Gandharva Vivah
The Gandharva type of marriage is the one in which a girl selects her husband by herself. The marriage of Shakuntala and Dushyantha is a classical example of this kind of marriage. Mann gives a comprehensive definition of it in the following manner — “where the bride and the bridegroom meet each other of their own accord and the meeting is consummated in copulation born of passion, that form is called gandharva.”
It can also be considered a kind of marriage wherein the mutual love and consent of the bride and the bridegroom is the only condition required to bring about the union. Neither the father nor the kinsmen need have a hand in bringing about the marriage. This type of marriage is called gandharva, because it was in practice in the Gandharva tribe living on the slopes of the Himalayas.
During the early days it was in practice among the Kshatriyas in which the kings used to arrange swayamvaras inviting princes from different places so that their daughters may get a wide selection to choose their husbands. By swayamvara we mean the selection of the bridegroom by the bride herself. The marriage of Damayanthi with Nala, and Prithviraj Chauhan with Samyukta can be mentioned here as examples. The gandharva vivaha in its original style is not in practice today but it has assumed a new form called “love marriage.”
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