Adultery

==Cultural and religious traditions==
{{Close Relationships}}
[[File:Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan-J. M. W. Silver.jpg|thumb|Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan, around 1860]]

{{See also|Religion and sexuality}}

===Greco-Roman world===
{{Further|Adultery in Classical Athens}}

In the [[Greco-Roman world]], there were stringent laws against adultery, but these applied to sexual intercourse with a married woman. In the early [[Roman Law]], the ''jus tori'' belonged to the husband. It was therefore not a crime against the wife for a [[husband]] to have sex with a slave or an unmarried woman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01163a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Adultery|work=newadvent.org|access-date=10 May 2014|archive-date=4 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704020319/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01163a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Dig., XLVIII, ad leg. Jul.</ref>

The Roman husband often took advantage of his legal immunity. Thus we are told by the historian [[Spartianus]] that [[Verus (senator)|Verus]], the imperial colleague of [[Marcus Aurelius]], did not hesitate to declare to his reproaching wife: "Uxor enim dignitatis nomen est, non voluptatis." ('''Wife' connotes rank, not sexual pleasure'', or more literally "Wife is the name of dignity, not bliss") (Verus, V).

Later in Roman history, as William E.H. Lecky has shown, the idea that the husband owed a fidelity similar to that demanded of the wife must have gained ground, at least in theory. Lecky gathers from the [[legal maxim]] of [[Ulpian]]: "It seems most unfair for a man to require from a wife the chastity he does not himself practice".<ref>Codex Justin., Digest, XLVIII, 5–13; Lecky, History of European Morals, II, 313.</ref>

According to [[Plutarch]], the lending of wives practiced among some people was also encouraged by [[Lycurgus of Sparta|Lycurgus]], though from a motive other than that which actuated the practice (Plutarch, Lycurgus, XXIX). The recognized license of the Greek husband may be seen in the following passage of the [[pseudo-Demosthenes|pseudo-Demosthenic]] ''[[Against Neaera|Oration Against Neaera]]'':

:''We keep mistresses for our pleasures, concubines for constant attendance, and wives to bear us legitimate children and to be our faithful housekeepers. Yet, because of the wrong done to the husband only, the Athenian lawgiver Solon allowed any man to kill an adulterer whom he had taken in the act.'' (Plutarch, Solon)

The Roman [[Lex Julia]], ''Lex Iulia de Adulteriis Coercendis'' (17 BC), punished adultery with banishment.<ref name="UNRV History">{{cite web |url=http://www.unrv.com/government/julianmarriage.php |title=The Julian marriage laws |publisher=Unrv.com |access-date=29 November 2010 |archive-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515014836/http://www.unrv.com/government/julianmarriage.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The two guilty parties were sent to different islands ("dummodo in ''diversas'' insulas relegentur"), and part of their property was confiscated.<ref name="UNRV History" /> Fathers were permitted to kill daughters and their partners in adultery. Husbands could kill the partners under certain circumstances and were required to divorce adulterous wives.

===Abrahamic religions===
{{See also|Extramarital sex#Religions|Fornication#Religions}}

====Biblical sources====
{{Main|Thou shalt not commit adultery}}
Both Judaism and Christianity base their injunction against adultery on passages in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Old Testament]] in Christianity), which firstly prohibits adultery in the [[Thou shalt not commit adultery|Seventh Commandment]]: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
({{bibleverse||Exodus|20:12|HE}}). However, Judaism and Christianity differ on what actually constitutes adultery.

{{bibleverse|Leviticus|20:10|HE}} defines what constitutes adultery in the Hebrew Bible, and it also prescribes the punishment as [[capital punishment]]. In this verse, and in the Jewish tradition, adultery consists of sexual intercourse between a man and a ''married'' woman who is not his lawful wife:

<blockquote>And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.</blockquote>

Thus, according to the Hebrew Bible, adultery is not committed if the female participant is unmarried (unless she is [[betrothed]] to be married<ref>{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|22:23-27|HE}}</ref>), while the marital status of the male participant is irrelevant (he himself could be married or unmarried to another woman).

If a married woman was raped by a man who is not her husband, only the rapist is punished for adultery. The victim is not punished: as the Bible declares, "this matter is similar to when a man rises up against his fellow and murders him"; just as a murder victim is not guilty of murder, a rape victim is not guilty of adultery.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|22:26|HE}}</ref>

[[Michael Coogan]] writes that according to the text wives are the property of their husband, marriage meaning transfer of property (from father to husband),<ref name=coogan102>{{cite book|last1=Coogan|first1=Michael|title=God and Sex. What the Bible Really Says|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_gPKQEACAAJ&q=god+and+sex|access-date=5 May 2011|edition=1st|date=October 2010|publisher=Twelve. Hachette Book Group|location=New York, Boston|isbn=978-0-446-54525-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/102 102]-[https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog/page/103 103]|chapter=4. Thou Shalt Not: Forbidden Seuxal Relationships in the Bible|url=https://archive.org/details/godsexwhatbi00coog|url-access=registration}}</ref> and adultery is violating the property right of the husband.<ref name=coogan102/> However, in contrast to other ancient Near Eastern law collections which treat adultery as an offense against the husband alone, and allow the husband to waive or mitigate the punishment, Biblical law allows no such mitigation, on the grounds that God as well as the husband is offended by adultery, and an offense against God cannot be forgiven by man.<ref>ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, "Adultery", [[Jeffrey H. Tigay]]</ref> In addition, Coogan's book was criticized by [[Phyllis Trible]], who argues that that [[patriarchy]] was not decreed, but only described by God.<ref name=trible>Phyllis Trible [http://www.bib-arch.org/reviews/review-god-and-sex.asp God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806031403/http://www.bib-arch.org/reviews/review-god-and-sex.asp |date=6 August 2012 }} Biblical Archaeology Review</ref> She claims that [[Paul the Apostle]] made the same mistake as Coogan.<ref name=trible/>

