"Prior to Shiva, there was no system of marriage in human society. And as there was no recognized marriage system, the matrilineal order was in vogue, because it was easy to identify the mothers. In the case of the fathers, it was impossible to identify them. Shiva, for the first time, introduced the system of marriage which has continued until this day. The Sanskrit word for marriage, viváha (derived vi – vah + ghaiṋ), literally means “to follow a particular system”. This system of marriage is known as Shaeva viváha. According to this system, the bride and the bridegroom will equally share full responsibility for their marriage, without any consideration of caste or community. Shiva was above all sorts of geo-sentiment and socio-sentiment. As I told you a little earlier, each clan/gotro used to live on a separate hill, and the leader of that clan was respected as rśi of the clan. The affiliations of the gotra people were indicated by the name of that particular rśi. After the patriarchal system was established, the members of one gotra would forcibly kidnap women from other gotras to their own gotra, their own hill. Thus immediately after the marriage, the woman's gotra would change, because she was then a member of a different gotra, a separate hill. All this invariably led the different clans into bloody conflicts. Those who were defeated in battle were captured as slaves and the women were taken to the harems of the victors. The victorious clan would then occupy the hill, the gotra of the vanquished clan. Thus within one gotra, there were many sub-gotras, called pravaras. The women were forcibly carried away, their hands bound in iron chains. Even to this day, women in Bengal and some other areas wear iron bangles on their wrists after marriage – the symbols of their ancient servitude. One should clearly understand this. The males who would attack the neighbouring hills would tie up the women and carry them to their own hill. Even today, during the marriage ceremony in certain parts of India, the bride's clothes are tied to the clothes of the bridegroom. This enslavement of the defeated gotra was a great humiliation, especially for the women. Sometimes, during the battle, the men would strike the heads of the women with an axe, causing blood to flow. Up until the present, at the time of marriage, women use a vermilion cosmetic mark on their foreheads – a symbol of blood. However, Shiva, by introducing the Shaeva system of marriage, brought an end to this shameful chapter of human history. In the Vedic Age, women as a class were neglected and treated as mere commodities of enjoyment; whereas in the age of Shiva they were proclaimed as a class of mothers. As the influence of Shiva was comparatively great in Bengal, there we still find the custom of addressing unknown ladies as Má [“Mother”]. In Bengali, aunts are called másimá [mother's sister], pishimá [father's sister], etc.; that is, the word má is respectfully added when addressing women. And as the matriarchal system is still prevalent in Bengal to some extent, there the women are not altogether separated from the father's lineage. After marriage their gotra changes, no doubt, but they still have some relation with their father's lineage. For this reason a nephew, a sister's son, inherits the properties of his maternal uncle if he dies without heirs." - Shrii P.R Sarkar 18 April 1982, Calcutta Book:Namah Shiváya Shántáya
