Arsha Vivaha is one of the eight types of marriage legally valid in Hindu religion. In the Arsha Vivaha, the bridegroom gives away one or two go-mithuna to the bride’s father and accepts the bride. It was believed that the go-mithuna so received must be used only for the yajna ritual. According to Vira-Mitrodaya, this was not a price for the bride as its quantity was limited.
Avinash Chandra Das opines in his book ‘The Rigvedic Culture’ that when a girl was married to a rishi, owing to his spiritual excellence, the marriage is known as arsha. However, it is not clear how the giving away of go-mithuna is to be linked therewith. If the daughter is given away for the rishi’s spiritual merit, how could the gift of go-mithuna be associated with it? Manusmriti has raised the point that the gift of go-mithuna is not proper even if the price is only meager.