[[David]]'s sexual intercourse with [[Bathsheba]], the wife of [[Uriah the Hittite|Uriah]], is described by the Bible as a "sin"<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:13|HE}}</ref> whose punishment included the ravishment of David's own wives.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:11-12|HE}}</ref> According to Jennifer Wright Knust, David's act was adultery only according to the spirit and not the letter of the law, because Uriah was non-Jewish, and (according to Knust) the Biblical codes only technically applied to Israelites.<ref name="Knust2011">{{cite book|first=Jennifer|last=Wright Knust|title=Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions About Sex and Desire|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trMblwEACAAJ|date=25 January 2011|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-172558-6|chapter=Chapter 2|url=https://archive.org/details/unprotectedtexts00jenn}}</ref> However, according to [[Jacob Milgrom]], Jews and resident foreigners received equal protection under Biblical law.<ref>Jacob Milgrom, ''The JPS Torah Commentary - Numbers'', [[Jewish Publication Society]] (2003), p. 399</ref>  In any case, according to the Babylonian Talmud, Uriah was indeed Jewish<ref>Babylonian Talmud, [https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.76b.15 Kiddushin 76b]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/43681/was-uriah-jewish|title=Was Uriah Jewish?|website=Mi Yodeya|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021001639/http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/43681/was-uriah-jewish|url-status=live}}</ref> and wrote a provisional [[Get (divorce document)|bill of divorce]] prior to going out to war, specifying that if he fell in battle, the divorce would take effect from the time the writ was issued.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite book |first=John L. |last=Thompson |title=Reading the Bible with the Dead |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWciPOChU9QC |page=200 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |access-date=21 October 2016 |isbn=9780802807533 |date=29 May 2007 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227015630/https://books.google.com/books?id=hWciPOChU9QC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Babylonian Talmud | chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.56a | chapter=Shabbath 56 | access-date=17 May 2019 | archive-date=17 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517140618/https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.56a | url-status=live }}</ref>

====Judaism====
Though Leviticus 20:10 prescribes the death penalty for adultery, the legal procedural requirements were very exacting and required the testimony of two eyewitnesses of good character for conviction. The defendant also must have been warned immediately before performing the act.<ref>Maimonidies, Book of the Commandments, Prohibition 392 and the note at the end of Prohibition 347, Hebrew translation and notes by Rabbi Joseph Kapach, Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem 1971</ref> A death sentence could be issued only during the period when the [[Holy Temple]] stood, and only so long as the [[Sanhedrin]] court convened in its chamber within the Temple complex.<ref>Maimonides, [[Mishneh Torah]]: Laws of Sanhedrin 14:11</ref> Technically, therefore, no death penalty can now be applied.<ref>Talmud Bavli: Ketuvoth 30a,b</ref>

The death penalty for adultery was generally strangulation,<ref>Talmud Bavli: Sanhedrin 52b, towards the bottom</ref> except in the case of a woman who was the [[Bat kohen|daughter of a Kohen]], which was specifically mentioned in Scripture as the penalty of burning (pouring molten lead down the throat),<ref>{{bibleverse|Leviticus|21:9|HE}}</ref> or a woman who was betrothed but not married, in which case the punishment for both man and woman was stoning.<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|22:24|HE}}.</ref>

At the civil level, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] (halakha) forbids a man to continue living with an adulterous wife, and he is obliged to divorce her. Also, an adulteress is not permitted to marry the adulterer, but (to avoid any doubt as to her status as being free to marry another or that of her children) many authorities say he must give her a divorce as if they were married.<ref>The Jewish Way in Love & Marriage, Rabbi Maurice Lamm, Harper & Row, San Francisco,1980</ref>

According to Judaism, the [[Seven laws of Noah]] apply to all of humankind; these laws prohibit adultery to non-Jews as well as Jews.<ref>[[Maimonides]], [[Mishneh Torah]], Judges, Laws of Kings and Wars, Chapter 7 (Shabse Frankel edition, Jerusalem - B'nai B'rak, 5762 (c.2008, copyright 1998))</ref>

The extramarital intercourse of a married man is not in itself considered a crime in biblical or later Jewish law;<ref>Source=ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 15 |section=Adultery |Author=Jeffrey Howard Tigay]</ref><ref name=collins/> it was considered akin to [[polygyny]], which was permitted. Similarly, sexual intercourse between an unmarried man and a woman who was neither married nor [[Engagement|betrothed]] was not considered adultery.<ref name=collins>Collins, R. F. (1992). "Ten Commandments." In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), ''The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary'' (Vol. 6, p. 386). New York: Doubleday</ref> This concept of adultery stems from the economic aspect of Israelite marriage whereby the husband has an exclusive right to his wife, whereas the wife, as the husband's possession, did not have an exclusive right to her husband.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/adultery.html |title=Adultery |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=20 September 2016 |archive-date=2 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602070025/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/adultery.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Christianity====
[[File:Nathan and David.jpg|thumb|'Thou shalt not commit adultery' (Nathan confronts David); bronze bas-relief on the door of the [[La Madeleine, Paris]], [[Paris]].]]

Adultery is considered immoral by Christians  and a [[sin]], based primarily on passages like {{bibleverse|Exodus|20:14|NIV}} and {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|6:9–10|NIV}}. Although {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|6:11|NIV}} does say that "and that is what some of you were. But you were washed", it still acknowledges adultery to be immoral and a sin.

