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Jain Marriage - Consummation

 

 

By Dr. Vilas A. Sangve

 

When the institution of marriage is designed to regulate the sexual behaviour of people, it but natural that certain provision will have to be made regarding the time when that behaviour should be followed by the married couple. This freedom is not given to the couple before marriage even though betrothal has taken place. Strict virginity is expected from both the parties before the marriage and as such no elaborate restrictions are levied on their sexual freedom after the marriage ceremony. Generally the bridal pair is allowed to have the consummation of marriage within a week after the marriage ceremony. The Hindu texts enjoin on the newly wedded couple to observe strict celibacy for three days after grha-pravesa, i.e., the last rite of the marriage ceremony is over and to mate on the fourth day after certain rites known as the foetus-laying rites are performed. Among the Svetambara Jainas, the newly married pair departs for consummation of marriage on the same day on which Asirvaca, or Asirvada, i. e., the last marriage ceremony is performed. According to the Digambara Jainas, the bride and bridegroom should observe the vow of celibacy for seven days after the marriage ceremony; thereafter they should proceed on pilgrimage to some sacred place and then perform honeymoon joyfully in their own place.

Polygyny : One of the important questions connected with the institution of marriage is the number of partners entering the union. Marriage need not necessarily be a two-partner marriage; it can be a many-partner marriage. Sometimes forms of marriage are devised according to the number of partners entering the union. In a Group Marriage there are many men and many women; in Polyandry, one woman and many men; in Polygyny, one man and many women; and in Monogamy, one man and one woman only. Group marriage is unknown to Jainas and even though polyandrous marriage is adopted by certain Hindu and other castes in some parts of India it is not found at all among the Jainas. Polygyny was allowed and practiced in Jaina society. As a general rule in ancient times people were monogamous, and polygyny was a fashion among the rich and the ruling sections. The kings and princes considered it a privilege to have a crowded harem, which strengthened their political power by contracting numerous but judicious matrimonial alliances. The rich people regarded plurality of wives as a proof of their wealth, reputation and social position. References to polygyny are numerous in the Jaina texts. In this connection the names of king Bharata King Vikkamajasa, King Seniya and that of Gahavai Mahasaya may be mentioned. Until very recently polygyny was the most widespread custom among Jainas and as a result there were many married females than married males and there was an unusually large proportion of widows in the Jaina society. The caste-pancayatas which used to limit the freedom of its members in other respects, did not restrict the members from marrying and having many wives. Further, there is no religious injunction against the custom of plurality of wives. Under the Jaina Law a man may marry more than one wife, that is to say, he may marry again in the presence of one wife. For doing so certain rules have been prescribed. It is ordained that one may marry a second time after ten years if the first wife is childless, after twelve years if she has only daughters, after 15 years if her children die after birth, and immediately if she is unlovable. At the same time certain consideration is shown to the first wife. Among the Jaina Baniyas of the former Central Province it was generally the rule that a man must obtain the consent of his first wife before taking a second one. In the absence of this precaution for her happiness, parents will refuse to give him their daughter. It has been prescribed that in the presence of a wife who is beautiful, fruitful, the cause of good luck, beloved and who joins in the performance of religious observances, one should not marry a second time. That the second wife is not viewed with regard will be seen from the fact that the first wife of a man is termed Dharmapatni, the wife of status or righteousness and the second wife Bhogapatni, i.e., the wife of pleasure. This shows that more importance was attached to the first wife than the subsequent wives and that the monogamous marriage was preferred to the polygynous one. At present according to the Central Government legislation polygynous marriages among Jainas, as among Hindus, are strictly prohibited.

Though polygyny was allowed and practiced by both Hindus and Jainas, there was a great difference in their outlook towards polygyny. From the point of view of the Hindu, beatitude, which is the main aim of man in this life, is obtainable through sons and grandsons and therefore a man should marry more than once in case the first marriage fails to promote its true object of begetting a male offspring. This main idea underlying the polygynous system among the Hindus is completely absent among the Jainas as the salvation, which is the main aim of a Jaina in this life, does not depend, according to Jainism, on having sons and grandsons. Hindus practiced polygyny as it was sanctioned or ordained by religion; while in the practice of polygyny among the Jainas there was no religious motive at all. The religious element in marriage and therefore the necessity of having a male issue were so strong among the Hindus that, besides adoption, they followed the practice of appointing a widow to a relative with a view to beget a son for the deceased. To die without a son was regarded as a great spiritual calamity, and it was the sacred duty of a brother to see that a son was raised on his sister-in-law to perpetuate his brother's memory and to ensure him a seat in heaven. This custom of allowing a sonless widow to have a son from a near relative of her deceased husband was known as Niyoga (or levirate). As male issues do not count at all for the salvation of a Jaina, it is obvious that the custom of Niyoga was not observed by the Jainas in ancient times.

