Marriage as a Means of Political Alliance. A New Reading of Arjuna’s Marriages as Recounted in the Ādiparvan of the Mahābhārata based on Artha- and Dharmaśāstra

As widely acknowledged, marriage (vivāha) is extensively described by Dharmashastric texts (and also the earlier Gr̥hyasūtras), which are mainly concerned with whom to marry and in what rite. The sections devoted to vivāha stand out for their classification acumen and completeness, particularly regarding the different forms of marriage (conventionally eight). Such argumentative completeness, however, is absent as regards the value of marriage in politics, which is the core argument of Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra. Within this work, the political role of marriage is mentioned and/or discussed in some passages, but there is no systematic treatment of it. The Arthaśāstra strongly suggests marriage as a means to contract political alliances, to strengthen when in trouble, and a strategy to use in war. One might wonder whether the marriage rites described in the Dharmashastric texts and, primarily, the political usages of marriage described in Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra proved effective in Brahmanic society and Ancient Indian politics. This paper aims to answer this question by analysing the four marriages contracted by Arjuna as described in the Ādiparvan of the Mahābhārata (MBh I, 175–189; I, 206–207; I, 211–213), with the instruments of Artha- and Dharmaśāstra. Arjuna married four maidens (Draupadī, Ulūpī, Citraṅgadā, and Subhadrā) using four different rites, which reflect those described by the Dharmashastric texts. Through these marriages, he also established political alliances with the Pañcālas, Nāgas, Yādavas, and King Citravāhana, which can be linked to some strategies described in the Arthaśāstra.