(“reprehensible”) Marriages

According to the texts on religious duty
(dharma) known as the Dharma
Shastras, these are the four forms of
marriage subject to disapproval: the
asura marriage, gandharva marriage,
rakshasa marriage, and paishacha
marriage. Although all of these are
considered reprehensible, this disapproval comes in differing measures:
the asura (paying money for a bride)
and gandharva (betrothal by mutual
consent) marriages are tolerated,
while the rakshasa (forcible abduction)
and paishacha (taking advantage
of an insentient woman) forms
are forbidden.
Despite such harsh condemnation,
all of these marriages are held to be
legally valid. It is generally agreed that
this position was intended not to legitimatize unconscionable actions but to
give the woman the legal rights of a wife,
whatever the circumstances of her marriage. The asura marriage is the only one
of these forms still practiced in modern
times, although it is done only by people
who are either very poor or of very low
social status.