Sacred Bond or Bondage?: Marriage in Hinduism and the Biblical Worldview

Sacred Bond or Sacred Bondage? Marriage in Hinduism and the Biblical Worldview When a marriage is called sacred, what exactly has been sanctified-the mutual covenant, the family alliance, the production of sons, the preservation of caste, or the authority of the husband? This volume examines marriage across Vedic wedding hymns, Dharmaśāstra classifications, epic narratives, inheritance rules, widowhood, remarriage, niyoga, endogamy, and household duty. Some texts celebrate companionship and blessing. Others rank eight forms of marriage without placing the woman's consent at the moral center. Some protect the household; others make marriage a border wall for caste and a mechanism for sons, property, and ritual continuity. Can these claims be harmonized merely by calling them diverse? Does ritual solemnity create justice? Can a union be praised as sacred while its obligations, freedoms, and remedies remain unequal? The book presents the strongest internal defenses and distinguishes ancient description from moral prescription. It then compares the record with the biblical covenant of one man and one woman, one flesh under one Lord, governed by fidelity, sacrificial love, mutual responsibility, and equal accountability before God. For readers interested in Hindu texts, Christian apologetics, marriage ethics, or the moral consequences of sacred law, this book offers a direct examination of what marriage is-and whom it is designed to serve.