Chapter 3

The vow of studying the three Vedas under a guru should be kept for thirty-six years, or for half that time, or a quarter, or until it is completed. // Mn_3.1 //

Having studied the Vedas, or two Vedas, or even one Veda in due order, without breaking his vow of studentship, he may enter the gṛhastha (householder) stage of life. // Mn_3.2 //

Him, who is known for his Dharma, the heir to his father's Veda, wearing a garland and seated on a couch, one should first honor with a cow. // Mn_3.3 //

A twice-born, having been permitted by his guru, having bathed, and having returned home (samāvṛtta) according to the rule, should marry a wife of his own varna who has auspicious marks. // Mn_3.4 //

She who is not a Sapinda of his mother and not of the same Gotra as his father is recommended for the twice-born for marriage and conjugal union. // Mn_3.5 //

In contracting a marriage, one should avoid these ten families, even if they are great and rich in cattle, goats, sheep, wealth, and grain. // Mn_3.6 //

Those deficient in sacred rites, those lacking male progeny, those neglecting Vedic study, those with hairy bodies, those afflicted with hemorrhoids, consumption, dyspepsia, epilepsy, vitiligo, or leprosy. // Mn_3.7 //

One should not marry a maiden with reddish hair, nor one with a superfluous limb, nor a sickly one, nor one with no hair, nor one with too much hair, nor a talkative one, nor one with reddish-brown eyes. // Mn_3.8 //

Nor one named after a constellation, a tree, or a river; nor one with a low-caste or mountain name; nor one named after a bird, a snake, or a servant; nor one with a terrifying name. // Mn_3.9 //

One should marry a woman with no physical defects, with a pleasing name, with a gait like a swan or an elephant, with fine hair on her body and head and fine teeth, and with a gentle body. // Mn_3.10 //

A wise man should not marry a maiden who has no brother and whose father is not known, for fear that she might be an appointed daughter according to the law. // Mn_3.11 //

For the first marriage of the twice-born, a wife of the same varna is recommended; but for those who act from desire, these following ones may be chosen in order of rank. // Mn_3.12 //

A Shudra woman is for a Shudra; she and one of his own varna for a Vaishya; these two and one of his own varna for a Kshatriya; and these three and one of his own varna for a Brahmana. // Mn_3.13 //

In no sacred text whatsoever is a Shudra woman ordained as a wife for a Brahmana or a Kshatriya, even when they are in distress. // Mn_3.14 //

Twice-born men who, out of delusion, marry women of a low caste, quickly degrade their families and their descendants to the state of Shudras. // Mn_3.15 //

By marrying a Shudra woman, a Brahmana falls, according to Atri and the son of Utathya; by begetting a son on her, according to Shaunaka; and by having a son from her, according to Bhrigu. // Mn_3.16 //

A Brahmana who takes a Shudra woman to his bed sinks to a lower state; by begetting a son on her, he is degraded from his Brahmanhood. // Mn_3.17 //

For him whose rites to the gods, ancestors, and guests are chiefly performed by her, the ancestors and gods do not eat his offerings, and he does not go to heaven. // Mn_3.18 //

For him who has drunk the foam from the lips of a Shudra wife, who has been touched by her breath, and who has begotten a son in her, no expiation is ordained. // Mn_3.19 //

Now learn in summary these eight forms of marriage for women, for the four varnas, which are beneficial and harmful in this world and the next. // Mn_3.20 //

The Brāhma, the Daiva, and also the Ārṣa; the Prājāpatya and the Āsura; the Gāndharva and the Rākṣasa; and the eighth and lowest, the Paiśāca. // Mn_3.21 //

Which of these is lawful for which varna, and what are the merits and demerits of each—all that I shall declare to you, as well as the good and bad qualities of the offspring. // Mn_3.22 //

The first six in order are for a Brahmana, the last four for a Kshatriya, and those same ones, excluding the Rākṣasa, are lawful for a Vaishya and a Shudra. // Mn_3.23 //

The sages know that the first four are praiseworthy for a Brahmana, the Rākṣasa alone for a Kshatriya, and the Āsura for a Vaishya and a Shudra. // Mn_3.24 //

But of these five, three are lawful and two are unlawful; the Paiśāca and the Āsura must never be performed. // Mn_3.25 //

The Gāndharva and Rākṣasa marriages, whether performed separately or mixed, are declared to be lawful for a Kshatriya. // Mn_3.26 //

The gift of a daughter, after decking her and honoring her, to a man learned in the Veda and of good conduct, whom the father himself invites, is declared to be the Brāhma rite. // Mn_3.27 //

The gift of a daughter, after having adorned her, to a priest who is duly officiating at a sacrifice while it is in progress, they call the Daiva rite. // Mn_3.28 //

When the father gives away his daughter according to the rule, after receiving from the bridegroom, for the fulfillment of the sacred law, a pair of cattle or two, that is called the Ārṣa rite. // Mn_3.29 //

The gift of a daughter after honoring the couple and addressing them with the words, "May you both perform your Dharma together," is remembered as the Prājāpatya rite. // Mn_3.30 //

When the bridegroom receives a maiden after having given, by his own will and as much as he is able, wealth to her kinsmen and to the bride herself, that is called the Āsura rite. // Mn_3.31 //

