Marriages in India

I know different cultures have various ways of uniting man and woman in marriage. Some of you might think that there's only one type of marriage for every culture. However, you might be interested to know that there are actually different types of marriages in India. To be specific, there are eight types of marriages that can take place in the sid country. But, let me just tackle one of them for this blog entry. For today, I have chosen to write about Brahma marriage.

Brahma marriage takes place between a man and a woman of good family descent. However, the man must first be able to finish his studenthood (Brahmacharya). If he is able to do this, his parents may approach the family of the desired girl. It is not just the parents of the man who chooses a worthy in-law. The father of the girl will choose a guy who is knowledgeable about the Vedas. This is how Indians go about a Brahma marriage. Also, there is no dowry for this type of marriage. Meaning, the girl's family does not have to give any financial amount to the family of the male. Thus, this type of marriage is revered as the highest kind of marriage by the dharmasastras.