[[Catholicism]] ties [[fornication]] with breaking the [[Ten Commandments|sixth commandment]] in its [[Catechism of the Catholic Church|Catechism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sixth commandment |publisher=Vatican.va |date=29 October 1951 |access-date=2 August 2013 |archive-date=10 September 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020910104753/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Until a few decades ago,{{when|date=December 2018}} adultery was a criminal offense in many countries where the dominant religion is Christianity, especially in [[Roman Catholic]] countries (for example, in [[Austria]] it was a criminal offense until 1997<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/debatte-ueber-untreue-gesetz-noch-1997-drohte-oesterreichs-ehebrechern-gefaengnis-a-317486.html|title = Debatte über Untreue-Gesetz: Noch 1997 drohte Österreichs Ehebrechern Gefängnis|newspaper = Der Spiegel|date = 10 September 2004|last1 = Reimann|first1 = Anna|last2 = Freudenreich|first2 = Daniel}}</ref>). Adultery was decriminalized in [[Chile]] in 1994,<ref>''Women and Democracy: Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe'', edited by Jane S. Jaquette, Sharon L. Wolchik, p. 62.</ref> [[Argentina]] in 1995,<ref name="impowr.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.impowr.org/content/current-legal-framework-adultery-argentina |title=Current Legal Framework: Adultery in Argentina |publisher=impowr.org |access-date=26 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307232411/http://www.impowr.org/content/current-legal-framework-adultery-argentina |archive-date=7 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Brazil]] in 2005<ref name="iwraw-ap.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/pdf/BRAZIL_SHADOWREPORT_CEDAW_June,18%5B1%5D.pdf |title=BRAZIL AND COMPLIANCE WITH CEDAW |date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225023/http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/pdf/BRAZIL_SHADOWREPORT_CEDAW_June%2C18%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Mexico]] in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/754179.html|title=El Universal - - Adulterio ya no ser delito|date=18 June 2013|work=eluniversal.com.mx|access-date=21 October 2014|archive-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021095654/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/754179.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/8/344.htm?s%3D |title=Artículo 276 bis - CODIGO PENAL FEDERAL |access-date=21 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203221933/http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/8/344.htm?s= |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> but in some predominantly Catholic countries, such as the Philippines, it remains illegal.

The [[Book of Mormon]] also prohibits adultery. For instance, Abinadi cites the [[Ten Commandments]] when he accuses [[King Noah]]'s priests of sexual immorality.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/13.22?lang=eng|title=Mosiah 13:22|work=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221152916/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/13.22?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref> When [[Jesus Christ]] visits the Americas he reinforces the law and teaches them the higher law (also found in the [[New Testament]]):

:''Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/12.27?lang=eng|title=3 Nephi 12:27|work=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224124113/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/12.27?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some churches such as [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] have interpreted "adultery" to include [[Law of chastity#Includes broader transgressions|all sexual relationships outside of marriage]], regardless of the marital status of the participants.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/adultery |title=Guide to the Scriptures: Adultery |publisher=churchofjesuschrist.org |access-date=2 May 2014 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920201909/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/adultery?lang=eng |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Book of Mormon]] [[List of Book of Mormon prophets|prophets]] and civil leaders often list adultery as an illegal activity along with murder, robbing, and stealing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/30.10?lang=eng|title=Alma 30:10|work=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221120011/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/30.10?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Islam====
{{See also|Extramarital sex#Islam}}
''[[Zina (Arabic)|Zina']]'' is an Arabic term for illegal intercourse, premarital or extramarital. Various conditions and punishments have been attributed to adultery. Under [[Sharia|Islamic law]], adultery in general is sexual intercourse by a person (whether man or woman) with someone to whom they are not married. Adultery is a violation of the marital contract and one of the major sins condemned by God in the [[Qur'an]]:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah An-Nur 24:1-2 - Towards Understanding the Quran - Quran Translation Commentary - Tafheem ul Quran |url=https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=24&verse=1&to=2 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=www.islamicstudies.info}}</ref>

Qur'anic verses prohibiting adultery include:

{{Blockquote|Do not go near adultery. It is truly a shameful deed and an evil way.|{{qref|17|32|c=y}}}}

{{Blockquote|Say, “My Lord has only forbidden open and secret indecencies, sinfulness, unjust aggression, associating ˹others˺ with Allah ˹in worship˺—a practice He has never authorized—and attributing to Allah what you do not know.”|{{qref|7|33|c=y}}}}

Punishments are reserved to the legal authorities and false accusations are to be punished severely.<ref>[http://al-quran.info/#&&sura=24&trans=no-einar_berg&show=both,quran-uthmani&format=rows&ver=1.00 Online Qur'an Project Chapter 24] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129090725/http://al-quran.info/#&&sura=24&trans=no-einar_berg&show=both,quran-uthmani&format=rows&ver=1.00 |date=29 January 2009 }}.</ref> It has been said that these legal procedural requirements were instituted to protect women from [[slander]] and false accusations: i.e. four witnesses of good character are required for conviction, who were present at that time and saw the deed taking place; and if they saw it they were not of good moral character, as they were looking at naked adults; thus no one can be convicted of adultery unless both of the accused also agree and give their confession under oath four times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asmasociety.org/perspectives/article_8.html |title=American Muslims need to speak out against violations of Islamic Shariah law |publisher=Asmasociety.org |access-date=12 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705191356/http://www.asmasociety.org///perspectives/article_8.html |archive-date=5 July 2010 }}</ref>

According to ''a [[hadith]]'' attributed to Muhammad, an unmarried person who commits adultery or fornication is punished by flogging 100 times; a married person will then be [[stoning|stoned]] to death.<ref>Hadith Muslim 17:4192. Also, see the following: Bukhari 6:60:79, Bukhari 83:37, Muslim 17:4196, Muslim 17:4206, Muslim 17:4209, Ibn Ishaq 970.</ref> A survey conducted by the [[Pew Research Center]] found support for stoning as a punishment for adultery mostly in [[Arab countries]]; it was supported in [[Egypt]] (82% of respondents in favor of the punishment) and [[Jordan]] (70% in favor), as well as [[Pakistan]] (82% favor), whereas in [[Nigeria]] (56% in favor) and in [[Indonesia]] (42% in favor) opinion is more divided, perhaps due to diverging traditions and differing interpretations of Sharia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah |title=Muslim Publics Divided on Hamas and Hezbollah Retrieved 2011-06-02 |publisher=Pewglobal.org |date=2 December 2010 |access-date=28 September 2013 |archive-date=29 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929010643/http://www.pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Eastern religions===