Dissolution of Wedlock : When the parties enter the marital union they do so with a view to remain in it for a considerable period of time. The marital relations are regarded more or less durable and this durability really distinguished marital relations from other ordinary sexual relation. The ideal of marriage in India is that the marital bond should of necessity be permanent and that the dissolution of wedlock should not be allowed. Marriage means constant adjustment of relations between husband and wife and it is likely that the expected compatibility between the partners may not be realised in full or in part during the marital life. Though marriage is conceived as a permanent union, still after entering the union certain circumstances arise which go against the purpose of marriage and thus some provisions have to be made to dissolve the wedlock under specific conditions. The Jaina scriptures declare that if after the marriage has taken place either of the couple finds any defect in the other within the time prescribed for honeymoon and complains of it, then that marriage is null and void and the bride is free to marry again. Further, it has been ordained by the Jaina law-givers that a wife is allowed to marry another person under the following five circumstances and after taking the consent of the Caste Pancayata (i.e., elderly people) and of the government, viz., if the husband becomes as sinner, or an ascetic, or an impotent person, if he dies, and if no information is available regarding his whereabouts. Similarly, according to the Hindus there are five cases of legal necessity wherein the wife is allowed to marry a second husband; she may take a second husband, if the first is lost or dead or becomes an ascetic or is impotent or is expelled from the caste.

Female chastity is the key note of marriage in India and hence a woman is expected to preserve her chastity not only during the life-time of her husband but even after his death. That is why the marriage of widows was not generally favoured in ancient India. The remarriage of widows is in general not accepted by Hindus in their Smrtis, and widow re-marriages disappeared almost completely from Hindu society from about A. D. 1,100. In earlier Jaina literature not a single instance of widow marriage can be traced. But from the medieval times widow marriage was allowed and practiced by the Jainas in South India. In this connection C. R. Jain observes that though there is no instance to be fond of widow-remarriage in the Jaina Puranas, still no clear direction is found in the scriptures in the matter, either sanctioning or prohibiting such marriages. In the Trivarnikacara certain observances are made which suggest that there might have been in existence the practice of widow remarriage among Jainas. It is stated that a woman whose middle toe does not touch the ground, will not go to any third person after two; and that the girl whose Anamika, i.e., the toe next to the little toe, does not touch the ground, will devour two husbands. The Conference of Svetambara Sthanakavasi Jaina ascetics held on 7/4/1933 declared that Jaina religion is not concerned with the question of widow-remarriage and the caste customs determine whether to allow widow-remarriage or not. From these it can be concluded that the question concerning the validity of the re-marriage of a widow can only be decided according to the local custom. Among the Jainas of Gujaratha widow-remarriage is in general neither allowed nor practiced at present. But during the 13th century it might have been generally observed as the King Asvaraja was married to a child-widow, Kumaradevi, and out of this wedlock were born the two famous Gujaratha ministers, viz., Vastupala and Tejapala. Among the Jaina Banyas of the M. P. the remarriage of widows is nominally prohibited, but frequently occurs and remarried widows are relegated to the inferior social groups in each subcaste. In the Hyderabad Dominion only some members of Saitavala And Bogara Castes allow widows to marry again and such marriages are attended by inferior rites. It is learnt that in South Kanara one Bhattaraka, i.e., religious head of the Jainas, started the practice of widow-remarriage and now it is followed by some Jainas without any fear of ex-communication. In poorer sections of the Caturtha, Pancama, Kasara and Saitavala castes of Jainas in the Deccan widow remarriage is the prevalent custom. In the Southern India a Jaina woman marries only once in life and if her husband dies when she is young, she must remain a widow as long as she lives.

The question of divorce is intimately connected with that of dissolution of wedlock. Divorce is the demand by one of the partners to the marital union to be allowed to break the bond of marriage. All things cannot be foreseen before marriage and there is considerable element of chance. Hence the demand to break the marital tie is more commonly put forward when people do not find their mates in the relation that they had thought or imagined that they would be. As the possibility of marital relations getting strained always remains, it is the duty of social law-givers to make provision of divorce under specific conditions so that maximum of conjugal happiness could be ensured for every person. Though like early Christainity, Hinduism also held that the marriage union was indissoluble, still if we carefully examine the earlier Dharmasastra literature, we find that divorces were permitted under certain well-defined circumstances. Kautilya, while giving detailed rules of divorce for the couples who found it impossible to live with each other, expressly declares that marriages consecrated according to the Brahma, Daiva, Arsa and Prajapatya forms cannot be dissolved at all. It has been noticed above that Hindus have given permission to a wife to remarry under the five cases of legal necessity and it can be said that this permission clearly presupposes the possibility of divorce from the earlier marriage. As the same circumstances are prescribed by Jaina law-givers for remarriage of a woman, it appears that divorce was allowed by the Jainas under specific conditions. It should be remembered that as the Jaina religion is not concerned with marriage, like other customs connected with the institution of marriage, the rules regarding divorce are governed by local customs. It can be said that in general the custom of granting divorce is not observed under any circumstances by practically all Jaina castes except to a little extent by the castes of Bogara and Saitavala. Divorce is permitted among the Bogaras on the ground of the wife's unchastity, barrenness or ill-temper. Such divorced wives remarry by the same rites as widows. Divorce is recognized among the saitavalas and divorced wives marry by inferior rites.

 

 

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Source : From Jain Religion and Community

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