smiling at them and respecting them at the same time.

If both the mothers have children of the same sex, it will not upset the
Brahman in the least; he will say this was the will of the goddess Mata,
it shows that she desires the new-born babies to be two loving brothers,
or two loving sisters, as the case may be, in future. And if the
children grow up, they will be acknowledged heirs to the properties of
both mothers. In this case, the Brahman breaks the bonds of the marriage
by the order of the goddess, is paid for doing so, and the whole affair
is dropped altogether. But if the children are of different sexes these
bonds cannot be broken, even if they are born cripples or idiots.

While I am dealing with the family life of India, I had better mention
some other features, not to return to them any more. No Hindu has the
right to remain single. The only exceptions are, in case the child is
destined to monastic life from the first days of his existence, and in
case the child is consecrated to the service of one of the gods of the
Trimurti even before he is born. Religion insists on matrimony for the
sake of having a son, whose duty it will be to perform every prescribed
rite, in order that his departed father may enter Swarga, or paradise.
Even the caste of Brahmacharyas, who take vows of chastity, but take a
part and interest in worldly life--and so are the unique lay-celibates
of India--are bound to adopt sons. The rest of the Hindus must remain
in matrimony till the age of forty; after which they earn the right to
leave the world, and to seek salvation, leading an ascetic life in some
jungle. If a member of some Hindu family happens to be afflicted from
birth with some organic defect, this will not be an impediment to his
marrying, on the condition that his wife should be also a cripple, if
she belongs to the same caste. The defects of husband and wife must be
different: if he is blind, she must be hump-backed or lame, and vice
versa. But if the young man in question is prejudiced, and wants a
healthy wife, he must condescend to make a mesalliance; he must stoop to
choose a wife in a caste that is exactly one degree lower than his own.
But in this case his kinsmen and associates will not acknowledge her;
the parvenue will not be received on any conditions whatever. Besides,
all these exceptional instances depend entirely on the family Guru--on
the priest who is inspired by the gods.

All the above holds good as far