The wise have said this, O
king, to be the practice of the Asuras, viz., wedding a girl after
purchasing her at a high cost and after gratifying the cupidity of her
kinsmen. Slaying and cutting off the heads of weeping kinsmen, the
bridegroom sometimes forcibly takes away the girl he would wed. Such
wedding, O son, is called by the name of Rakshasa. Of these five (the
Brahma, the Kshatra, the Gandharva, the Asura, and the Rakshasa), three
are righteous, O Yudhishthira, and two are unrighteous. The Paisacha and
the Asura forms should never be resorted to.[277] The Brahma, Kshatra,
and Gandharva forms are righteous, O prince of men! Pure or mixed, these
forms should be resorted to, without doubt. A Brahmana can take three
wives. A Kshatriya can take two wives. As regards the Vaisya, he should
take a wife from only his own order. The children born of these wives
should all be regarded as equal.[278] Of the three wives of a Brahmana,
she taken from his own order should be regarded as the foremost.
Similarly, of the two wives permitted to the Kshatriya, she taken from
his own order should be regarded as superior. Some say that persons
belonging to the three higher orders may take, only for purposes of
enjoyment (and not for those of virtue), wives from the lowest or the
Sudra order. Others, however, forbid the practice.
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