The voluntary union of a maiden and her lover is to be known as the Gāndharva rite, which springs from desire and has sexual union as its purpose. // Mn_3.32 //

The forcible abduction of a maiden from her home, while she cries out and weeps, after her kinsmen have been slain, wounded, and their houses broken into, is called the Rākṣasa form of marriage. // Mn_3.33 //

When a man secretly approaches a girl who is sleeping, intoxicated, or mentally disordered, that is the Paiśāca, the eighth and most wicked of marriages. // Mn_3.34 //

For the foremost of the twice-born, the gift of a daughter with water is superior; for the other varnas, it may be done by mutual consent. // Mn_3.35 //

Whatever merit has been declared by Manu for each of these marriages, hear it all, O sages, as I declare it all to you. // Mn_3.36 //

The son of a Brāhmī wife, a doer of good deeds, frees from sin ten ancestors who have gone before, ten descendants who come after, and himself as the twenty-first. // Mn_3.37 //

A son born of a Daiva wife frees seven generations before and seven after; a son of an Ārṣa wife, three before and three after; and a son of a Kāya (Prājāpatya) wife, six before and six after. // Mn_3.38 //

From the first four marriages, in their order—the Brāhma and the others—are born sons who are endowed with spiritual luster and are approved by the virtuous. // Mn_3.39 //

Endowed with beauty, goodness, and virtue, wealthy, famous, possessing abundant enjoyments, and most righteous, they live for a hundred years. // Mn_3.40 //

But from the remaining, inferior marriages are born sons who are cruel, speakers of untruth, who hate the Veda and the Dharma. // Mn_3.41 //

From unblamed marriages of women, an unblamed progeny is born; from blameworthy ones, a blameworthy progeny is born to men; therefore, one should avoid the blameworthy. // Mn_3.42 //

The rite of taking the hand is ordained for marriages with women of the same varna; for marriages with women of different varnas, this following rule is to be known. // Mn_3.43 //

An arrow should be taken by a Kshatriya bride, a goad by a Vaishya bride, and the hem of a garment by a Shudra bride at a marriage with a man of a higher varna. // Mn_3.44 //

One should approach one's wife during her fertile period, being ever devoted to his own wife; except on the forbidden days, he may approach her even outside that period, if he so desires for pleasure, remaining true to his vow. // Mn_3.45 //

The natural fertile period of women is remembered as sixteen nights, including the four days that are condemned by the good. // Mn_3.46 //

Of these, the first four nights are censured, as is the eleventh and the thirteenth; but the remaining ten nights are praiseworthy. // Mn_3.47 //

On even nights, sons are conceived, and on uneven nights, daughters; therefore, one who desires a son should approach his wife in her fertile period on the even nights. // Mn_3.48 //

A male child is produced when the male seed is greater, a female child when the female seed is greater; if both are equal, a neuter child or a boy and a girl; if the seed is weak or scanty, there is a failure of conception. // Mn_3.49 //

By avoiding his wife on the eight censured nights and on the other forbidden ones, a man, in whatever stage of life he dwells, is ever a celibate student. // Mn_3.50 //

The learned father of a maiden should not accept even the smallest bride-price; for a man who accepts a price out of greed becomes a seller of his offspring. // Mn_3.51 //

Those kinsmen who, out of delusion, live on the property of women, or on their vehicles or clothes, those sinners sink to a lower world. // Mn_3.52 //

Some say that the pair of cattle taken in the Ārṣa rite is a bride-price, but that is false; whether small or great, it is still a sale. // Mn_3.53 //

When kinsmen do not take the price for themselves, that is not a sale; it is merely a token of respect for the maiden and an act of pure kindness. // Mn_3.54 //

They should be honored and adorned by their fathers, brothers, husbands, and brothers-in-law, who desire great prosperity. // Mn_3.55 //

Where women are honored, there the gods themselves rejoice; but where they are not honored, there all sacred rites are fruitless. // Mn_3.56 //

Where the female relatives grieve, that family quickly perishes; but where they do not grieve, that family always prospers. // Mn_3.57 //

Those houses which female relatives, not being duly honored, curse, perish completely, as if destroyed by black magic. // Mn_3.58 //

Therefore, they should always be honored with ornaments, clothes, and food by men who desire prosperity, at festivals and on special occasions. // Mn_3.59 //

In that family where the husband is content with his wife, and the wife is likewise with her husband, there good fortune is assuredly constant. // Mn_3.60 //

For if the wife is not radiant, she does not delight her husband; and if the husband is not delighted, no offspring is produced. // Mn_3.61 //

When the wife is radiant, the whole family is radiant; but when she is not radiant, the whole family is not radiant. // Mn_3.62 //

Through improper marriages, through neglect of sacred rites, through failure to study the Veda, and through insults to Brahmanas, families fall from their high state. // Mn_3.63 //

Through base arts and commerce, through begetting children on Shudra women only, through dealing in cattle, horses, and vehicles, through agriculture, and through service to a king; // Mn_3.64 //

And by sacrificing for those unworthy to have sacrifices performed for them, and by denial of the efficacy of sacred rites, families that are deficient in sacred knowledge quickly perish. // Mn_3.65 //

But families that are rich in sacred knowledge, even if they have little wealth, are counted among the great families and attain great fame. // Mn_3.66 //