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Destination - Brahmavivaha Ceremonies

Given below is the traditional Brahman vivaha paddhithi as mentioned in the shastras. Even amongst the various Hindus communities, the actual rituals vary though the base remains the same. We have tried to enlist these under the heading of the specific community. We hope these will give you an idea of the wedding rituals followed by your community. Viewing the Brahman vivaha paddhithi along with the rituals of your specific community will be more meaningful.

VAAGNISCHAYA

This ceremony acknowledges that the marriage of the boy and the girl is acceptable to the parents of both parties. The boy's father along with a few elders of the family and the priest visit the girl's house. Here a small ceremony is performed/ Whilst the boy's parents give a vida and a coconut to the girl who sits facing east; the priest chants mantras / prayers invoking the blessings of Lord Ganapati and the family Gods. The ceremony also includes mentioning the boy's ancestry of the boy and the family's gothra / clan. After the lineage of the boy's family is announced a small ceremony involving the parents of the girl and boy separately.

SEEMANTAPOOJAN

For the purpose of marriage the groom visits the bride's home. The bride's father is expected to greet the groom with a small pooja, with invocations to Ganapati. The bride's father washes the groom's feet gifts him with clothes. The bride's family then greets the groom's family with Haldi Kumkum and paan supari as per the custom. The bride's father then proceeds to greet his elder son-in-law and elder daughter and gifts the son-in-law as a mark of respect.

MADHUPARKA

This ceremony starts on the day prior to the marriage day. On this day the bride and groom and their respective parents, all dressed in wedding finery, resolve to see the marriage through. On the marriage day the bride's father greets the groom with a puja using a mixture of curd and honey. Therefore this ceremony gets the name Madhuparka and is accompanied by chanting of the mantras. The groom is then given gifts befitting the financial position of the bride's parents.

PARASPAR NIRIKSHAN

A traditional Hindu marriage starts at an auspicious time. The paraspar nirikshan ceremony starts just prior to this. The groom and bride are made to stand facing each other, each on a mound of rice. Between them is a piece of cloth called an antarpat, which has a swastika on both sides. The antarpat prevents the bride and groom from seeing each other during the ceremony, which is to follow shortly. Earlier in line with tradition, both the bride and groom carried, in their hands, a mixture of rice, wheat and cumin seeds. However, this is not done any more. Instead today's weddings see them carry a garland of flowers in their hands. The priest then chants the mangalashtakha - a poem in eight stanzas. During this chanting the couple is expected to meditate and invoke God's blessings and keep their gaze fixed on the swastikas on the antarpat. As the auspicious time approaches, the chanting comes to an end and the antarpat is removed. The couple now shower each other with the rice, wheat and cumin seed mixture or garland each other as the case may be. The groom is garlanded first, then the bride. This is followed by a few ceremonies between the bride and the groom.

KANYADAAN

The bride's father hands her over to the groom in a ceremony wherein the bride and groom stand facing each other the bride facing east and the groom facing west. In this ceremony the bride's father requests the Gods to bless his deceased ancestors and the future progeny of his daughter. This is followed by the actual kanyadaan ceremony after which he folds his hands and requests the groom to accept his daughter in marriage. The entire ceremony is done thrice. The bride's father now gives a present to the groom. The various marriage rituals follow.

VIVAHA HOMA

This is the most important part of the wedding ceremonies. In this homa the groom asks the Gods to bless both himself and his wife. This homa has the Sapta padi or seven steps that mark the completion of the wedding rituals.

GRUHAPRAVISHINAYA HOMA

Traditionally this homa was performed as a separate homa after the vivaha homa. Now it is made a part of the vivaha homa and performed immediately after the rituals of the vivaha homa.

AIRANIDAANA

This is a gift that the bride's father gives to the groom's mother. The gift depends on the financial capacity of the giver and is normally performed before the bride leaves for her new home.

GRUHAPRAVESHA

The gruhapravesh is the groom taking his bride to his house. This ceremony differs in practice according to the various regions and communities amongst the Hindus. However, common to all Hindu communities the bride is to greeted by all her new relatives with a namaskar. A few games are played on this occasion and again vary from community to community.

ASHIRVACHAN

The priest blesses the bride and the groom and wishes them a long and happy married life blessed with eight very bright sons. He also takes this opportunity to wish her all the love of her husband in her married life and at the same time wishes her family well.

SAPTAPATI - THE SEVEN STEPS

The seven steps of marriage around the sacred fire are all addressed to Lord Vishnu asking his blessings. They are:

1st Step - Ekamishe Vishnussatvana vedhu asks for food, the bane of existence

2nd Step - Tve oorje Vishnusatvana vedhu for strength

3rd Step - Trini vradaaya Vishnusatvana vedhu for the vows / vradhana the couple undertake

4th Step - Satvari Mayobhavaya Vishnusatvana vedhu for a happy life

5th Step - Panja Pasupyo Vishnusatvana vedhu asks to bless the cows (this is traditional Hindu philosophy requiring cows in the household)

6th Step - Shatrudhpyo Hotrapyo Vishusatvana vedhu - asks to enjoy the fruits of the six seasons of the year;

7th Step - Saptasaptapyo Hotrapyo Vishnuvahana vedhu for the carriage of agnishotmam and other yagnas necessary.

There are eight types of marriages or Ashta Vivaham recognized by the Hindu shastras. They are:

Brahma - in this marriage the parents of the eligible brahmachari or bachelor of high morals / virtues approach the parents of a girl with similar characteristics to be their son's wife. This is an arranged marriage

Arsham - Here the groom's parents present the bride's parents with two cows. This usually occurs when the groom has no special qualities or has negative ones.

Daiva - This is a wedding where the father gives away the bride to the priest at the time of a yagna.

Prajapatya - in this type of wedding the bride's parents approach the parents of the prospective groom.

Aasura - this type of marriage takes place when wealthy parents use their wealth, power and influence to contract a marriage ogten against the wishes of the girl.

Gandarva - this marriage takes place between two consenting adults who are in love.

Raatchasa - this wedding is conducted without the knowledge or permission of the parents and family of the girl.

Paisaasam - this is a mean and cruel type of marriage when an unwilling girl is forced into marriage by brute force. This last type of marriage is frowned upon and not encouraged at all.

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Destination - Brahmavivaha Ceremonies

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