The Cosmic Curse of Conjugal Discord: Marital Conflicts through the Lens of Sacred Literature and Sociological Reality
Authors
Advocate, Freelancer Research Guide (India)
Article Information
DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS.2026.100400077
Subject Category: Sociology
Volume/Issue: 10/4 | Page No: 1082-1091
Publication Timeline
Submitted: 2026-03-30
Accepted: 2026-04-05
Published: 2026-04-28
Abstract
This research paper investigates a profound and largely unexplored question: whether the pervasive phenomenon of marital conflict particularly over trivial matters finds its metaphysical roots in Hindu Puranic literature, divine curses, cosmic design, and the ordained dysfunction of the Kaliyuga era. Drawing upon primary textual sources including the Shiva Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Devi Bhagavata, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Manusmriti, this paper examines how ancient Indian texts not only documented divine marital strife but may have prophesied its inheritance by human couples. The paper further applies a comparative sociological lens to argue that the transition from pre-marital companionship to post-marital cohabitation creates a structural rupture one that ancient seers perhaps intuited through mythological narrative. The convergence of Puranic prophecy, psychological theory, and lived social reality suggests that marital discord is neither accidental nor merely modern; it may be cosmically embedded in the fabric of human existence as ordained by divine design.
Keywords
Marital Conflict, Hindu Mythology
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References
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