Niyoga

Niyoga ( sa, नियोग) was an ancient Hindu practice. According to the Agni Purana, it referred to a system or custom that permitted either the husband or the wife who had no child by their spouse to procreate a child with another man or a woman. It became extinct after the Vedic period.

Clauses

There were various clauses associated with this process:

#The woman would agree to this only for the sake of rightfully having a child but not sexual pleasure.
#The child thus born would be considered the child of the husband-wife and not that of the appointed man.
#The appointed man would not seek any paternal relationship or attachment to this child in the future.
#To avoid misuse, a man was allowed a maximum of three times in his lifetime to be appointed in such a way.
#The act will be seen as that of Dharma and while doing so, the man and the wife will have only Dharma in their mind and neither passion nor lust. The man will do it as a help to the woman in the name of God, whereas the woman will accept it only to bear the child for herself and her husband.
#There will be no foreplay or contact of any kind with the upper body. The bodies of the female and male both are smeared with Ghee. There is a curtain between the male and the female so that none can see each other's face so that passion does not sneak into their minds. Only the legs of the female are kept uncovered. The male penetrates and ejaculates inside the woman and the process is completed.

Literature

Mahabharata

The epic ''Mahabharata'' describes one instance of niyoga. Queen Satyavati asks her eldest son, sage Vyasa to perform niyoga with both the widows of her younger son Vichitravirya. The widows, sisters Ambika and Ambalika and one of their maids, Parishrami bear Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura, respectively.

The practise is also mentioned in the story of Sage Dirghatamas.

Manusmṛti

In the Manusmṛti, niyoga is described in IX.59-63, but the practice is also allowed in IX.64-68. This text (IX.167) describes the child born by niyoga as a ''kshetraja'' child of the husband-wife.

In popular culture

Niyoga is the central issue of Anahat, a Marathi feature film directed by Amol Palekar. It was showcased at the International Film Festival of India 2003.

The movie Eklavya: The Royal Guard has this practice as the central plot. The title character played by Amitabh Bachchan is torn between his duty and the emotions for his children begotten by the practice of niyoga.

It is also portrayed in the 1989 film Oonch Neech Beech, where the character played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, a sanyasi, is commanded by his teacher to perform niyoga.

References

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External links

Women in Indian scriptures

Marriage in Hinduism
Customs involving siblings