Editing Polygamy (section)

===Hinduism===
The [[Rig Veda|''Rigveda'']] mentions that during the [[Vedic period]], a man could have more than one wife.<ref name="Vedic">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6TVLlPvuMAC&pg=PA478 |title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Volume 1; Volume 5 |page=478|isbn=9788120813328 |last1=MacDonell |first1=Arthur Anthony |last2=Keith |first2=Arthur Berriedale |year=1995 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers }}</ref> The practice is attested in epics like the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and the ''[[Mahabharata]]''. The [[Dharmashastras|''Dharmashastra''s]] permit a man to marry women provided that the first wife agree to marry him.{{Clarification needed|date=June 2023}} Despite its existence, it was most usually practiced by men of higher status. Common people were only allowed a second marriage if the first wife could not bear a son or have some dispute because there is no law for divorce in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N–Z |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/514 514]|isbn=9780823931804 |last1=James g. Lochtefeld |first1=PhD |date=2001-12-15 }}</ref>

According to the ''[[Vishnu Smriti]]'', the number of wives one could have is linked to one's social class, referred to as ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'':
{{blockquote|Now a [[Brahmin|Brāhmaṇa]] may take many wives in the direct order of the (four) knowledge;<br />A [[Kshatriya]] means warrior knowledge, three;<br />A [[Vaishya]] means business knowledge, two;<br />A [[Shudra]] means cleaning knowledge, one only<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe07/sbe07026.htm|title=XXIV.|website=sacred-texts.com|access-date=20 January 2015|archive-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104210715/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe07/sbe07026.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

This linkage of the number of permitted wives to the varna system is also supported by the ''[[Baudhayana]]'' ''Dharmasutra'' and the ''Paraskara Grihyasutra''.<ref name="MMS"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqm0c02RMWYC&pg=PA301 |title=The world wakes up to Islam! |page=301|isbn=9788174355904 |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Moid |year=2009 |publisher=Adam Publishers & Distributors }}</ref>

The ''[[Apastamba]] Dharmasutra'' and the ''[[Manusmriti]]'' allow marriage to a second wife if the first one is unable to discharge her religious duties or is unable to bear a child or have any dispute because in Hinduism there was no law for divorce.<ref name="MMS">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O-00Ip4W1BUC&pg=PA40 |title=Life in North-eastern India in Pre-Mauryan times |pages=39–40|last1=Singh |first1=Madan Mohan |year=1967 }}</ref>

For a [[Brahmin|Brahmana]], only one wife could rank as the chief consort who performed the religious rites (''dharma-patni'') along with the husband. The chief consort had to be of an equal knowledge. If a man married several women from the same knowledgeable, then the eldest wife held the position of the chief consort.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LnoREHdzxt8C&pg=PA114 |title=Antiquities of India |page=114|isbn=9788171564422 |last1=Barnett |first1=Lionel D. |date=1999-04-30 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist }}</ref> [[Hindu king]]s commonly had more than one wife and are regularly attributed four wives by the scriptures. They were: Mahisi, who was the chief consort, Parivrkti, who had no son, Vaivata, who is considered the favorite wife and the Palagali, who was the daughter of the last of the court officials.<ref name="Vedic"/>

Traditional Hindu law allowed polygamy if the first wife could not bear a child.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGV3noHZ1QMC&pg=PA153 |title=Religion and Personal law in secular India: A call to judgment |page=153|isbn=978-0253214805 |last1=Larson |first1=Gerald James |year=2001 |publisher=Indiana University Press }}</ref>

The [[Hindu Marriage Act]] was enacted in 1955 by the [[Indian Parliament]] and made polygamy illegal for everyone in India except for Muslims. Prior to 1955, polygamy was permitted for Hindus. Marriage laws in India are dependent upon the religion of the parties in question.<ref>[http://www.sudhirlaw.com/Marriages.html Marriages-Divorces] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901081957/http://www.sudhirlaw.com/Marriages.html |date=1 September 2005 }} section at general information website on Indian laws by Sudhir Shah and Associates</ref>

Some Hindus in [[Indonesia]] practice [[Polygamy in Indonesia|polygamy]].<ref name="Martyn">{{cite book
| title = The Women's Movement in Postcolonial Indonesia: Gender and Nation in a New Democracy
| first = Elizabeth | last = Martyn
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CQh_AgAAQBAJ&q=balinese+polygamy&pg=PA263
| page = 178, 184
| publisher = Routledge | year = 2004
| isbn = 9781134394708
}}</ref>