CEREMONY START TIME 3:45PM
Hindu Wedding Ceremony
The traditional Hindu/Vedic wedding is a deeply meaningful and symbolic combination of rituals and traditions, which is over 5000 years old. From the Hindu perspective, marriage is a way to attain spiritual growth. The ancient sages have wisely compiled a ceremony giving attention to every aspect of married life: physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual and social – essentially joining the souls of the bride and groom and creating a strong tie between two families. The ceremony is traditionally performed in Sanskrit, which is the language of ancient India and Hinduism. Today the ceremony will be performed both in Sanskrit and English.
The Sanskrit word for marriage is vivaha, which literally means “what supports or carries.” The Vivaha ceremony is thus meant to create a union that supports and carries a couple through their married life in the pursuit of righteousness (dharma).
The following sequence of rituals represents the highlights of the ceremony:
Kashi Yatre (offering the Bride):
In this ritual, done with playful intent, the groom
makes believe he is angry because no one is seeking a bride for him. The groom
threatens to leave on a trip to Kashi to find a bride on his own. He holds an
umbrella or walking stick, etc. Then the bride’s brother convinces the groom to
stay and not depart on the long pilgrimage for he has a bride to offer the
groom – his sister!
Madhuparka (receiving the Groom)
The ceremony begins with the reception of the groom. The bride’s parents welcome the groom and his parents by putting sweet water on the groom and giving gifts to his parents. Then the bride’s parents put a garland on the groom. The groom then approaches the mandap with an entourage dancing around him.
Ganesh Puja: The groom performs the preliminary Ganesh puja. Bride's parents wash the groom's feet.
The Bride’s Entry
The bride arrives with her maternal uncle, brother or her best friends.
Kanyadanam (giving the Bride)
This is a significant ritual where the bride’s father gifts his daughter to the groom. First the bride’s parents wash the grooms feet. Then the bride’s father will take her right hand and place it on the grooms right hand with a coconut on top, then the father pours out sacred water symbolizing the giving away of his daughter to the groom. As a condition for offering his daughter for marriage, the father of the bride requests a promise from the groom for assisting the bride in realizing the three ends: dharma (one’s righteous duty), artha (material prosperity), and kama (pleasure, desire, sensual gratification). The groom promises to assist the bride in this, then the father sprinkles sacred water over the bride and grooms hands to solemnize the act of giving his daughter away.
Mangala Sutra The groom puts the mangala sutra necklace, made of gold and onyx, on the bride signifying their marriage.
Sindhura Dana The groom puts Sindhura (orange/red powder) on the bride’s forehead announcing to the world she is married. Then the couple touches each parent’s feet to get their blessings.
Talambralu The bride and groom pour rice on each other. They start out pouring slowly, then move more quickly. The first to finish throwing all their rice on the other will be the more dominant partner in the relationship.
Brahmamudi The priest ties ends of the bride’s and groom’s clothes together, signifying the union of two souls.
Exchange Garlands The bride and groom exchange garlands, symbolizing acceptance and welcome.
Agni Puja(igniting the fire) The god Agni is the Aryan deity of fire who, along with the family and friends, is witness to the marriage. Throughout the ceremony, the bride, groom and the priest add ghee (clarified butter) to the fire to keep it burning. Rice and other ingredients are also added to the fire at various times.
Ajya Homa (part of Agni Puja) The bride sits on the mat facing the fire on the groom’s right side, touches the grooms right shoulder with her right hand and the groom adds ghee (clarified butter) to the fire, asking for the protection of the bride.
Laja Homa (oblations of popped rice offered 4 times) The bride’s bother will put puffed grains in the bride’s hand four times
to symbolize prosperity.
Agni Pradakshinam The bride and groom walk around the holy fire four times, symbolizing the four great purusharthas (goals) of human life: dharma, artha, kama and moksha. The bride leads the groom the first three times and the groom leads the last time. The first round is for attaining dharma (righteous conduct and the fulfillment of civic responsibilities). The second round is attaining artha, the accumulation of wealth and prosperity. The third round is for attaining kama (life’s enjoyment and sensual pleasures). The groom leads the fourth round which represents attaining moksha (life’s spiritual values). Exchange Vows / Ring Exchange The groom takes the bride’s two hands in his left hand and with his right hand grasps her upturned thumb. With this he promises she will live a long life with his company, she will protect him, be kind-hearted and loving, will bring them the highest happiness, and will be the maintainer and well-wisher of his family.
Saptapadi Gamana (taking seven steps together) The bride and groom take seven steps together to begin their new journey. Each step symbolizes the exchanging of the following vows: (1) share the responsibilities of their home and life; (2) develop physical, mental, and spiritual wellness to lead a healthy life; (3) have mutual respect and trust for each other and live in harmony; (4) acquire knowledge, happiness and harmony by mutual love, respect and understanding; (5) be blessed with healthy children; (6) cherish and support each other in sickness, health, joy, and sorrow; (7) remain as life-long partners and best friends.
Dhruva Darsana & Arundhati Nakshatram The groom points out the pole star Druvaloka (the pole star) to the bride. Each night as the stars rotate in the sky, the pole star always remains fixed. Likewise, as life is constantly changing, the union of the bride and groom should remain similarly fixed.
Asrir-Vad The couple gives daksina and cloth to the priest for his blessing, then the couple receives blessings from their parents.
End The priest presents the groom and bride to friends and family as husband and wife for the first time.
Dominant Partner (Talambralu)
Who will win the rice fight (ie wear the pants in the marriage)?
