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As the question says, are there any taboos/guidelines or any references to authoritative texts or incidents where a younger groom marries an elder woman?

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    "Radha-Krishna" can be a reference, if we consider that "Gandharva Marriage" happened between them.
    – iammilind
    Aug 3, 2015 at 8:54
  • Silly. Do you think that this is right. Has Lord Krishna, Rama followed this. Seetha was 6 years elder than Rama. Krishna married thousands of women. were they really younger than him. Radha was elder to Krishna. Is there any proof that every wife of Krishna belongs to low caste than their sisters whom Krishna married before them.
    – Dinesh
    Aug 24, 2015 at 10:59
  • Age and caste never matters. Only true love matters.Rukmini was a kshatriya whereas Krishna was a yadava. Don't you think that everything that is said in great books is true. There are many mistakes in them. And no book is perfect to attain complete goodness but one
    – Dinesh
    Aug 24, 2015 at 10:59
  • @Dinesh Sri Krishna is Chandravanshi Kshtriya from Yaduvansh of King Yayati. This Yaduvansh has nothing to do with modern day yadavs of India as that Kshtriya Yaduvansh was completely destroyed during Dwapar Yuga by Lord. Few yadus were Lord's eternal companions who returned to Vaikuntha with Sri Krishna. Like Ayodhya residents and Vanars,who were companions of Lord and Devas took jala samadhi with Sri Rama. Other yadavs who were egostic earned curse from a Sage after insulting Him and a curse from Sri Krishna Himself for sins. Leading to their complete annihilation. Refer Bhagavatam book 11.
    – RishX
    Dec 26, 2020 at 18:18
  • @Dinesh also what is your source of Mother Seetha being older to Sri Rama? I have heard about Radha Krishna but never about Seetha Rama.
    – RishX
    Dec 26, 2020 at 18:19

5 Answers 5

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Yes, there is a scriptural basis for the restriction.

Here is what Krishna says to Uddhava in the eleventh chapter of the Uddhava Gita of the Srimad Bhagavatam:

One who desires to establish family life should marry a wife of his own caste, who is beyond reproach and younger in age. If one desires to accept many wives he must marry them after the first marriage, and each wife should be of a successively lower caste.

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    Great, what more authoritative can one ask especially one that's from the horse's mouth?
    – Narayanan
    Aug 3, 2015 at 8:16
  • @Keshav - I remember, reading mahabharata, shanti parva, where bheeshma answers such questions
    – user808
    Aug 5, 2015 at 3:30
  • @Krishna Are you referring to the Anushasana Parva, where Bhishma gives talks about wives' ages which are a third of the husband's age? sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/m13b009.htm That is based on verse 94 of this chapter of the Manu Smriti: sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu09.htm In any case, Medhatithi's commentary on the Manu Smriti says that verse 94 is just giving examples of suitable ages, it's not saying that everyone has to follow those ages. Aug 5, 2015 at 4:43
  • @Keshav - May be Anushashana parva. I dont remember the exact parva. I thought it is in Shanti parva. I could be wrong. Even the uddhava gita can be dusmisssed as just being prescriptive in nature. your answer doesnt mandate it.
    – user808
    Aug 5, 2015 at 5:08
  • @Krishna Well, I think the two cases are different. In the case of the Uddhava Gita, no commentators (as far as I know) state that that verse is merely a suggestion or example. In the case of that Manu Smriti verse, all the commentaries I've looked at say it's merely an example. Aug 5, 2015 at 5:23
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Any references to authoritative texts or incidents where a younger groom marries an elder woman?

Yes, there are few incidents of boy marrying girl older than him:

  • As per Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa): Skandha 9: Chapter 3, Revatī was much (twenty-seven catur-yugas!) elder than Baladeva (Balarama). Brahma advised Revatī's father to offer his daughter to Balarama.

  • As discussed in Was Radha aunt of Krishna? post, Radha was fourteen years elder than Krishna and Brahma had performed the marriage of Radha with Krsna (Brahmavaivarta Purana: Prakrti-Khandam: Chapter 49).

