What is Sapinda relationship

Sapind has more importance under the Hindu Marriage Act. After marriage, it is a necessary condition not to be connected. In religions, after marriage, the husband and wife are considered to be the same body, so it is a spindle. Defining Sapind, it was decided by the court that it is a relative relationship due to the presence of the body component to the generation below its ancestor. Prohibited under Hindu law and a logical and scientific reason for not allowing marriage in Sapind relationships, according to physiology, marriages in blood-related relatives make children weak and ill.

Socially in India, it is also believed that marriage is not fair in those people where there is mutual reconciliation. Under the present Hindu Marriage Act, the calculation of Sapind determines five (5) from the father and three generations from the mother's side. Sapind relationship is also recognized under the current Hindu law. Marriage to a person of up to five generations on the father's behalf is zero and on the mother's part, it happens for 3 generations.

It has been enacted defining prohibited kinship that the party to the marriage should not be situated in the prohibited relationship. Two persons are said to be under a prohibited relationship -
Brother's or father's or mother's brother's or father's or grandfather's brother's or mother's brother's.
If the brother is the brother's child or sister's child then it will be a prohibited relation.

More detail you can also go with this link - Sapinda Relationship

But if there is a practice in both the parties that allows marriage even in such relations, then they can get married. If such a practice is on only one side, then the marriage cannot take place and the practice should be valid.

According to Hindu scriptures, the Sapind relationship is of utmost importance in 3 works - marriage, succession, and rituals related to birth and death. The family's distance to the parties to the marriage and the successor to the succession is decided by the relationship. The term Sapind is not used in the Hindu Succession Act. The significance of the term is described only in the matrimonial field. Under Hindu law, sapind means a person who has the ability to perform a Pind Daan.

Sapinda relationship is defined in the context of Hindu Marriage Act 1955. The extent of sapinda relationship is explained with respect to the lineal ascendents and in simple terms it extends (counting from the present generation) to third generation in the line of ascent through the mother and the fifth generation in the line of ascent through father. This line of ascent is to be traced upwards. If two persons are having common lineal elements in this range then they are said to be in sapinda relationship with each other and it does not allow a legal marriage between the two such people. The sapinda rulings were formulated based on the Hindu culture and traditions of marriage.

At the same time it is also observed that in some Hindu communities such marriages are agreed even in such a mismatch. The reason is that there is a local tradition and even if the person is doing that under a sapinda relationship, it is accepted by a court of law.

Hindu Law is based upon a set of concepts drawn from Dharma and Dharma is trying combination of social, moral, legal, religion, rights and performance of duties of mankind. Each of these elements have their importance in shaping our lives. According to Hindu Mythology, marriage is the ultimate union of the two souls performing their spiritual and religious duties with the total dedication.
With the progress of the time, the concept has changed when the same is viewed from the angle of Hindu Marriage Act 1955. The codified law has laid down provisions for marriage and divorce being followed in Hindu Law.
Section 5 of Hindu Marriage Act 1955 deals with the conditions to be followed in Hindu Marriage act and the following parameters are essential to be taken into account as indicated below-
1) Monogamous Relationship
2) Mental Faculty
3) Free mutual consent of the partners
4) Age of the couples
5) Degree of prohibited relationship
6) Sapinda Relationship
Sapinda Relationship is a sort of extended relationships through the generations such as father, grand fathers etc. While defining the sapinda relationship by two legal commentaries, two terms such as Mitakshara and Dayaarpan have been used. The former word denotes to a man connected by some particles of the body and the later term means a person involved in sapinda where the ball of rice is offered in Sraddha Ceremonies.
According to Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Sapinda Relationship has been defined as the third generation inclusive in the line of ascent through the mother and in case of father, the same holds good up to the fifth generation. This line would move upwards in each case from the person concerned for whom generation is to be reckoned.

As we all know that there were wide differences in the practices followed by Hindus in our country, that in some places where marriages were fixed between siblings, cousins, uncles, etc. Thus, it became necessary to bring in a properly written law on the topic of marriages, and in 1955, the Hindu Marriage Act was enacted by incorporating Vijaneshwara's concept.

The concept of Sapinda is actually from the word 'Pnda' which means one's body, i.e people who all are connected through the same body. Here, the same body implies a connection of people through the common ancestor.
Eg: A son is connected or sapinda to his father, grandfather, mother, and other maternal relations as they share the same blood in their bodies.

Asper Section 03(f) of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, the term sapinda is describes in the following manner:
- For any person to be in a sapinda relation if:
a) Your relationship extends as far as the third generation (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the mother, and
b) Your relationship extends as far as the fifth generation (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the father.
In both the case, the line of ascent is traced upwards from the person(You) concerned, who is to be counted as the first generation.

You can also get more information about SAPINDA category of Special Marriage Act from the answers provided in the query asked about Can I marry my maternal second cousin?

In every family there is a gothra. If any person in the same gothra from his father's side are treated as brothers and sisters. Once the girls of particular gothra got married she becomes a member of her husband's gothra. In the case of male members the persons of his father's side are called sapinda.