added:
By "dowery", if it means the gifts and other objects that are exchanged by the families to each other - then certainly such a custom has an ancient tradition. in mahAbhArata itself, yaduvanshI-s are mentioned to have given huge portions of gifts to pANDava-s, in subhadra's marriage with arjuna:
from haraNaparva section of Adiparva, the translation of KM Ganguly:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Then Hrishikesa of great renown gave unto the party of the
bridegroom much wealth. And unto Subhadra he gave the
nuptial presents that had been given to her by her relatives.
Krishna gave unto the Pandavas a thousand cars of gold
furnished with rows of bells, and unto each of which were put four steeds
driven by well-trained charioteers. He also gave unto them ten thousand
cows belonging to the country of Mathura, and yielding much milk and all
of excellent colour. Well-pleased, Janardana also gave them a thousand
mares with gold harnesses and of colour white as the beams of the moon.
He also gave them a thousand mules, all well-trained and possessing the
speed of the wind, of white colour with black manes. And he of eyes like
lotus-petals also gave unto them a thousand damsels well-skilled in
assisting at bathing and at drinking, young in years and virgins all
before their first-season, well-attired and of excellent complexion, each
wearing a hundred pieces of gold around her neck, of skins perfectly
polished, decked with every ornament, and well-skilled in every kind of
personal service. Janardana also gave unto them hundreds of thousands of
draft horses from the country of the Valhikas as Subhadra's excellent
dower. That foremost one of Dasarha's race also gave unto Subhadra as her
peculium ten carrier-loads of first class gold possessing the splendour
of fire, some purified and some in a state of ore. And Rama having the
plough for his weapon and always loving bravery gave unto Arjuna, as a
nuptial present, a thousand elephants with secretions flowing in three
streams from the three parts of their bodies (the temple, the ears, and
the anus) each large as a mountain summit, irresistible in battle, decked
with coverlets and bells, well-adorned with other golden ornaments, and
equipped with excellent thrones on their backs. And that large wave of
wealth and gems that the Yadavas presented, together with the cloths and
blankets that represented its foam, and the elephants its alligators and
sharks, and the flags its floating weeds swelling into large proportions,
mingled with the Pandu ocean and filled it to the brim, to the great
sorrow of all foes. Yudhishthira accepted all those presents and
worshipped all those great warriors of the Vrishni and the Andhaka races.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
By "dowery", if it means the gifts and other objects that are exchanged by the families to each other - then certainly such a custom has an ancient tradition. in mahAbhArata itself, yaduvanshI-s are mentioned to have given huge portions of gifts to pANDava-s, in subhadra's marriage with arjuna:
from haraNaparva section of Adiparva, the translation of KM Ganguly:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Then Hrishikesa of great renown gave unto the party of the
bridegroom much wealth. And unto Subhadra he gave the
nuptial presents that had been given to her by her relatives.
Krishna gave unto the Pandavas a thousand cars of gold
furnished with rows of bells, and unto each of which were put four steeds
driven by well-trained charioteers. He also gave unto them ten thousand
cows belonging to the country of Mathura, and yielding much milk and all
of excellent colour. Well-pleased, Janardana also gave them a thousand
mares with gold harnesses and of colour white as the beams of the moon.
He also gave them a thousand mules, all well-trained and possessing the
speed of the wind, of white colour with black manes. And he of eyes like
lotus-petals also gave unto them a thousand damsels well-skilled in
assisting at bathing and at drinking, young in years and virgins all
before their first-season, well-attired and of excellent complexion, each
wearing a hundred pieces of gold around her neck, of skins perfectly
polished, decked with every ornament, and well-skilled in every kind of
personal service. Janardana also gave unto them hundreds of thousands of
draft horses from the country of the Valhikas as Subhadra's excellent
dower. That foremost one of Dasarha's race also gave unto Subhadra as her
peculium ten carrier-loads of first class gold possessing the splendour
of fire, some purified and some in a state of ore. And Rama having the
plough for his weapon and always loving bravery gave unto Arjuna, as a
nuptial present, a thousand elephants with secretions flowing in three
streams from the three parts of their bodies (the temple, the ears, and
the anus) each large as a mountain summit, irresistible in battle, decked
with coverlets and bells, well-adorned with other golden ornaments, and
equipped with excellent thrones on their backs. And that large wave of
wealth and gems that the Yadavas presented, together with the cloths and
blankets that represented its foam, and the elephants its alligators and
sharks, and the flags its floating weeds swelling into large proportions,
mingled with the Pandu ocean and filled it to the brim, to the great
sorrow of all foes. Yudhishthira accepted all those presents and
worshipped all those great warriors of the Vrishni and the Andhaka races.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->