Does Hinduism promotes violence against inter caste marriage

Question

Background:

• Many violence are occuring in name of STOPPING INTER CASTE marriage.

Question : - Is our scriptures promoting these or not ?

Answer 1

Inter caste marriages are never praised in Scriptures.Because they create the "Varna shankars" or mixed castes.

For example see this:

Manu Smriti 10.24. By adultery (committed by persons) of (different) castes, by marriages with women who ought not to be married, and by the neglect of the duties and occupations (prescribed) to each, are produced (sons who owe their origin) to a confusion the castes.

In particular the son that a Sudra man begets on a Brahmin woman is called a Chandala , one of the base-borns.

Manu Smriti 10.12. From a Sudra are born an Ayogava, a Kshatta, and a Chandala, the lowest of men, by Vaisya, Kshatriya, and Brahmana) females, (sons who owe their origin to) a confusion of the castes.

So,stopping such marriages will possibly be good karma.

EDIT-A little bit of more clarification for Sakthi.

@Sakthi If something of that sort is happening within your family you can(& you should) stop it.But if its happening to persons who are not related then you can at the most oppose and let everyone know that you are against such activities.Anything more than that from your side is not desired.And resorting to violence in order to stop such marriages is of course Adharma only.

See the following verse,which clearly suggests that undue interference is not recommended in Hinduism.

Manu Smriti 4.164. Let him, when angry, not raise a stick against another man, nor strike (anybody) except a son or a pupil; those two he may beat in order to correct them

Answer 2

Normally inter-caste marriage is discouraged. But at the same time, a very famous sloka of the Manu-SamhitA reads:

shraddadhAnh subhAm vidyAm AdaditA-varAdapi/antyAd api oaram dharmam stri-ratnam duskulAd api// meaning : One if endowed with reverence can learn knowledge and righoutness from inferior ones, and can accept gem of a wife (stri-ratna) from evil castes(dushkula).

It is not possible for someone to know who is stri-ratna and who is not, and so stopping of an inter-caste marriage can very well become adharma. Sri Ramakrishna used to say (Ref: Kathamrita): one's birth, death and marriage are fixed by God.

So He also indirectly advises to avoid interference.

Answer 3

I found a Puranic verse circulating online which may promote violence against intercaste (Pratiloma) marriage:

Matsya Purana 227.131

यच्चान्यं सेवमानाञ्च संयतां वासयेद्गृहे। जघन्यमुत्तमा नारी सेवमाना तथैव च ।। २२७.१३१ ।।

“If a low caste man wants to marry a high caste girl and does so would be punished with death; similarly a high class woman marrying a low caste man should be punished with death.

English Translation Sourced from Digital Library of India translations of Sacred Texts

I am not aware of any Smriti text which promote violence for intercaste marriages though Smritis strongly condemn it.

Answer 4

Ramanujacharya was forced to leave Srirangam due to Kulothunga Chola and came to Karnataka. He later came to Melkote, where he found the idol of Cheluvanarayana Swami in an anthill. He then re-established the temple in Melkote, but realised that there is no Utsava Murti (the idol that is taken out for processions). Then the Lord came in Acharya's dream and told Him that He was in the palace of a Muslim King. So Ramanujacharya along with a few disciples leaves to Delhi* , and enquires with the King. The King then welcomes Ramanujacharya and shows Him a room where he's kept all the Hindu idols he's got after war and asks Acharya to take any idol he wishes from there. But Acharya didn't find the idol there.

The king then says that those were all the idols he had, and if Ramanujacharya still felt that the idol was there, He himself can ask his Lord. So Ramanujacharya prays and says, "Shelvapillai Vaarum Enri", requesting the Beautiful Perumal to come, when the idol comes from the Princess' room and sits on Ramanujacharya's lap. Ramanujacharya thanks the king and leaves.

Now the Princess, who was in love with the idol, couldn't live without the idol and hence rushed behind Acharya. Hence the king went and requested Acharya if his daughter could travel with the idol, for which Acharya agreed. But unfortunately, on the way back to Melkote, the princess passed away, and this saddened Ramanujacharya, and says the Princess is very lucky to have died next to God. He then places an idol of the princess at the feet of the Lord, which can be seen even today at Melukote.

The name given to the Princess is Bibi Nachiyar.

Edit:

*- Although historically there was no Muslim king in Delhi during Ramanujacharya’s time, the exact location from where the idol was obtained is unknown. Delhi might be a word that is used to refer to North India. Some people say it was obtained from Lahore, while some books suggest that it might not have been a king, and was just a chieftain or a local leader in the region.

It can also be questioned as to how the idol of Cheluvanarayana went to North India. Historical records suggest that a certain fan of Mahmud Ghazni is said to have come to South India, and might have taken the idol then. The tomb of this fan and a monument dedicated to Ghazni can be found near Pandavapura.

This story is only written just for awareness although this doesn't tell anything regarding intercaste marriages.

So eventhough intercaste marriage are generally not promoted. As quoted by Vivikta Smritis strongly condemn it

Bhagavad Gita calls intercaste marriage adharmic and it will lead to destroying of eternal dharma. It is clearly opposed in Gita. In Chapter 1 of Shankaracharya’s Gita which deals with the Despondency of Arjuna, Arjuna was worried about the deaths in Mahabharat leading to intercaste marriage. Heres, verses 40–43

40: On the extinction of a family, the immemorial dharmas of that family disappear. When the dharmas disappear, impiety (adharma) overtakes the whole family.

41: By the prevalence of impiety, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt. Women corrupted, there will be intermingling of castes (varna-samkara), O descendant of Vrishnis.

42: Confusion of castes leads the family of these destroyers of families also to hell; for, their forefathers fall (down to hell) deprived of the offering of pinda (rice-ball) and water.

43: By these evil deeds of the destroyers of families which cause the intermingling of castes, the eternal dharmas of castes and families are subverted.