India is the only country in the world which permits persons belonging to different religions to follow their own personal laws based on their religion. Thus in respect to personal matters like marriage, divorce, succession, and maintenance, different personal laws are followed, depending on the religion of the person. Thus different marriage laws, succession laws, and divorce laws are applicable to different religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Parsis. In this article let us study the concept of marriage in Hinduism. In this article, we shall study the concept of a Hindu Marriage.

Marriage as an exclusive and sacramental union also gave birth to polygamy, concubinage, and prostitution. The marriage became monogamous for the woman alone. It became a sacrament for her alone. Hindus refined the institution of marriage and idealized it. In this process, they have laid down detailed rules covering practically all aspects of marriage. While maintaining some continuity with the past, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has simplified the law of marriage.

The Concept of a Marriage in Hinduism:

Marriage (Vivah) is one of the 16 sanskaras enjoined upon every Hindu by the religion.

16 Sanskars or Sacraments in Hindus:

Hindu Marriage as Sacrament:

Marriage is one of the most important of all Samaskaras under the Griha Sutras. Among the Hindu, the marriage was considered as a sacrament. In Hinduism, the ultimate goal of human life is to attain moksha. According to Apasthamba, “Marriage was meant for doing a good deed and for the attainment of Moksha”. It was obligatory for every Hindu through which his well-conducted life progresses to its appointed end. In Hinduism the wife is considered ardhangini, half of her husband and shares with him equally, the fruits of all his acts, good or bad. The rationale behind such a sacramental character was to make the spouse physically, psychically and spiritually united. Thus marriage is an association for life here and hereafter, productive of full partnership with temporal and divine rights and duties. It was held that the marriage was the last of ten sacraments enjoined by the Hindu religion purifying the body from inherited taint. Thus marriage is a religious necessity rather than a mere physical luxury. A Hindu has to marry for a son who alone can save him from narak (hell) after death.

In Tikait v. Basant, ILR 28 Cal. 758,  case, the Court held that marriage under Hindu law was a sacrament, an indissoluble union of flesh with flesh, bone with a bone to be continued even in the next world.

In Shivonandh v. Bhagawanthumma, AIR (1962) Mad. 400 case, the Court observed that marriage was binding for life because a marriage performed by saptapadi before the consecrated fire was a religious tie which could never be united.

The sacramental marriage among Hindus has three main characteristics.

1. It is a permanent union. That means, it cannot be dissolved on any ground whatsoever;
2. It is an eternal union (Janma-janmantar bondhari), extending to a series of births. On this basis widows’ remarriages, were not recognized.
3. It was a holy or sacrosanct union.

Hindu Marriage as a Contract:

Hence such a marriage cannot take place without the performance of sacred rites and ceremony. After the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1951 Hindu marriage is no longer a sacrament but it is a contract. The first characteristic of sacramental marriage has been affected by Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, for Hindu marriage can be dissolved on certain grounds specified under the Section. The second characteristic was wiped out with statutory recognition of widow marriage in 1856. The third characteristic’ is still retained in the society.

In Dhanjit Vadra v. Beena Vadra, AIR 1990 Del. 146 at 151  the Court cited observations of a division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court: “Section 13-B radically altered the legal basis of a Hindu marriage by treating it as an ordinary form of contract which competent parties can enter into and put an end to like any other contract by mutual consent.”

In Purushottamdas v. Purushottamdas, 21 Bom 23 case, the Court observed that the marriage of Hindu children is a contract made by their parents.

In Bhagwati saran Singh v. Parmeshwari Nandar Singh 1942 ILR All 518 case, the Court held that a Hindu marriage is not only a sacrament but also a contract.

In Muthusami v. Masilamani 33 Mad 342 case observed that marriage, whatever else it is, i.e. sacrament, and institution, is undoubtedly a contract entered into for consideration, with co-relative rights and duties.

In Anjona Dasi v. Ghose, 6 BengalLaw Reporter, 243 case, the Court held that suits relating to marriage deal with that which is the eye of the law must be treated as a civil contract, and important civil rights arise out of that contract.

In most of the Hindu marriages, a religious ceremony is still the sine qua non. Viewed from this side, one may conclude that Hindu marriage has not remained purely a sacrament and at the same time, it has become completely a contract.

Next Topic: Forms of Marriage as Per Old Hindu Texts

Indian Legal System > Civil Laws > Family laws > The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 > Concept of Marriage in Hinduism

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