Kinship and marriage rules

Some words for families:

• kula: the family;
• jnati: the larger network of kinfolk;
• vamsha: the lineage (descent over generations).

Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on. The Mahabharata is, in a way, a story of a quarrel over land and power within a lineage; the war ended with the victory of the Pandavas, and patrilineal succession was confirmed.

Daughters had no claim to the family's resources. They were married into families outside the kin group: this is called exogamy. Giving a daughter in marriage, kanyadana, was considered an important religious duty of the father.

From about 500 BCE, Brahmanas compiled texts called the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras that laid down norms (rules) for society. The best known is the Manusmriti, compiled between about 200 BCE and 200 CE.

These texts recognised eight forms of marriage. The first four were considered 'good'; the remaining four were condemned. Sons inherited; daughters were given away.