Marriage

Author(s): Natubhai Shah
Publisher: UK Jain Academy

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HINDU WEDDINGS
THE HINDU VEDIC WEDDING CEREMONY Hindu weddings are rich in their content and quite diversified. While the sacred vedic hymns that are chanted by the priests during the main Hindu wedding ceremony are the same, the pre-wedding ritual and some rituals within main wedding ceremony have regional variations in India and these are reflected in the Hindu wedding ceremonies in UK. The ceremony is performed in the Sanskrit language, which is the sacred language of the Hindu ceremonies. The form of the ceremony was set approximately 35 centuries ago, and it continues to be followed to this day. The Hindu wedding is a religious and sacred occasion; the ceremony is performed reciting Veda mantras or sacred hymns, which play a key role in every step of the traditional Hindu marriage. The pre-wedding rituals given below are prescribed by Sage Apastamba and Bhattiya, mainly practised in Southern India. The practice is slightly different in Northern India where mostly the prescriptions of Sage Gautama and Yaajnavalkya are followed.
Wedding Invitation Card 1. Pre-wedding rituals Punyahavacanam (Purification ritual) This ritual is performed to get peace, prosperity, progress and wealth. These are necessities of a successful life. Muhurtam Muhurtam determines the auspicious part of the day for the marriage. The period that is considered auspicious starts from 7.00 p.m. and goes on till the next day until about 11 am. Preparing the Bride This ceremony involves anointing the bride and the groom with oil and turmeric before bath. The couple don new clothes following the bath. The bride-to-be wears flowers in her hair. She adorns her forehead with a bindi or vermillion dot and wears bangles on her wrists. After the recitation of Vedic verses, the groom pretends to leave for Kashi, a pilgrimage centre to devote himself to God and a life of prayer. He carries a walking stick and other bare essentials with him and implies that he is not interested in becoming a householder anymore. He relents and agrees to the marriage only after he is stopped and persuaded by the bride's brother to fulfill his responsibilities as a householder. Mangala snaanam The bride and groom must take a Mangala snaanam or an auspicious bath on the day of the wedding. The bath is believed to cleanse and purify them and make them ready for the sacred rites that are to follow.
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