====Hinduism====
The Hindu Sanskrit texts present a range of views on adultery, offering widely differing positions.<ref name="Harlan161"/><ref name=lawton2007p22>{{cite book|author1=Clive Lawton|author2=Peggy Morgan|title=Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7QQAQAAIAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-2329-7|pages=22|access-date=9 October 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222164754/https://books.google.com/books?id=e7QQAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}, Quote: "The Sanskrit texts also take widely differing positions on adultery. Some see it as a minor offence: after menstruation and some penances, the woman is purified again. An adulterous husband may merely have to undergo some mild penances. But other texts advocate even the death penalty for either the man or the woman, depending on the caste status."</ref> The hymn 4.5.5 of the ''[[Rigveda]]'' calls adultery as ''pāpa'' (evil, sin).<ref name="DonigerOFlaherty1988p7">{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty|title=The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sktbYRG_LO8C|year=1988|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0386-2|pages=7 with footnote 40|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221014648/https://books.google.com/books?id=sktbYRG_LO8C|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Stephanie Jamison|author2=Joel Brereton|title=The Rigveda: 3-Volume Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fgzVAwAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-972078-1|page=566|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224235326/https://books.google.com/books?id=fgzVAwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} Quote, [https://sa.wikisource.org/s/13s7 Sanskrit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920201908/https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%83_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%82_%E0%A5%AA.%E0%A5%AB |date=20 September 2020 }}: अभ्रातरो न योषणो व्यन्तः पतिरिपो न जनयो दुरेवाः । पापासः सन्तो अनृता असत्या इदं पदमजनता गभीरम् ॥५॥ Translation: "(You) pursuing (it) like brotherless maidens pursuing (men), (you) of evil ways like wives cheating (their) husbands, though being wicked, untruthful, untrue, you begot this deep track"</ref> Other Vedic texts state adultery to be a sin, just like murder, incest, anger, evil thoughts and trickery.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rick F. Talbott|title=Sacred Sacrifice: Ritual Paradigms in Vedic Religion and Early Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XNLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA75|year=2005|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-59752-340-0|page=75|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221203333/https://books.google.com/books?id=6XNLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA75|url-status=live}}</ref> The Vedic texts, including the ''Rigveda'', the ''[[Atharvaveda]]'' and the [[Upanishads]], also acknowledge the existence of male lovers and female lovers as a basic fact of human life, followed by the recommendation that one should avoid such extra marital sex during certain ritual occasions ([[yajna]]).<ref name="Harlan161">{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger|editor=Lindsey Harlan and Paul B. Courtright|title=From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pi7xAWStawYC&pg=PA161|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-508117-6|pages=161–165|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222164752/https://books.google.com/books?id=pi7xAWStawYC&pg=PA161|url-status=live}}</ref> A number of simile in the Rigveda, a woman's emotional eagerness to meet her lover is described, and one hymn prays to the gods that they protect the embryo of a pregnant wife as she sleeps with her husband and other lovers.<ref name="Harlan161"/>

Adultery and similar offenses are discussed under one of the eighteen ''vivādapadas'' (titles of laws) in the ''Dharma'' literature of Hinduism.<ref name="Rocher 2012">{{cite book | last=Rocher | first=Ludo | title=Studies in Hindu law and Dharmaśāstra | publisher=Anthem Press | location=London New York | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-85728-550-8 | oclc=816549872 | pages=293–295}}</ref> Adultery is termed as ''Strisangrahana'' in ''dharmasastra'' texts.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Nārada|author2=Richard Wilfred Lariviere|title=The Nāradasmṛti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1X8T65PSEXAC|year=2003|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1804-0|page=9|access-date=23 June 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221023345/https://books.google.com/books?id=1X8T65PSEXAC|url-status=live}}</ref> These texts generally condemn adultery, with some exceptions involving consensual sex and ''niyoga'' (levirate conception) in order to produce an heir.<ref name="HarlanCourtright1995p172">{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger|editor=Lindsey Harlan and Paul B. Courtright|title=From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-lpbJ-JYFtYC|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-508118-3|pages=172–174|access-date=26 October 2018|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219043317/https://books.google.com/books?id=-lpbJ-JYFtYC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bowles2007p49">{{cite book|author=Adam Bowles|title=Dharma, Disorder, and the Political in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXvbTrzPon0C|year=2007|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-15815-3|pages=49–50 with footnote 37, p. 54 with footnote 52|access-date=26 October 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221104558/https://books.google.com/books?id=DXvbTrzPon0C|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''Apastamba Dharmasutra'', the earliest dated Hindu law text, cross-varna adultery (adultery across castes) is a punishable crime, where the adulterous man receives a far more severe punishment than the adulterous ''arya'' woman.<ref name="OlivelleDavis2018p140"/> In ''Gautama Dharmasutra'', the adulterous ''arya'' woman is liable to harsh punishment for the cross-class adultery.<ref name="OlivelleDavis2018p140">{{cite book|author=Stephanie Jamison|editor=Patrick Olivelle and Donald R. Davis|title=The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Law: A New History of Dharmaśāstra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofU-DwAAQBAJ|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-870260-3|pages=139–140|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224235744/https://books.google.com/books?id=ofU-DwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> While ''Gautama Dharmasutra'' reserves the punishment in cases of cross-class adultery, it seems to have been generalized by ''Vishnu Dharmasastra'' and ''Manusmiriti''.<ref name=rocher2012p296/> The recommended punishments in the text also vary between these texts.<ref name=rocher2012p296/>