  • As per SB 10.55, Kamadeva took rebirth as Pradyumna. Māyāvatī's (Rati) used to live as a cook in the household of Śambara when Pradyumna arrived there as a just born baby. So Mayavati was much older than Pradyumna.

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  • The third one you are referring may not be exact...... See this statement After a very short time, Pradyumna grew to youthful maturity, entrancing all the women with His beauty vedabase.com/en/sb/10/55
    – hanugm
    Oct 10, 2019 at 17:41
  • Please consider this statement also: Taken from the fish's belly, and carefully protected by his wife, Pradyumna suddenly grew to become a young man. Then he understood what his enemy had done. [25] wikikrishna.com/…
    – hanugm
    Oct 10, 2019 at 17:43
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    why so..keep on reading and u ll find that Pradyumna addresses her as mother as he was unaware of their incarnation...this indicates the age gap...also here 'short time' doesn't mean few hours...also, many younger man looks elder to female of more age and vice versa but age should be age only and not like how old one looks...
    – YDS
    Oct 10, 2019 at 17:46
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As it is already said in above answer that marriage between elder bride and younger groom is restricted but for answering the second part of this question that asks for the reference of such marriage, there is a very famous example of marriage between Lord Balarama and Revati is described in Bhagavatam here where Lord Brahma says following words to Kakudmi (Revati's father):

tat putra-pautra-naptṝṇāṁ

gotrāṇi ca na śṛṇmahe

kālo ’bhiyātas tri-ṇava-

catur-yuga-vikalpitaḥ

Twenty-seven catur-yugas have already passed. Those upon whom you may have decided are now gone, and so are their sons, grandsons and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names.

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It is said that a man shall marry a maiden who is much younger than him.
See about that in the Vishnu Purana: Book III: Chapter X:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp084.htm

"If he marry, he must select a maiden who is of a third of his age"

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    That Vishnu Purana is based on a line from the Manu Smriti, and I think both the commentators on the Vishnu Purana and the commentators on the Manu Smriti are unanimous in their claims that this is meant as a rough guideline concerning appropriate ages, especially at the lower bound, and not a rule that has to be followed exactly. Aug 13, 2015 at 2:03
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Yes.

Sanathan Dharma avoided marriage between younger groom and elder woman and allowed marriage only between elder groom and younger woman.

While listing the duties of a householder, Yajnavalkya told that wife should be younger than husband.

The wife should be a, girl young in years and not previously married to any other husband, in the possession of sound health and having had uterine brothers of her own, and not related to him by any tie of Sapinda relationship, nor belonging to the same spiritual clanship (Arsa Gotram) as his own. She should be taken from any of the sixteen reputed families of the rotriyas, not related to the bridegroom within five and seven degrees in the lines of his mother and father respectively.

[2-3, Chapter 95: Duties of house-holders, Achara Kanda, Garuda Puranam]

It has been mentioned that one should avoid intercourse with elder woman. We can understand that marriage should be avoided.

The six things, such as the use of a new wine or Trimulakam (lit., horse radish in its three different forms) the partaking of curd in the night, or of dried meat, sleep during the, day, and the bed of an elderly woman, should be abjured.

[25, Chapter 114: injunctions as to the distinction of friends and enemies (in the Nitisara), Achara Kanda, Garuda Puranam]

Intercourse with elder women is an depletive agent that reduce strength and vitality of the person.

Dried meat, exposure to the rays of the autuman, sun (in Virgo), curd of more than two days manufacture (Tarunam Dadhi), intercourse with a woman older than one's own self, and sleep and coitus in the morning are the six depletive agents that tend to reduce strength and vitality. coitus in the morning are the six depletive agents that tend to reduce strength and vitality.

[31, Chapter: 114: injunctions as to the distinction of friends and enemies (in the Nitisara), Garuda Puranam]

It has been mentioned multiple times across the scriptures to avoid marriage with women who is older than the groom.

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