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Background:

  • Many violence are occuring in name of STOPPING INTER CASTE marriage.

Question : - Is our scriptures promoting these or not ?

Sakthi
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  • God has made different species, varnas, races for different purposes. So miscagney is unnatural, backwards downwards loop spiral to daridra. Brings destruction, grave sins to the lineage. If deities are invoked to bless for such bloody disgusting sin, instead of blessing, they bestow curse, eternal damnation. – Aoi. T_015 Jul 08 '19 at 15:45

4 Answers4

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Inter caste marriages are never praised in Scriptures.Because they create the "Varna shankars" or mixed castes.

For example see this:

Manu Smriti 10.24. By adultery (committed by persons) of (different) castes, by marriages with women who ought not to be married, and by the neglect of the duties and occupations (prescribed) to each, are produced (sons who owe their origin) to a confusion the castes.

In particular the son that a Sudra man begets on a Brahmin woman is called a Chandala , one of the base-borns.

Manu Smriti 10.12. From a Sudra are born an Ayogava, a Kshatta, and a Chandala, the lowest of men, by Vaisya, Kshatriya, and Brahmana) females, (sons who owe their origin to) a confusion of the castes.

So,stopping such marriages will possibly be good karma.

EDIT-A little bit of more clarification for Sakthi.

@Sakthi If something of that sort is happening within your family you can(& you should) stop it.But if its happening to persons who are not related then you can at the most oppose and let everyone know that you are against such activities.Anything more than that from your side is not desired.And resorting to violence in order to stop such marriages is of course Adharma only.

See the following verse,which clearly suggests that undue interference is not recommended in Hinduism.

Manu Smriti 4.164. Let him, when angry, not raise a stick against another man, nor strike (anybody) except a son or a pupil; those two he may beat in order to correct them

Rickross
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    thanks for your clear answer but some may kill them to stop them is it dharma or adharma – Sakthi Feb 15 '17 at 09:14
  • is there any punishments for these kinds of marriage – Sakthi Feb 15 '17 at 09:22
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    @Sakthi Thanks..No killing will be adharma only..And i'll have to chk if punishments are mentioned in shastras..i'll let u know if i find them – Rickross Feb 15 '17 at 09:55
  • @Rickross sir, I think we can't answer exactly without knowing the behaviour of both. Without scriptural knowledge the woman is already Shudra. right? – ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Feb 15 '17 at 16:43
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    @user367180 No Sir(haha) The scriptures will mention like this-a Sudra woman, a Brahmin woman etc..So they differentiate between the two.. birth is taken into account here..Although both the Sudra & a Brahmin woman don't have rights to Vedas they are different due to birth..Regarding behaviour (guna) we can't be sure..I have answered based on how Scriptures deal with a marriage between a Sudra man & a Brahmin girl.. – Rickross Feb 16 '17 at 05:10
  • Okay got it. I have read that answer. :) – ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Feb 16 '17 at 05:55
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    to add to this point, marriage between any non-brahmin man (kshatriya, vaishya, shudra), and brahmin woman is to be avoided. – ram Aug 06 '17 at 05:40
  • Offsprings of intervarna marriages will be considered as outcastes, right? So, do the present day scheduled castes people in India are descendants of inter-varna couples? Because I hear the statements like no inter-caste marriage happened in ancient India. If no inter-caste marriage is happened, then what is the origin of untouchables or outcastes in India? – Tat Tvam Asi Jul 21 '18 at 05:11
  • It is difficult to say which castes of today's times evolved out of inter caste marriages. Because caste can be lost so easily. Also, it is not that no inter caste marriages occurred in ancient pasts. Manu Smriti is the Smriti for the Satya Yuga and it talks about Chandalas and other outcastes. And outcastes are created by proscribed marriages only. So, at all times inter caste marriages used to happen. @NarayanaSharma – Rickross Jul 21 '18 at 06:43
  • Manu says : stri-ratnam duskukAdapi.Hoepw to reconcile? –  Mar 22 '19 at 07:34
  • @Pratimaputra What is the contradiction? – Rickross Mar 22 '19 at 07:36
  • Duskul can mean any caste –  Mar 22 '19 at 07:39
  • Ok yes tht verse is talking abt some exceptions but still its stri ratnam not just any stri, also the verse says tht knowledge can be obtained from any persons but usually gurus r all brahmins ... and in general its the duty of the king to prevent inter caste marriages from occurring so overall my answer is correct @Pratimaputra – Rickross Mar 22 '19 at 08:03
  • Okay, thanks. yes u r over all but one:) –  Mar 22 '19 at 08:07
  • So u think by love marriage peope get stones but not gems :D –  Mar 22 '19 at 08:17
  • Love marriage is quite clearly against scriptures like Manu Smriti but no one cares about Manu in today's age :P @Pratimaputra – Rickross Mar 22 '19 at 08:35
  • It's dharma, just like how Arjuna's resolution to fight against his cousins, teachers, elders – Aoi. T_015 Jul 08 '19 at 16:11
  • @TatTvamAsi Hindu society was divided into four varnas only andit was intended that way. A progeny of inter caste is neither here nor there and can belong to no complete varna. Marriages have been endogamous and sanctioned ONLY within their varna. Kali yugagoes by Parashar Samhita. All SC and Dalits are progeny of inter caste relationships only not necessarily a society approved marriage. Mostly Pratiloma relationships which are FORBIDDEN by Dharmashastras. – 9bilvapatra Apr 28 '20 at 19:42
  • If possible, please keep the corresponding Sanskrit slokas so that people can read varna there. – hanugm May 11 '22 at 03:01
  • @hanugm All verses are from Manu .. so you can get the Sanskrit verses from the Wisdomlib website .. also as per Manu Varna and Jati are the same thing .. I have posted about that in another answer of mine :D – Rickross May 11 '22 at 06:25
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Normally inter-caste marriage is discouraged. But at the same time, a very famous sloka of the Manu-SamhitA reads:

shraddadhAnh subhAm vidyAm AdaditA-varAdapi/antyAd api oaram dharmam stri-ratnam duskulAd api// meaning : One if endowed with reverence can learn knowledge and righoutness from inferior ones, and can accept gem of a wife (stri-ratna) from evil castes(dushkula).

It is not possible for someone to know who is stri-ratna and who is not, and so stopping of an inter-caste marriage can very well become adharma. Sri Ramakrishna used to say (Ref: Kathamrita): one's birth, death and marriage are fixed by God.

So He also indirectly advises to avoid interference.

Spark Sunshine
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I found a Puranic verse circulating online which may promote violence against intercaste (Pratiloma) marriage:

Matsya Purana 227.131

यच्चान्यं सेवमानाञ्च संयतां वासयेद्गृहे। जघन्यमुत्तमा नारी सेवमाना तथैव च ।। २२७.१३१ ।।

“If a low caste man wants to marry a high caste girl and does so would be punished with death; similarly a high class woman marrying a low caste man should be punished with death.

English Translation Sourced from Digital Library of India translations of Sacred Texts

I am not aware of any Smriti text which promote violence for intercaste marriages though Smritis strongly condemn it.

Vivikta
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Spark Sunshine
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    I have edited your answer with links to the English Translation text, and also added the original sanskrit text for the same for better clarity. If you disagree with my edit, please feel free to roll back my edit. :) – Vivikta May 11 '22 at 01:39
  • @Vivikta good... – TheLittleNaruto May 11 '22 at 06:04
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Ramanujacharya was forced to leave Srirangam due to Kulothunga Chola and came to Karnataka. He later came to Melkote, where he found the idol of Cheluvanarayana Swami in an anthill. He then re-established the temple in Melkote, but realised that there is no Utsava Murti (the idol that is taken out for processions). Then the Lord came in Acharya's dream and told Him that He was in the palace of a Muslim King. So Ramanujacharya along with a few disciples leaves to Delhi* , and enquires with the King. The King then welcomes Ramanujacharya and shows Him a room where he's kept all the Hindu idols he's got after war and asks Acharya to take any idol he wishes from there. But Acharya didn't find the idol there.

The king then says that those were all the idols he had, and if Ramanujacharya still felt that the idol was there, He himself can ask his Lord. So Ramanujacharya prays and says, "Shelvapillai Vaarum Enri", requesting the Beautiful Perumal to come, when the idol comes from the Princess' room and sits on Ramanujacharya's lap. Ramanujacharya thanks the king and leaves.

Now the Princess, who was in love with the idol, couldn't live without the idol and hence rushed behind Acharya. Hence the king went and requested Acharya if his daughter could travel with the idol, for which Acharya agreed. But unfortunately, on the way back to Melkote, the princess passed away, and this saddened Ramanujacharya, and says the Princess is very lucky to have died next to God. He then places an idol of the princess at the feet of the Lord, which can be seen even today at Melukote.

The name given to the Princess is Bibi Nachiyar.

Edit:

*- Although historically there was no Muslim king in Delhi during Ramanujacharya’s time, the exact location from where the idol was obtained is unknown. Delhi might be a word that is used to refer to North India. Some people say it was obtained from Lahore, while some books suggest that it might not have been a king, and was just a chieftain or a local leader in the region.

It can also be questioned as to how the idol of Cheluvanarayana went to North India. Historical records suggest that a certain fan of Mahmud Ghazni is said to have come to South India, and might have taken the idol then. The tomb of this fan and a monument dedicated to Ghazni can be found near Pandavapura.

This story is only written just for awareness although this doesn't tell anything regarding intercaste marriages.

So eventhough intercaste marriage are generally not promoted. As quoted by Vivikta Smritis strongly condemn it

Bhagavad Gita calls intercaste marriage adharmic and it will lead to destroying of eternal dharma. It is clearly opposed in Gita. In Chapter 1 of Shankaracharya’s Gita which deals with the Despondency of Arjuna, Arjuna was worried about the deaths in Mahabharat leading to intercaste marriage. Heres, verses 40–43

40: On the extinction of a family, the immemorial dharmas of that family disappear. When the dharmas disappear, impiety (adharma) overtakes the whole family.

41: By the prevalence of impiety, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt. Women corrupted, there will be intermingling of castes (varna-samkara), O descendant of Vrishnis.

42: Confusion of castes leads the family of these destroyers of families also to hell; for, their forefathers fall (down to hell) deprived of the offering of pinda (rice-ball) and water.

43: By these evil deeds of the destroyers of families which cause the intermingling of castes, the eternal dharmas of castes and families are subverted.

Shashaank
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