The ''[[Manusmriti]]'', also known as the ''Laws of Manu'', deals with this in greater detail. When translated, verse 4.134 of the book declares adultery to be a heinous offense.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mandagadde Rama Jois|title=Ancient Indian Law: Eternal Values in Manu Smriti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_PKqWOJlegC&pg=PA85|year=2015|publisher=Universal Law Publishing|isbn=978-81-7534-259-0|pages=85–86|access-date=16 January 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221123948/https://books.google.com/books?id=h_PKqWOJlegC&pg=PA85|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Manusmriti'' does not include adultery as a "grievous sin", but includes it as a "secondary sin" that leads to a loss of caste.<ref name="Manu2004p194">{{cite book|author=Patrick Olivelle|title=The Law Code of Manu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VmfXnfB-474C|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-280271-2|pages=194–195, 289 with notes on 11.177|access-date=8 October 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222110919/https://books.google.com/books?id=VmfXnfB-474C|url-status=live}}</ref> In the book, the intent and mutual consent are a part that determine the recommended punishment. Rape is not considered as adultery for the woman, while the rapist is punished severely. Lesser punishment is recommended for consensual adulterous sex.<ref name="OlivelleDavis2018p140"/> Death penalty is mentioned by Manu,<ref>{{cite book |author=Patrick Olivelle |title=Manu's Code of Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-517146-4 |page=186 |access-date=6 October 2018 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220112525/https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as "penance" for the sin of adultery.<ref name="Manu2004p194"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Vibhūti Bhūṣaṇa Miśra|title=Religious Beliefs and Practices of North India During the Early Mediaeval Period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LB1qhsw10IwC|year=1973|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-03610-9|page=110|access-date=20 October 2018|archive-date=23 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223011128/https://books.google.com/books?id=LB1qhsw10IwC|url-status=live}}</ref> even in cases of repeated adultery with a man of the same caste.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patrick Olivelle|title=The Law Code of Manu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VmfXnfB-474C|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-280271-2|page=203|access-date=8 October 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222110919/https://books.google.com/books?id=VmfXnfB-474C|url-status=live}}</ref> In verses 8.362-363, the author states that sexual relations with the wife of traveling performer is not a sin, and exempts such sexual liaisons.<ref>{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger|editor=Ariel Glucklich|title=The Sense of Adharma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d6bsOfvySvMC|year=1994|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-802448-4|pages=170–172 with footnote 6, Quote: "Manu says that sex with the wife of an actor is not a sin"|access-date=6 October 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221201824/https://books.google.com/books?id=d6bsOfvySvMC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|translator=Wendy Doniger|title=The Laws of Manu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZAWCHnbwtoC|year=1991|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-044540-4|pages=190–191|access-date=9 October 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221112628/https://books.google.com/books?id=DZAWCHnbwtoC|url-status=live}}</ref> The verse 5.154 of ''Manusmirti'' says a woman must constantly worship her husband as a god and be completely faithful even if he commits adultery.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Laws of Manu V |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu05.htm |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manusmriti Chapter 5, the laws of Manu, English Translation |url=https://www.hinduismfacts.org/hindu-scriptures-and-holy-books/manusmriti/chapter-v/ |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Hinduism Facts |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Scroll Staff |date=2022-08-11 |title=Manusmriti gives respectable position to Indian women, says Delhi HC judge Prathiba M Singh |url=https://scroll.in/latest/1030286/manusmriti-gives-respectable-position-to-indian-women-says-delhi-hc-judge-prathiba-m-singh |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Laws of Manu and What They Would Mean for Citizens of the Hindu Rashtra |url=https://thewire.in/rights/manusmriti-hindu-rashtra-rss |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=The Wire}}</ref> The book offers two views on adultery. It recommends a new married couple to remain sexually faithful to each other for life. It also accepts that adulterous relationships happen, children are born from such relationships and then proceeds to reason that the child belongs to the legal husband of the pregnant woman, and not to the biological father.<ref name="Harlan163">{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger|editor=Lindsey Harlan and Paul B. Courtright|title=From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pi7xAWStawYC&pg=PA161|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-508117-6|pages=163|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222164752/https://books.google.com/books?id=pi7xAWStawYC&pg=PA161|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other ''dharmasastra'' texts describe adultery as a punishable crime but offer differing details.<ref name=rocher2012p296>{{cite book | last=Rocher | first=Ludo | title=Studies in Hindu law and Dharmaśāstra | publisher=Anthem Press | location=London New York | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-85728-550-8 | oclc=816549872 | pages=295–296}}</ref> According to ''Naradasmriti (12.61-62)'', it is an adulterous act if a man has sexual intercourse with the woman who is protected by another man. The term adultery in ''Naradasmriti'' is not confined to the relationship of a married man with another man's wife. It includes sex with any woman who is protected, including wives, daughters, other relatives, and servants. Adultery is not a punishable offence for a man if "the woman's husband has abandoned her because she is wicked, or he is eunuch, or of a man who does not care, provided the wife initiates it of her own volition".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Nārada|author2=Richard Wilfred Lariviere|title=The Nāradasmṛti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1X8T65PSEXAC|year=2003|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1804-0|page=391|access-date=23 June 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221023345/https://books.google.com/books?id=1X8T65PSEXAC|url-status=live}}</ref> Adultery is not a punishable offence if a married man engages in intercourse with woman who doesn't belong to other man and is not a Brahmin, provided the woman is not of higher caste than the man.<ref>{{Cite book |last=JOLLY |first=JULIUS Tran |url=http://archive.org/details/naradiyadharmasa021669mbp |title=Naradiya Dharmasastra of the Institutes of Narada. |date=1876 |publisher=Trubner & Co.- London |others=--, ---, Mraudula Borase |pages=89}}</ref> Brihaspati-smriti mention, among other things, adulterous local customs in ancient India and then states, "for such practices these (people) incur neither penance nor secular punishment".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Lingat|author2=J. Duncan M Derrett|title=The Classical Law of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sauo8iSIj7YC|year=1973|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-01898-3|pages=201 with footnote 56; for the text's significance and dating see pp. 104–105, 126–133 with footnotes|access-date=26 October 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222192718/https://books.google.com/books?id=Sauo8iSIj7YC|url-status=live}}</ref> Kautilya's ''Arthashastra'' includes an exemption that in case the husband forgives his adulterous wife, the woman and her lover should be set free. If the offended husband does not forgive, the ''Arthashastra'' recommends the adulterous woman's nose and ears be cut off, while her lover be executed.<ref name=doniger2016p14>{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger|title=Redeeming the Kamasutra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TrVjDQAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-049928-0|pages=13–14|access-date=6 October 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221104600/https://books.google.com/books?id=TrVjDQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

