(Manu, iii 12) A) "If twice-born men wed women of their own...

(Manu, iii 12) A) "If twice-born men wed women of their own and of other (lower castes), the seniority, honour, and habitation of those (wives) must be (settled) according to the order of the castes (Varna)." (Manu, ix 85) c) "If, after one damsel has been shown, another be given to the bridegroom, `he may marry them both" for the same price that Manu ordained." (Manu, viii 204) d) "Among all (twice-born men) the wife of equal caste alone (not a wife of a different caste by any means), shall personally attend her husband and assist him in his daily sacred rites." (Manu,ix 86) e) "But he who foolishly causes that (duty) to be performed by another while his wife of equal caste is alive, is declared by the ancients (to be) as (despicable) as a Kandala (spring from the) Brahamana caste." (Manu, ix 87) "The above quotations clearly indicate that Manu sanctioned polygamy, `and it is now quite settled in the Courts of British India that a Hindu is absolutely without restriction as to the number of his wives, any one may marry again without his wife's consent, or any justification, except his own wish." (Mayne, On Hindu Law and Usage, p.113)* * S.

V. Mir Ahmad Ali, Ibid Polygamy: According To Jewish Law "If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish." It is evident to even a casual reader of Old Testament that not only is polygamy permitted but also practised, and that regulations for that have been stipulated in the scriptures.

Polygamy: According To Christianity In Exodus (chap.21, ver.10) it is stated:- The Christian writers say that "monogamy (i.e., marrying one wife only) is the divine ideal. The Creator constituted as a union between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:18-24; Matt. 19:5; 1 Cor. 6:16) He preserves the number of males practically equal to the number of females." ( The Westminster Dictionary of Bible, 1944 edition) We will talk about this supposed equal numbers of males and females later on.

Here I would like to quote from the Bible where God addresses David in the following words:- "And I gave thee (David) thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the House of Israel and of Judah." (11 Sam. 12:8) How is it that God Himself gave him his `master's wives' if His intention was to keep the `one man with one woman' rule. Even in the seventh generation after Adam we find that "Lamech took unto him two wives" (Gen.