Our two main epics, Ramayan and Mahabharta, consider “separating lovers” as a major sin.
Sage Valmiki saw a courting crane couple killed cruelly and cursed the hunter in what happened to be the first verse in Shardulvicridit chanda. Thinking of the incidence, the sage wrote Ramayan to warn the society of separating two committed lovers – Rama and Sita.
King Pandu was hunting and saw an easy prey – mating deer. The mating pair was too engrossed to move and the king shot his arrows with ease. Sage Kimdam cursed the king for killing a mating pair. The rest, as they say, is HISTORY !
Our “scriptures” have always endorsed love marriage. Tradition of holding Swayamvar, where a woman could choose her future husband, is the most obvious example of love marriage being sanctioned by society and state.
Countless Hindu men and women since Vedic times have vowed to die rather than be
married elsewhere.
Some examples of ancient lovers –
* Goddess Parvati, epitome of divine feminine, married out of love and did so
against the wishes of her parents.
* Rukshmani, incarnation of goddess Lakshmi, married Shri Krushna by
advising him on how to elope with her !
* Savitri insisted on marrying Satyavan despite knowing he had a short
lifespan, was poor and without any future prospects.
* These are just a few of hundreds of examples in scriptures !!
So why is it that our society now tries to use “scriptures” to force their precious sons and daughters to marry people chosen by their parents ?
If only the youth (and parents) knew the real scriptures, they could quote examples of Gargi, Savitri, Shakuntala, Usha, Ulupi, Hedamba, Rukshmani, Krushna, Arjun, Dhushyant and countless other heroes and heroines to justify their right to marry the man / woman of their dreams.
It is a sin to separate lovers.
Our scriptures say so !
© Bhagwat Shah
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