Mr. Chandrakant Sharma
Nagpur
Marriage Pandit
About Me
A Hindu wedding, also known as Vivaha (Sanskrit: विवाह; or Vivaaha) (
pronunciation (help·info)),[1] Lagna (लग्न), or Kalyanam (कल्याणम्), is the traditional wedding ceremony for Hindus. The wedding ceremonies are very colourful, and celebrations may extend for several days. The bride's and groom's home—entrance, doors, wall, floor, roof—are sometimes decorated with colors, flowers, and other decorations.[2]
The word vivāha originated as a sacred union of people as per Vedic traditions, i.e. what many call marriage, but based on cosmic laws and advanced ancient practices.[3] Under Vedic Hindu traditions, marriage is viewed as one of the saṁskāras, which are lifelong commitments of one wife and one husband.[3] In India, marriage has been looked upon as having been designed by the cosmos and considered as a "sacred oneness witnessed by fire itself."[4] Hindu families have traditionally been patrilocal.
The Arya Samaj movement popularized the term Vedic wedding among the Hindu expatriates during the colonial era.[5][6][7] The roots of this tradition are found in hymn 10.85 of the Rigveda, which is also called the "Rigvedic wedding hymn".[8][9]
The rituals and processes of a Hindu wedding vary widely, by region and community. Nevertheless, the Hindu wedding ceremony at its core is essentially a Vedic yajna ritual and three key rituals are almost universal: Kanyadan, Panigrahana, and Saptapadi—which are respectively, giving away of his daughter by the father, voluntarily holding hands near the fire to signify union, and taking seven 'steps before fire'. (Each 'step' is a complete circuit of the fire.)
At each step, promises are made by (in the long-form—see below) each to the other.[10] The primary witness of a Hindu marriage is the fire-deity (or the Sacred Fire) Agni, in the presence of family and friends.[11] The ceremony is traditionally conducted entirely or at least partially in Sanskrit, considered by Hindus as the language of holy ceremonies. The local language of the bride and groom may also be used. The rituals are prescribed in the Gruhya sutra composed by various rishis such as Baudhayana and Ashvalayana.
The pre-wedding and post-wedding rituals and celebrations vary by region, preference and the resources of the groom, bride and their families. They can range from one day to multi-day events. Pre-wedding ceremonies include engagement, which involves vagdana (betrothal) and Lagna-patra (written declaration),[12] and the arrival of the groom's party at the bride's residence, often as a formal procession with dancing and music. The post-wedding ceremonies may include Abhishek, Anna Prashashan, Aashirvadah, and Grihapravesa – the welcoming of the bride to her new home. The wedding marks the start of the Grihastha (householder) stage of life for the new couple.
In India, by law and tradition, no Hindu marriage is binding or complete unless the ritual of seven steps and vows in presence of fire (Saptapadi) is completed by the bride and the groom together.[13] This requirement is under debate, given that several Hindu communities (such as the Nairs of Kerala or Bunts of Tulu Nadu) do not observe these rites.[14]