Sapinda is a term used in context of

cousin marriage A cousin marriage is a marriage where the spouses are cousins (i.e. people with common grandparents or people who share other fairly recent ancestors). The practice was common in earlier times, and continues to be common in some societies toda ...

s in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. The subject is to be counted as first generation, and the common ancestor defining sapinda limit is to be within sapinda limit.

Legal explanation

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, section 3 on definitions defines Sapinda in sub-section (f); as mentioned below: (i) “Sapinda relationship” with reference to any person extends as far as the third generation (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the mother, and the fifth (inclusive) in the line of assent through the father, the line being traced upward in each case from the person concerned, who is to be counted as the first generation; (ii) two persons are said to be “sapindas” of each other if one is a lineal ascendant of the other within the limits of sapinda relationship, or if they have a common lineal ascendant who is within the limits of sapinda relationship with reference to each of them; However, Manu Smiritibharatdiscovery.org/india/Manu Smriti
/ref> explains "Spinda" in Adhyay: 5, Mantra: 60, which states, सपिण्डता तु पुरुषे सप्तमे विनिवर्तते । समानोदकभावस्तु जन्मनाम्नोरवेदने ।। This has been explained as Sapinda relationship end at seventh generation and absence of knowledge of birth and name of lineal descendant of seventh generation cannot be considered as Sapinda. Therefore, Hindu Marriage Act 1955 restrict definition of Sapinda only up to third generation of mother and fifth generation of father, which is more practical approach, as knowledge up to third generation of bride and fifth generation of bridegroom can be easily ascertainable.

Example

For example, if the

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, brides ...

is the offspring of any person within five generations (inclusive) on the groom's father's side and three generations (inclusive) on the groom's mother's side, or vice versa, they will be referred to as "''Sapindas''" of each other. In these cases, the

Hindu Marriage Act The Hindu Marriage Act is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1955 which was passed on 18th of May. Three other important acts were also enacted as part of the Hindu Code Bills during this time: the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Hind ...

of 1955 bars marriage between two Hindus of this nature.

Conditions for a Hindu marriage

Section 5 of the

of 1955 laid down conditions for a

Hindu marriage The Hindu marriage () is the most important of all the samskaras, the rites of passage described in the Dharmashastra texts. Variously defined, it is generally described to be a social institution for the establishment and regulation of a prope ...

. A marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus, if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:- :''(i) neither party has a

spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. In certain contexts, it can also apply to a civil union or common-law marriage. Although a spouse is a form of significant other, the latter term also includes non-marital partners who play a social ...

living at the time of the marriage;'' :''(ii) neither party is an

idiot An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person. 'Idiot' was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot ...

or a

lunatic Lunatic is an antiquated term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or crazy—conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from ''lunaticus'' meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck". History The ter ...

at the time of the marriage;'' :''(iii) the bridegroom has completed the age of twenty one years and the bride the age of eighteen years at the time of the marriage;'' :''(iv) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;'' :''(v) the parties are not Sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two'' Out of the five above conditions, this article refers to the condition stated under section 5(v), which states that if the Hindu bride and the Hindu groom are "''sapindas''" of each other, the marriage between the two cannot be solemnized by law and will be legally void.

References

{{Reflist Hinduism and society Marriage in Hinduism Cousin marriage