In ''Kamasutra'' which is not a religious text like [[Vedas]] or [[Puranas]] but an ancient text on love and sex,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kamasutra - Was it a part of our religious texts? |url=https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/kamasutra-was-it-a-part-of-religious-texts |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=www.speakingtree.in}}</ref> Vatsyayana discusses adultery and devotes "not less than fifteen sutras (1.5.6–20) to enumerating the reasons (''karana'') for which a man is allowed to seduce a married woman".<ref>{{cite journal | last=Rocher | first=Ludo | title=The Kāmasūtra: Vātsyāyana's Attitude toward Dharma and Dharmaśāstra | journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume=105 | issue=3 | year=1985 | doi=10.2307/601526 | pages=527| jstor=601526 }}</ref>  According to Wendy Doniger, the ''Kamasutra'' teaches adulterous sexual liaison as a means for a man to predispose the involved woman in assisting him, working against his enemies and facilitating his successes. It also explains the many signs and reasons a woman wants to enter into an adulterous relationship and when she does not want to commit adultery.<ref>{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger|editor=Ariel Glucklich|title=The Sense of Adharma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d6bsOfvySvMC|year=1994|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-802448-4|pages=170–174|access-date=6 October 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221201824/https://books.google.com/books?id=d6bsOfvySvMC|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Kamasutra'' teaches strategies to engage in adulterous relationships, but concludes its chapter on sexual liaison stating that one should not commit adultery because adultery pleases only one of two sides in a marriage, hurts the other, it goes against both ''dharma'' and ''artha''.<ref name=doniger2016p14/>

According to Werner Menski, the Sanskrit texts take "widely different positions on adultery", with some considering it a minor offense that can be addressed with penance, but others treat it as a severe offense that depending on the caste deserves the death penalty for the man or the woman.<ref name=lawton2007p22/> According to Ramanathan and Weerakoon, in Hinduism, the sexual matters are left to the judgment of those involved and not a matter to be imposed through law.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kathryn S. K. Hall|author2=Cynthia A. Graham|title=The Cultural Context of Sexual Pleasure and Problems: Psychotherapy with Diverse Clients|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwMUN2zSc5kC|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-22010-4|page=173|access-date=6 October 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222201909/https://books.google.com/books?id=OwMUN2zSc5kC|url-status=live}}; Quote: "In this [Hinduism] doctrine, sexual matters are not to be legislated but are left to the judgment of those involved, subject to community laws and customs."</ref>

According to Carl Olsen, the classical Hindu society considered adultery as a sexual transgression but treated it with a degree of tolerance.<ref name="Olson2007p261"/> It is described as a minor transgression in ''Naradasmriti'' and other texts, one that a sincere penance could atone.<ref name="Olson2007p261">{{cite book|author=Carl Olson|title=The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVWKClYq4TUC&pg=PA261|year=2007|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-4068-9|pages=261–262|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=23 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223082559/https://books.google.com/books?id=RVWKClYq4TUC&pg=PA261|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration |year=2002|publisher =The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/n439 11]}}</ref> Penance is also recommended to a married person who does not actually commit adultery, but carries adulterous thoughts for someone else or is thinking of committing adultery.<ref name="OlivelleDavis2018p427">{{cite book|author=Maria Heim|editor=Patrick Olivelle and Donald R. Davis|title=The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Law: A New History of Dharmaśāstra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofU-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA427|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-870260-3|pages=426–427|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=25 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225013302/https://books.google.com/books?id=ofU-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA427|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other Hindu texts present a more complex model of behavior and mythology where gods commit adultery for various reasons. For example, [[Krishna]] commits adultery and the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'' justifies it as something to be expected when Vishnu took a human form, just like sages become uncontrolled.<ref name="DonigerOFlaherty1988p288">{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty|title=The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sktbYRG_LO8C|year=1988|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0386-2|pages=288–291 with footnotes 83, 89, 101–102|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221014648/https://books.google.com/books?id=sktbYRG_LO8C|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Tracy Coleman, Radha and other gopis are indeed lovers of Krishna, but this is ''prema'' or "selfless, true love" and not carnal craving. In Hindu texts, this relationship between gopis and Krishna involves secret nightly rendezvous. Some texts state it to be divine adultery, others as a symbolism of spiritual dedication and religious value.<ref name="Bose2018p117">{{cite book|author=Tracy Coleman|editor=Mandakranta Bose|title=The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_tdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-107968-9|pages=117–119|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219234303/https://books.google.com/books?id=e_tdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|url-status=live}}</ref> The example of Krishna's adulterous behavior has been used by Sahajiyas Hindus of Bengal to justify their own behavior that is contrary to the mainstream Hindu norm, according to Doniger.<ref name="DonigerOFlaherty1988p288"/> Other Hindu texts state that Krishna's adultery is not a license for other men to do the same, in the same way that men should not drink poison just because Rudra-Shiva drank poison during the Samudra Manthan.<ref name="DonigerOFlaherty1988p288"/> A similar teaching is found in Mahayana Buddhism, states Doniger.<ref name="DonigerOFlaherty1988p288"/>

