{"id":2522,"date":"2018-05-05T10:06:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-05T10:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vedkabhed.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/05\/polygamy-in-hindu-dharma\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T06:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T06:41:25","slug":"polygamy-in-hindu-dharma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vedkabhed.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/05\/polygamy-in-hindu-dharma\/","title":{"rendered":"Polygamy in Hindu Dharma"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Written by Sulaiman Razvi<\/p>\n

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Polygamy, defined as having more than one spouse, particularly more than one wife, is prohibited for Hindus under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955. However, classical Hindu scriptures contain numerous instances of polygamy and do not explicitly mandate monogamy. There is no clear scriptural injunction stating that a man must marry only one woman, despite the common claim that Hinduism prescribes monogamy as a rule.<\/p>\n

Many Hindus assume that polygamy is religiously forbidden, yet this perception appears to stem more from modern legal reform than from scriptural authority. When confronted with textual evidence permitting polygamy, the defense often shifts from scripture to statutory law, emphasizing legal compliance rather than doctrinal prohibition. They claim that Hindus are highly adaptive. However, practices such as Sati and polygamy did not end purely because Hindu society chose to abandon them. These practices were legally prohibited by Indian courts. As a result, Hindus adapted not entirely out of voluntary reform, but because they were required to accept the decisions of the law. On this basis, it is difficult to identify any unequivocal scriptural verse that categorically prohibits polygamy.<\/p>\n

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This article deals with the following subjects<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0Practice of Polygamy in modern India<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0Examples of Polygamy in Hindu scriptures<\/p>\n

3) Hindu scriptures permitting Polygamy<\/p>\n

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Table of Contents<\/p>\nToggle<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n