Prashasta ("Approved") is a Sanskrit word that
means "approved" marriages.
The four acceptable
types of marriage in the dharma literature, or works on religious obligation,
are the Brahma marriage, the Daiva marriage, the Arsha marriage, and the
Prajapatya marriage.
The bride is given as a gift without conditions in the
Brahma form, a sacrificial fee in the Daiva form, a pair of cattle in the Arsha
form, and a condition that the husband and wife do their duties together in the
Prajapatya form.
The Brahma is the idealized form of marriage and is the only
one of these four that is practiced in contemporary India.
See also the eight classical kinds of marriage.
