Chapter 24

Vishnu Smriti 24

Now, a Brāhmaṇa may have four wives, according to the order of the varṇas. // Vi_24.1 //

A Kṣatriya, three. // Vi_24.2 //

A Vaiśya, two. // Vi_24.3 //

A Śūdra, one. // Vi_24.4 //

In marrying a wife of the same varṇa, the hand is to be taken. // Vi_24.5 //

In marrying one of a different varṇa, an arrow by a Kṣatriya maiden; // Vi_24.6 //

A goad by a Vaiśya maiden; // Vi_24.7 //

The hem of a garment by a Śūdra maiden. // Vi_24.8 //

One shall not take as a wife a woman of the same lineage (gotra) or one who has the same ancestral sage (ārṣapravara). // Vi_24.9 //

And not from the mother's side up to the fifth person, and from the father's side up to the seventh.[^2] // Vi_24.10 //

Not one of low family. // Vi_24.11 //

Nor one who is diseased. // Vi_24.12 //

Nor one with a superfluous limb. // Vi_24.13 //

Nor one with a deficient limb. // Vi_24.14 //

Nor one with very reddish-brown hair. // Vi_24.15 //

Nor one who is talkative. // Vi_24.16 //

Now, there are eight forms of marriage. // Vi_24.17 //

The Brāhma, Daiva, Ārṣa, Prājāpatya, Gāndharva, Āsura, Rākṣasa, and Paiśāca. // Vi_24.18 //

The giving of a maiden to a man of good qualities, after inviting him, is the brāhma (the Brāhma form of marriage). // Vi_24.19 //

To a priest at a sacrifice is the Daiva. // Vi_24.20 //

By taking a pair of cattle is the Ārṣa. // Vi_24.21 //

By giving her to one who has requested her is the Prājāpatya. // Vi_24.22 //

The union of two lovers without their parents is the Gāndharva. // Vi_24.23 //

By purchase is the Āsura. // Vi_24.24 //

By capture in war is the Rākṣasa. // Vi_24.25 //

By approaching a sleeping or intoxicated woman is the paiśāca.[^3] // Vi_24.26 //

Of these, the first four are righteous. // Vi_24.27 //

The Gāndharva is also for Rājanyas. // Vi_24.28 //

The son of a Brāhmī wife purifies twenty-one generations. // Vi_24.29 //

The son of a Daivī wife, fourteen. // Vi_24.30 //

The son of an Ārṣī wife, seven. // Vi_24.31 //

The son of a Prājāpatya wife, four. // Vi_24.32 //

He who gives a maiden in the Brāhma form of marriage leads her to the world of Brahma. // Vi_24.33 //

In the Daiva form, to heaven. // Vi_24.34 //

In the Ārṣa form, to the world of Vishnu. // Vi_24.35 //

In the Prājāpatya form, to the world of the gods. // Vi_24.36 //

In the Gāndharva form, he goes to the world of the Gandharvas. // Vi_24.37 //

The father, paternal grandfather, brother, a kinsman (sakulya), maternal grandfather, and mother are the givers of a maiden. // Vi_24.38 //

In the absence of a preceding one, the next in order, if of sound mind. // Vi_24.39 //

A maiden, having waited for three menstrual periods, should choose a husband for herself; After three menstrual periods have passed, she always has authority over herself. || Vi_24.40 ||

The maiden who sees her menses in her father's house while unmarried, That maiden is known as a vṛṣalī (a girl who menstruates before marriage); he who takes her is not defiled. || Vi_24.41 ||