The ''[[Linga Purana]]'' indicates that sexual hospitality existed in ancient India. The sage Sudarshana, asks his wife Oghavati to please their guests in this way. One day, he comes home while she is having sex with a mendicant who visits their house. Sudarshana tells them to continue. The mendicant turns out to be Dharma, the lord of righteous conduct, who blesses the couple for their upholding of social law.<ref>Michel Maffesoli, « LA PROSTITUTION COMME « FORME » DE SOCIALITÉ », Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, vol. 76, 1984, p. 119–133 {{ISSN|0008-0276}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pattanaik |first1=Devdutt |title=Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals from the Heart of the Subcontinent |date=24 April 2003 |publisher=Inner Traditions |isbn=978-0892818709 |page=170 }}</ref>

====Buddhism====
Buddhist texts such as [[Digha Nikaya|Digha Nikāya]] describe adultery as a form of sexual wrongdoing that is one link in a chain of immorality and misery. According to Wendy Doniger, this view of adultery as evil is postulated in early Buddhist texts as having originated from greed in a [[rebirth (Buddhism)|previous life]]. This idea combines Hindu and Buddhist thoughts then prevalent.<ref name="DonigerOFlaherty1988p33"/> [[Sentient beings (Buddhism)|Sentient beings]] without body, state the [[Tripitaka|canonical texts]], are reborn on earth due to their greed and craving, some people become beautiful and some ugly, some become men and some women. The ugly envy the beautiful and this triggers the ugly to commit adultery with the wives of the beautiful. Like in [[Hindu mythology]], states Doniger, Buddhist texts explain adultery as a result from sexual craving; it initiates a degenerative process.<ref name="DonigerOFlaherty1988p33">{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty|title=The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sktbYRG_LO8C|year=1988|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass Publishers]]|isbn=978-81-208-0386-2|pages=33–34, n. 102–103|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221014648/https://books.google.com/books?id=sktbYRG_LO8C|url-status=live}}</ref>

Buddhism considers celibacy as the monastic ideal. For he who feels that he cannot live in celibacy, it recommends that he never commit adultery with another's wife.<ref name="Harvey2000p71">{{cite book|author=Peter Harvey|title=An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9CTSz3EVRpoC&pg=PA71|year=2000|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-55640-8|pages=71–74|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221050538/https://books.google.com/books?id=9CTSz3EVRpoC&pg=PA71|url-status=live}}</ref> Engaging in sex outside of marriage, with the wife of another man, with a girl who is engaged to be married, or a girl protected by her relatives (father or brother), or extramarital sex with prostitutes, ultimately causes suffering to other human beings and oneself. It should be avoided, state the Buddhist canonical texts.<ref name="Harvey2000p71"/>

Buddhist Pali texts narrate legends where the Buddha explains the karmic consequences of adultery. For example, states Robert Goldman, one such story is of Thera Soreyya.<ref name="Goldman1993p374"/> Buddha states in the Soreyya story that "men who commit adultery suffer hell for hundreds of thousands of years after rebirth, then are reborn a hundred successive times as women on earth, must earn merit by "utter devotion to their husbands" in these lives, before they can be reborn again as men to pursue a monastic life and liberation from ''samsara''.<ref name="Goldman1993p374">{{cite journal | last=Goldman | first=Robert P. | title=Transsexualism, Gender, and Anxiety in Traditional India | journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume=113 | issue=3 | year=1993 | issn=0003-0279 | doi=10.2307/605387 | pages=377–381| jstor=605387 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Dharmasena|author2=R Obeyesekere|title=Portraits of Buddhist Women: Stories from the Saddharmaratnavaliya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvWA5wlIWnQC|year=2001|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-5111-3|pages=213–218|access-date=26 October 2018|archive-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224134025/https://books.google.com/books?id=vvWA5wlIWnQC|url-status=live}}</ref>

There are some differences between the Buddhist texts and the Hindu texts on the identification and consequences of adultery. According to José Ignacio Cabezón, for example, the Hindu text ''Naradasmriti'' considers consensual extra-marital sex between a man and a woman in certain circumstances (such as if the husband has abandoned the woman) as not a punishable crime, but the Buddhist texts "nowhere exculpate" any adulterous relationship. The term adultery in ''Naradasmriti'' is broader in scope than the one in Buddhist sources. In the text, various acts such as secret meetings, exchange of messages and gifts, "inappropriate touching" and a false accusation of adultery, are deemed adulterous, while Buddhist texts do not recognize these acts under adultery.<ref name="Cabezon2017p454">{{cite book|author=José Ignacio Cabezón|title=Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sCjhDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|year=2017|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-61429-368-2|pages=454–455, footnote 1145|access-date=23 June 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222083102/https://books.google.com/books?id=sCjhDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|url-status=live}}</ref> Later texts such as the ''Dhammapada'', ''Pancasiksanusamsa Sutra'' and a few Mahayana sutras state that "heedless man who runs after other men's wife" acquire demerit, blame, discomfort and are reborn in hell.<ref name="Cabezon2017p44">{{cite book|author=José Ignacio Cabezón|title=Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sCjhDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|year=2017|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-61429-368-2|pages=44–45, footnotes 79 and 80|access-date=23 June 2018|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222083102/https://books.google.com/books?id=sCjhDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|url-status=live}}</ref> Other Buddhist texts make no mention of legal punishments for adultery.<ref name="Cabezon2017p454"/>

===Other historical practices===
[[File:Sacrificio azteca.jpg|thumb|200px|An [[Aztec]] adulterer being stoned to death; [[Florentine Codex]] ]]
[[File:Ordeal by red-hot iron.jpg|thumb|200px|According to legend, after being accused of adultery, [[Cunigunde of Luxembourg]] proved her innocence by walking over red-hot ploughshares.]]
In some Native American cultures, severe penalties could be imposed on an adulterous wife by her husband. In many instances she was made to endure a bodily mutilation which would, in the mind of the aggrieved husband, prevent her from ever being a temptation to other men again.<ref>Schoolcraft, ''Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States'', I, 236; V, 683, 684, 686.</ref><ref>H.H. Bancroft, ''The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America'', I, 514.</ref> Among the [[Aztec]]s, wives caught in adultery were occasionally impaled, although the more usual punishment was to be stoned to death.<ref>{{Google books |id=m7gaeXC-aTgC |page=738 |title=ABA aug Journal 1969 }}</ref>

