MARRIAGE IN SUTRA PERIOD

Contents

·         New Additions

·         In Scriptures

New Additions

During the time of the Sutras, the marriage rituals had already been established and were advanced in nature. It was the ritualists, who had set the system and order pattern of the marriage ceremonies. The Post-Vedic period also saw many new additions and modifications along with assimilation of the popular rites and customs into the marriage ceremonies. The same were also systematically documented in scriptures by the priests of the time. Thus, in this manner they were also able to enlarge the scope of their own religion.

In Scriptures

As stated by Rajbali Pandey, these additions did not originate in the Vedic rituals but were rather altered and modified at a later period. The Grihya Sutra texts also throw considerable light onto the marriage rituals of the period. The Sanskar Vidhi of Swami Dayanand draws information from Manu Smriti, Paraskar and the other Grihya Sutras. As per these sources, the marriage usually took place when the girl reached puberty and the consummation of marriage took place immediately after the marriage ceremony.