There are eight types of marriages in Hinduism, namely brahma, daiva, arsa, prajapatya, asura, gandharva, raksasa and paisaca. The sixth type or the "Gandharva" is known as love marriage. This type of marriage is based purely on mutual attraction between a male and female and is not bound by any ritual or the family participation. In ancient Hindu mythology, the most popular example of this time of marriage was Dushyant and Shakuntala. It is now that this type of marriage has been complicated on the grounds of caste. Many scholars discourage it on grounds of religion and morality these days.
I seriously fail to understand why any religion would have a problem with love marriage. After all, love after marriage or love before marriage is the same thing. It should completely be a couple's own choice and there should be no religious boundaries when it comes to love marriages. Luckily, today's generation is defying all odds and making the impossible possible.