The [[Code of Hammurabi]], a well-preserved [[Babylonia]]n [[law code]] of ancient [[Mesopotamia]], dating back to about 1772 BC, provided [[drowning]] as punishment for adultery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/hammurabilawcode.htm|title=New Page 6|work=womenintheancientworld.com|access-date=5 June 2014|archive-date=29 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929003410/http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/hammurabilawcode.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Amputation of the nose{{snd}}[[rhinotomy]]{{snd}}was a punishment for adultery among many civilizations, including ancient India, ancient Egypt, among Greeks and Romans, and in Byzantium and among the Arabs.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Amputation of the nose throughout history |date=12 November 2014 |pmc=2689568 | pmid=19609383 |volume=29 |issue=1 |journal=Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital |pages=44–50 | last1 = Sperati | first1 = G}}</ref>

In the tenth century, the Arab explorer [[Ibn Fadlan]] noted that adultery was unknown among the pagan [[Oghuz Turks]]. Ibn Fadlan writes that "adultery is unknown among them; but whomsoever they find by his conduct that he is an adulterer, they tear him in two. This comes about so: they bring together the branches of two trees, tie him to the branches and then let both trees go, so that he is torn in two."<ref>Aḥmad Ibn Faḍlān, Richard Nelson Frye, ''Ibn Fadlan's journey to Russia: a tenth-century traveler from Baghad to the Volga River'', Markus Wiener Publishers, 2005, p. 34.</ref>

In medieval Europe, early Jewish law mandated stoning for an adulterous wife and her partner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/fv-vf/hk-ch/p3.html |title=Historical Context - Origins of Honour Killing / Honour Killing - Worldwide / Honour Killing - In Countries with Islamic Law - Preliminary Examination of so-called Honour Killings in Canada |publisher=Justice.gc.ca |date=24 September 2013 |access-date=26 February 2015 |archive-date=15 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215194049/http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/fv-vf/hk-ch/p3.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In England and its successor states, it has been [[high treason]] to engage in adultery with the King's wife, his eldest son's wife and his eldest unmarried daughter. The jurist Sir William Blackstone writes that "the plain intention of this law is to guard the Blood Royal from any suspicion of bastardy, whereby the succession to the Crown might be rendered dubious." Adultery was a serious issue when it came to succession to the crown. [[Philip IV of France]] had all three of his daughters-in-law imprisoned, two ([[Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of France|Margaret of Burgundy]] and [[Blanche of Burgundy]]) on the grounds of adultery and the third ([[Joan II, Countess of Burgundy|Joan of Burgundy]]) for being aware of their adulterous behaviour. The two brothers accused of being lovers of the king's daughters-in-law were executed immediately after being arrested. The wife of Philip IV's eldest son bore a daughter, the future [[Joan II of Navarre]], whose paternity and succession rights were disputed all her life.<ref>McCracken, 171.</ref>

The [[christianization of Europe]] came to mean that, in theory, and unlike with the Romans, there was supposed to be a single sexual standard, where adultery was a sin and against the teachings of the church, regardless of the sex of those involved. In practice, however, the church seemed to have accepted the traditional double standard which punished the adultery of the wife more harshly than that of the husband.<ref name="web.clark.edu">[http://web.clark.edu/afisher/HIST252/lectures_text/Women%20in%20the%20Early%20Middle%20Ages.pdf] [https://web.archive.org/web/20150319072837/http://web.clark.edu/afisher/HIST252/lectures_text/Women%20in%20the%20Early%20Middle%20Ages.pdf Web archive link]</ref> Among Germanic tribes, each tribe had its own laws for adultery, and many of them allowed the husband to "take the law in his hands" and commit acts of violence against a wife caught committing adultery.<ref name="web.clark.edu"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=BULLOUGH |first1=VERN L. |title=Medieval Concepts of Adultery |journal=Arthuriana |date=1997 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=5–15 |jstor=27869285|doi=10.1353/art.1997.0049 |s2cid=159806337 }}</ref> In the Middle Ages, adultery in [[Vienna]] was punishable by death through [[impalement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.wdr.de/themen/archiv/stichtag/stichtag1344.html|title=22. März 2005 - Vor 665 Jahren: Wiener Stadtrecht ordnet Pfählen für Ehebrecher an - Zeitgeschichtliches Archiv - WDR.de|work=wdr.de|date=21 March 2005|access-date=29 July 2014|archive-date=9 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809225602/http://www1.wdr.de/themen/archiv/stichtag/stichtag1344.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Austria]] was one of the last Western countries to decriminalize adultery, in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/debatte-ueber-untreue-gesetz-noch-1997-drohte-oesterreichs-ehebrechern-gefaengnis-a-317486.html|title=Debatte über Untreue-Gesetz: Noch 1997 drohte Österreichs Ehebrechern Gefängnis|author=((SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg, Germany))|date=10 September 2004|newspaper=SPIEGEL ONLINE|access-date=29 July 2014|archive-date=25 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125204902/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/debatte-ueber-untreue-gesetz-noch-1997-drohte-oesterreichs-ehebrechern-gefaengnis-a-317486.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''[[Encyclopédie|Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert]]'', Vol. 1 (1751) noted the legal double standard from that period, it wrote:<ref name="quod.lib.umich.edu"/>

<blockquote>
"Furthermore, although the husband who violates conjugal trust is guilty as well as the woman, it is not permitted for her to accuse him, nor to pursue him because of this crime".
</blockquote>