Question

Explain hypergamy as a form of marriage and its effects on Indian society.

Answer 1

Hypergamy refers to the form of marriage in India in which a woman can marry either a man of her own status or higher than her status. As such, she is not allowed to marry a man who belongs to a lower caste than that of her own. A Brahmin man could marry a Kshatriya or Vaishya woman. However, marriage with a Shudra woman was condemned. Children of such a union were referred to as dasiputra. This was done in order to protect the ritual purity associated with the higher castes.