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In many religions, a practice/custom or tradition starts with a noble intention, mainly due to prevalent social needs. But with time it is corrupted, or digresses or even becomes obsolete.
With that premise, my questions are:
What is the origin of the dowry system in the Sanatana Dharma?
Is there any official literature on this?
I'm trying to explain the most probable interpretation of the inception of the dowry system in ancient India particularly in Hinduism. These are solely my views and I may in fact be wrong.
The (voluntary) gifts given by the bride's parents were typically the items that were necessary to start off a new family life. Examples of such items include new bed, utensils etc.
Since the bride goes to a new home, she carries with her some of her family possessions such as ornaments (for her own personal use) etc. I don't see any plausible reason for the bride's father to keep these ornaments in his own house.
In cases where the groom's family is economically less stable than the bride's family, any monetary gift given as dowry could potentially give the necessary impetus to the groom to start off a new prospective career, e.g. initial investment for a new business, which eventually ensures nothing but a prosperous life for the new family and I don't see any wrong in it.
The dowry can be looked upon in a positive light in the sense that it can act as a shield to the new bride against the male dominated social system. If the bride's father pays a reasonable amount of money to the groom's family, their attitude towards the new bride could potentially be more of submissive (may be sub-consciously) rather than aggressive. This in turn also helps the bride to gradually become an important member of her new home.
