In many ways the theoretical inferiority of the _Sudra_ absolves him from the restraints which the letter of the law lays on the three higher castes. AGE FOR MARRIAGE.--In the Hindu law want of age, though a disqualification for other purposes, does not render a person incompetent to marry. Ordinarily the lowest age is eight years for females, but a girl may be married before that age if a suitable husband is procured for her. If none of the persons who ought to give a girl in marriage do so before she completes her eleventh year she may choose a husband for herself. A girl must be given in marriage before she attains puberty. The reason for marrying off a girl before she reaches the age of puberty is that the marriage should be free from sexual desire. PARENTAL CONSENT.--The Hindu law vests the girl absolutely in her parents and guardians, by whom the contract of her marriage is made, and her consent or absence of consent is not material. The consent of the parents is required for the marriage of minors--that is, persons under fifteen years of age. The parties authorized to give or withhold such consent are the father, the paternal grandfather, the brother, a _sakulya_ or kinsman in succession. The want of parental consent, or the consent of the person standing in _loco parentis_, does not invalidate a marriage otherwise legally contracted. IMPEDIMENTS.--Disqualifications or impediments are absolute or relative. A disqualification which renders a party incompetent to marry any person is absolute, while one which simply renders a party incompetent to a particular person is termed relative. A woman with a husband living is absolutely disqualified from contracting a new marriage. Idiots and lunatics are disqualified for civil purposes only, although the Hindu law permits a wife to desert or disobey an insane husband. Deaf and dumb persons, or those afflicted with incurable or loathsome diseases, are competent to marry, but cannot insist upon conjugal rights. Among the three highest castes (the twice-born) impotency is not an impediment to marriage, but for those of the lowest caste (_Sudras_) it is a disqualification. A twice-born husband who was impotent was for centuries permitted to appoint a kinsman to beget issue by his wife, but this is now forbidden. The female must be younger than her husband and of the same caste. A girl whose elder sister is unmarried, or a man whose elder brother is unmarried, is not eligible for marriage. MARRIAGE CEREMONIES.--Ceremonies of some sort, religious or secular, are requisite to the concluding of a valid marriage. The ceremony may be that of "walking seven steps" or merely the exchange of a garland of flowers. The question as to whether or not a marriage is ceremonially complete depends largely upon what ceremonies are customary among the parties concerned.