A Wedding Ceremony In Hindi Matrimony

By Author: Ankush Singhal
Total Articles: 173
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There are two of the fundamental pillars of Hinduism: reincarnation and universalism. Based on a series of social practices and religious beliefs dating back to 2000 BC, the rite of marriage is a union that represents the "sanskara" (sacred trust) in Hindi matrimony. Hinduism believes in the absolute power of the god Brahma.

The ceremonies in a Hindi Matrimony are conducted by a priest, who is a religious authority for conducting the ceremonial events. The priest chants holy ‘mantras’ from the holy books and seeks blessings for the couple. During a Hindi matrimonial, the priest from both bride and groom’s side need to be present, to perfectly conduct the traditions and customs from both sides.

A wedding ceremony in Hindi matrimony is full of symbols and practices which are intended to teach the couple lessons for their future life together. The three basic rituals of this ceremony are the ritual "homa", which is fire offering, the "panigrahana" which indicates the bond of union of the couple. The ritual "satapadi" holds the utmost importance, ...
... which involves achieving seven laps to be taken by the bride and groom around the sacred fire. While completing the seven laps, the sacred mantras are chanted and the elders of the family give their blessings to the couple.

The richness of this ceremonial wedding ritual is complemented by rich and colorful costumes of the couple as well as the invitees. The brides in Hindi matrimony usually wear saris or lehengas in hues of red, maroon, pink, orange, etc, often embroidered in gold thread. The bride is decked with heavy jewellery and is decorated very traditionally. The groom looks elegant in Indo western suit or traditional sherwani.

The wedding procession, which includes family members and friends of the groom, reaches the bride’s place for the wedding. The family members and the friends of both sides dance. The procession is given a warm welcome by the bride’s family in the Hindi matrimony. The beautiful bride is brought to a stage, which is decorated for the wedding rituals. The bride and groom exchange garlands of flowers, amidst claps and sacred passages. The groom ties a mangalsutra around the neck of the bride as a token of acceptance of the bride. The groom also puts vermillion in the hair parting of the bride, and the couple is considered as married. The mangalsutra and vermillion are the symbols of fidelity and happiness, and define the marital status of the woman.

Once married, the couple is blessed with a "rain" of rice as a symbol of prosperity. Hindu weddings are still considered as a kind of worshipping, as stated by the Puranas. Wedding is a type of holy ‘yajna’, where the gods are invoked. Every ritual in Hindi matrimony is performed in front of sacred fire, known as Agni. The saptapadi, or the seven circles are also taken by the bride and groom, around the Agni.

The shortage of time and place has led people to cut short the wedding ceremonies and the rituals. There has been reduction in the number of people present in the weddings too, but this has not lowered the spirit of celebrations. The chanting of the Holy mantra in the weddings is done in Sanskrit, and the rituals are performed in the traditional way that is followed since the time of ancestors.

Although there are some changes in the rituals, but the basics are still the same. The bride and groom side prefer booking a wedding planner, who is responsible to make all the arrangements for the wedding, and the family members can remain tension free and enjoy the wedding celebrations.

Rashmi writes on behalf of Jeevansathi.com, which is India’s fastest growing matrimonial website. Jeevansathi.com helps the users to search corresponding matches from their respective community like Hindu Matrimonial, Agarwal Matrimonial from their online matrimonial and matchmaking services.