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The term Vivaha literally means (viśiṣṭaḥ vāhaḥ prāpaṇam) to make a girl attain wifehood, i.e. earlier there was "strītvam" (girlhood) and after marriage she attains "bhāryātvam" (wifehood) also. This Saṃskāra is the most important of all [[Samskaras (संस्काराः)|samskaras]].

The term Vivaha literally means (viśiṣṭaḥ vāhaḥ prāpaṇam) to make a girl attain wifehood, i.e. earlier there was "strītvam" (girlhood) and after marriage she attains "bhāryātvam" (wifehood) also. Vivaha Saṃskara is the most important of all [[Samskaras (संस्काराः)|samskaras]].

[[File:27. Vivaha (Repurposed) PNG.png|thumb|700x700px|'''<big>Vivaha</big>''']]

[[File:27. Vivaha (Repurposed) PNG.png|thumb|700x700px|'''<big>Vivaha</big>''']]

In [[Sanatana Dharma (सनातनधर्मः)|Sanatana Dharma]] traditions the second stage of life after [[Brahmacharyashrama (ब्रह्मचर्याश्रमः)|Brahmacharya]] is called the [[Grhasthashrama (गृहस्थाश्रमः)|Grhasthashrama]]<ref>Radhakrishnan, S. (1926). ''Hindu view of life''. George Allen And Unwin Ltd, London.</ref>. A human being is not ordinarily self- sufficing. These are as a rule encouraged to enter the married life. In India monastic tendencies were discouraged until one had a normal expression of natural impulses. He who runs back from marriage is in the same boat with one who runs away from battle. Only failures in life avoid occasions for virtue. Marriage is regarded as sacred. When the Hindu descends from the adoration of the Absolute and takes to the worship of a personal god, his god has always a consort. He does not worship a bachelor or a virgin.

 

In [[Sanatana Dharma (सनातनधर्मः)|Sanatana Dharma]] tradition, the second stage of life after [[Brahmacharyashrama (ब्रह्मचर्याश्रमः)|Brahmacharya]] is called the [[Grhasthashrama (गृहस्थाश्रमः)|Grhasthashrama]]<ref>Radhakrishnan, S. (1926). ''Hindu view of life''. George Allen And Unwin Ltd, London.</ref>. A human being is not ordinarily self-sufficing, and as a rule are encouraged to enter the married life. In India, monastic tendencies were discouraged until one had a normal expression of natural impulses. He who refrains from marriage is similar to one who runs away from battle. Marriage is regarded as sacred. When the Hindu descends from the adoration of the Absolute and takes to the worship of a personal god, his god has always a consort, rarely does he worship a bachelor or a virgin.

Śiva is ardhanāriśvara, and his image signifies the cooperative interdependent, separately incomplete but jointly complete masculine and feminine functions of the supreme being. There is nothing unwholesome or guilty about the sex life. Through the institution of marriage it is made the basis of intellectual and moral intimacies. Marriage is not so much a concession to human weakness as a means of spiritual growth. It is prescribed for the sake of the development of personality as well as the continuance of the family ideal. Marriage has this social side. Every family is a partnership between the living and the dead.

Śiva is ardhanāriśvara, and his image signifies the cooperative interdependent, separately incomplete but jointly complete masculine and feminine functions of the supreme being. There is nothing unwholesome or guilty about the sex life. Through the institution of marriage it is made the basis of intellectual and moral intimacies. Marriage is not so much a concession to human weakness as a means of spiritual growth. It is prescribed for the sake of the development of personality as well as the continuance of the family ideal. Marriage has this social side. Every family is a partnership between the living and the dead.