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| Lord Ganesha (The first God worshiped before any auspicious event) |
A marriage, in Hindu Custom, holds a very holy place and there are many stories which bring in light, its preciousness as a beautiful custom.
Hindu Marriage is organized socially in the presence of a huge gathering of people from different communities. Marriage is known as a union of two people in which they take a promise to be with one another for the rest of their lives through each step, out of Seven Vows. All these seven rounds have to be performed by the Bride and Groom before they are regarded as Wife and Husband.
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| The beautiful entrance for the Marriage Ceremony |
Marriage is an event that combines a man and a woman into a bond of the beautiful relationship after completing Seven Vows, before the Holy Fire. Fire, in Hinduism, is considered as one of the God's and is very important in marriages. In every religion, it is one of the cherished moments in anybody’s life. While two people (Groom and Bride) become one , their families also tie a knot of relationship with each other and share their responsibilities with happiness and wishes a long married life to both the bride and the groom.
There are a lot of things, which adds to the marriage and its preparation, from the starting till the end. When a decision of marriage between the families of the boy and girl is taken, it is celebrated with all the rituals and Puja (worshipping) in a proper manner. In an arranged marriage, most of the families till date, believe in matching the horoscope which is called Kundli Matching (Horoscope Matching). In other words, it is also known as Lunar Constellations’.
It is believed that Kundli Matching initially helps to determine certain points to specify the compatibility of the couple, with regard to their different personality aspects. The final outcome depends on the total number of points of qualities, assigned to their personality aspects. If the difference of points seems to be much higher, than there are fewer chances of tying the knot and if it is within the range of compatibility, the date of marriage is fixed on the basis of Lagan (Planet position in their Horoscope) and further preparation for the marriage is started. Lagan in Hindu marriage is considered to be very important. Because it is believed to depict the good position of the planets at that time.
Today it is seen that the younger generation, gives less importance to the marriage rituals as they hardly believe in this tradition and make a shortcut to organize and conclude their marriage with a simple function. Likewise, the trend of horoscope matching among young Hindu boys and girls is going out of fashion, but only those who believe in the rituals and the sayings, prefer to go with the system of horoscope matching. Though the rituals being performed for decades are the real identity and joy of a Hindu marriage, yet they decide to marry in their own fashion without caring for the rituals and other formal practices. In my view, a huge expense cannot be considered as important as per the marriage is concerned. However, rituals must be given importance.
Nowadays, with the living standard and their cost going high, a proper Hindu marriage is very expensive. Yet it is an essential aspect that the marriage is not expensive because of the rituals, but because of the show off trend that the people prefer to carry. Hindu Marriage like every other community can be performed with fewer expenses and arrangements; with all the rituals performed in a very simple manner.
The popular rituals of a Hindu marriage are the ‘Sindoor Daan”, Wearing the "Mangalsutra” by the bride and above all the most unique and famous rituals of the Hindu marriage are ‘Saat Phere’ (Seven Vows) where the couple completes each round before the Holy Fire and the object of each round is chanted with Vedic mantras carrying its own meaning and values.
In Hindus, the bride, and the groom is compared to Goddess Laxmi and Lord Narayana on the day of their marriage. It is believed that they were the first couples in the world to get married establishing the importance for humanity. Before the Seven Vows, the bride’s father or an elder male member of the family (in the case of the father not available or alive), hands over his daughter to the Groom through the process of Kanya Daan (Giving the Bride away by her father). He takes a promise from the Groom that he will help his daughter (soon after she’s going to be a wife) in realizing the Dharma, (Duty of a husband) Artha, (Object of marriage) and Karma (Devotion). The groom expresses his consent and repeats the promise thrice with his consent of fulfilling his duties.
Now let's learn about the Seven Vows in Sanskrit and their importance in a marriage.
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| Musical Instruments played in the Marriage |
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| After Saat Phere, they become Wife and Husband |
Groom – “Om Rasha ek padi bhava iti prathaman”
Bride - “Dhanam dhanyam pade vadet”
· It Means -It is about praying the God to provide them (the couple) pure food with nourishment, so that both of them and their future children are able to live together with respect, happiness and honor. They both promise to share the responsibility for each other in every way
Second Vow
Groom – “Om oorje jara dastayaha”
Bride - “Kutumbum rakshayashyammi sa arvindharam”
It Means- They both promise before the Holy Fire to progress as one as a family in terms of physical, mental and spiritual manner that will help them to enjoy life and share happiness together.
Third Vow
Groom – “Om rayas santu jaradastayaha”
Bride - “Tava bhakti as vadedevachacha”
It Means - The Bride and Groom pray for their prosperity in life. The Groom says to the Bride that since she has stepped into his life and completed three vows with him, he shall look upon all other women as his sisters and the Bride also promises that she will treat all other men as her brothers and fulfill her commitment as his life companion.
Fourth Vow
Groom – “Om mayo bhavyas jaradastayaha”
Bride - “Lalayami cha pade vadet”
It Means - Both the couple promises to each other that they will pray the God for their happiness and mutual love in all spheres of their life.
Fifth Vow
After the fourth round the girl is asked to step before the groom and the fifth round takes place.
Groom – “Om praja bhayaha santu jaradastayaha”
Bride - “Arte arba sapade vadet”
It Means - They appeal to the almighty God for the welfare of all of their family members, children and wish for sharing happiness and sorrows together the time of happiness and difficulty as well in their lives
Sixth Vow
Bride and Groom – “Yajne home shashthe vacho vadet”
It Means - The couple prays to the God to grant them and their loves ones a disease free life and also prays for an extremely happy life for each other. The bride also promises that she will stay with her husband at all stages of her life whatever be the situation.
Seventh Vow
Groom – “Om sakhi jaradastayahga”
Bride - “Attramshe sakhino vadet vade"
Bride and Groom taking Saath Phere(Round)
It Means - They both pray for mutual understanding, dedication and a true companionship between each other before the Holy Fire.
After the Parikrama is completed, with chanting of Vedic mantras by a Priest before the Holy Fire, which is a witness of taking promises by the couple in each step, they both turn in Wife and Husband and greeted by all the guests present along with their family and relatives
It is believed that if a couple completes Seven Vows before the Holy Fire, they will remain together as wife and husband for their lifetime. While taking the Vows, the Bride is seated to the right side of the Groom at the beginning and after completing the seven vows, the Bride shifts to the left side of the Groom – this represents that she is now closer to the heart of the Groom. In mythology Goddess Laxmi and Parvati (the wife of lord Shiva) are considered as Vamangi which means the left half of the life or the husband. <
