Human Marriage (A Comparative Study of Vedic and Tribal System of Odisha)

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In Indian tradition several words have been used to convey the idea of marriage indicating one or more of the elements of the Sanskara of marriage as Udvaha, which signifies the meaning that taking the girl out of her parental home, again supplemented by the word Vivaha which indicates the idea that taking the girl away in a special way for a special purpose.

India having the character of a subcontinent has basically two types of habitation i.e. the forest dwellers and the plain dwellers. When one group stays in forest and hilly region, the other group used to dwell in the riverbank which was more convenient for transportation of essential livelihood and culture as well.

The dwellers in plain and the valleys are identified as the Vedic residents as they chiefly guided by the Vedic religion and culture which is scriptural in nature. The people living in the mountainous and forest regions are the Tribal residents.

This study is an attempt to find out the cultural proximity of both the civilizations. The tribal people are not completely untouched by the Vedic tradition as it is generally viewed. Attitude towards life, more to say married life is the common stand point on the basis of which both Vedic and Tribal people have got much similar inherent ideals and mottos.

Born on 07.04.1969 at Chatara Shasana, Kendrapara a culturally rich land in the state of Odisha, nurtured by his well accomplished parents Basanta Kumari Mishra and Jagabandhu Mishra, a renowned practitioner of Vedic rituals and social customaries of this land; imbibed ample inspirations to carry on his Sanskrit learning from Dhenkanal Govt College at degree level and masters degree from Utkal University, Odisha. During his studies he has been nominated for short-term courses at HT, Kanpur and Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology, Delhi. Starting his teaching career from P.S.Mahavidyalaya, Balakati, Bhubaneswar, now he is stationed at Tagore's Visva Bharati University, West Bengal. He is popular among the scholars and students of Vedic Literature and by now established himself as a Sanskrit scholar sincerely working on Tribal Religion and Culture. To his credit he has successfully undertaken a UGC funded MRP on Paippalada tradition of Eastern India for the preservation and restoration of the same tradition.

So far he has authored 21 research papers, 4 books and keenly associated with publication of several books and journals as Associate Editor and Reviewer. For extensive firsthand study on Tribal Religion and Culture he has spent several months in the tribal Villages of Mayurbhanj of Odisha. His other areas of interest are Vedic Chanting, Temple Architecture, Human Studies, Ancient Indian Polity and Buddhism.

Mortal body is deemed to be impure, so to make it pure several Safiskaras have been prescribed in the Vedic texts as well as in the folk traditions of the society. In ancient days the outlook on matrimony was inspired by the philosophy of life. Marriage or union of two souls was/is the centre and root of life. In Indian tradition several words have been used to convey the idea of marriage indicating one or more of the elements of the Safiskara of marriage as Udvciha, which signifies the meaning that taking the girl out of her parental home, again supplemented by the word Vivaha which indicates the idea that taking the girl away in a special way for a special purpose. Likewise terms like Parinaya, Parinayana, Upayama and Pcinigrahana have similar idea by which a man or a woman gets legal sanction for sex, procreation and divine rituals.

Scholars differ in tracing the history of human marriage. Westermark in ' History of Human Marriage' and Lowise in Primitive Society' have the opinion that the earliest form of human organization was a patriarchal one. The patriarchal family means a group of men, women and their children dominated by a man formed originally for satisfying the biological need and for gathering food. In the primitive period a man or a group of men is supposed to have lived with a woman or a group of women. Gradually sex-jealousy and the spirit on individuality prevailed and prompted a man to contract intimacy and pair-dwelling. The woman also took a particular man for support and protection, formulating there by system of laws and customs which helped the growth of the institution called marriage. Rabindranath Tagore thinks that marriage is like all other matters of a civilised society, nothing but the attempt to establish a treaty between the intention of nature and that of man. Household life is the most essential element of the Vedic society and hence marriage is the most important factor established in Dharmascistras.

grhastha evajayate grhastha-s-tapyate tapah|

caturrjan asramanan to grhastha-s-tu visisyate||

India having the character of a subcontinent has basically two types of habitation i.e. the forest dwellers and the plain dwellers. When one group stays in forest and hilly region, the other group used to dwell in the riverbank which was more convenient for transportation of essential livelihood and culture as well. By the way one group used to accept the cultural influences borrowed and the other group did not do it as it was far from the social contact. The dwellers in plain and the valleys are identified as the Vedic residents as they chiefly guided by the Vedic religion and culture which is scriptural in nature. The people living in the mountainous and forest regions are the Tribal residents.

This study is an attempt to find out the cultural proximity of both the civilizations. The tribal people are not completely untouched by the Vedic tradition as it is generally viewed. Attitude towards life, more to say married life is the common stand point on the basis of which both Vedic and Tribal people have got much similar inherent ideals and mottos. Certain mutual influences are to be found in the sphere of social practices. Rituals and the customs relating to the marriage ceremonies are the focal points of discussion. Moreover the present day social malady of dowry system and complexity of marriage ceremonies in Vedic system need to be reformed from the stand point of real purpose of marriage which is more simple and enchanting and the characteristic feature of the Tribal life. The Tribal system is also rapidly influenced by the Vedic system of marriage. These interesting points tempted me to select this topic for thorough analysis. The basic aim is to analyze and establish the cultural unity among the diversities of race, religion and language. Attempts have been made to find out the meanings and the significance of the rituals in relevant cases within Vedic as well as in Tribal groups. It is interesting to note that some of the marriage rites have lost their original meaning and significance while some of them have been retained amongst the Tribes of the land with different meaning. The proximity of both the system due to the technological advancement leads to the amalgamation of the culture in a rapid speed. But each culture has got its own purity, beauty and significance which are to be fostered and protected for the benefit of human culture and civilization.