Hindu Weddings - Arsha Marriage

Arsha Marriage
Arsha marriage is the one, wherein the girl is married to the sages or rishis. References from dharmasastras tell us that in arsha marriage, the bride is given in exchange of two cows, received from the groom. The girl is generally married to an old sage. The cows, which were taken in exchange of the bride, shows that even the groom do not have any remarkable qualities. According to sastras, noble marriages had no monetary or business transactions. Therefore, these kind of marriages were not considered noble.