The rules regarding marriages, which made distinctions, with reference to the varna of the bride and bridegroom, did not end here. Dharma writers always have taken into account the varna distinction when they approved or disapproved forms of marriages. They also tried to draw the line in the ceremonies that were to be performed at the time of marriage. I have told already that they always took into consideration the varnas of father and mother of a man or woman when they laid down rules regarding inheritance.
The Scriptures distinguish eight forms of marriages. Out of these eight forms some were approved and some were disapproved. The disapproved form of marriages, like Asura (purchase of the bride) and Paishachya (appropriation of a woman when she is unconscious), were tolerated in Shūdras.[1] The form called Rākshasa consisted of the seizure of the bride. It was approved for a Kshatriya though condemned for Vaishya and Shūdra (iii, 20-40).
When a man married a woman of an inferior varna, he took her, by a ceremony different from that which was used when he married a woman of his own varna. - Our text says:
"The ceremony of joining hands is prescribed for marriages with women of equal varna. Know that the following rule applies to weddings with females of different castes."
- ↑ Only the first four forms of marriage were recommended for a Brāhmana, The Brāhmanas who took a wife by a less approved form were looked down upon. For "The Veda declares, 'The quality of the offspring depends on the quality of the marriage rite'". (Bau, i, 21, I; Apas, ii, 5, 21, 4.)
