensible forms, it is deemed to create
a valid marriage.
Despite this general disapproval, it is
one of the two classical forms that is still
practiced (the other being the Brahma
marriage), although because of the
stigma attached to the implication of
selling one’s child, it is only done by
people who are either very poor or of very
low social status. See also marriage, eight
classical forms.