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Destination - Jain Marriages

A great deal of thought, meticulous planning, presence of wise elderly relatives plus the presence and guidance of Providence, all go to making a marriage celebration a grand success, a memorable event in the lives of the bridal couple and their families. This is true not only of Jain marriages but of all marriages whatever may be the community.

The Jain marriage rituals have quite a lot in common with Hindu and Gujarati marriages. However, depending upon the region of origin there are some differences in the celebration rituals, viz. those of Marwar Jains, Kutch Jains, Gujarat Jains to name a few.

A Jain Shravaka has to follow two dharmas: general or samanya, dealing with affairs of the world and specific or vishesh dealing with affairs of the soul. The samanya dharma applies to Jains and non-Jains alike. For worldly affairs, Jainism does not automatically reject worldly practices. Marriage falls under the samanya dharma as it is a material or worldly event. Marriage is considered as the sanctimonious coming together of two families known as sambandhis. Marriage is recommended to all Jain shravakas unless they have taken the a vow/vrata to be a bachelor or rahmaacharya. Somadeva Suri writes:
Sava eva hi jainanam pramanam laukiko vidhih Yatra samyakatva-hanirna yatra na vrata-dushanam

Thus worldly practices are acceptable to the Jains, provided they do not cause loss to samyakatva or corruption of the vratas or vows.

Condemn Dowry

The Jain community assemblies on various occasions have condemned the practice of negotiating a dowry before marriage, the duration and cost of marriages. There should be no waste of money or time. A marriage, however, is something of far greater significance than a family vacation, a birthday or a graduation. It must be celebrated as an once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

Marriage is a public declaration of a couple's intent to live together for the rest of their lives as well as a declaration of the Jain community to support the couple. All the children of the marriage are brought up in the Jain religion. Sangave, in his book: Jain Community A Social Survey gives two lists of 16 and 20 marriage rites which include the use of fire.

A Jain marriage is preferably conducted by a Jain Pandit. In some places there are Brahmins attached to the Jain community who conduct marriages. In any case, the marriage has to be conducted by a respected person familiar with the rites and protocols. Haribhadra Suri has some recommendations about selecting the proper match in his Dharma-Bindu.
Some of the most important rites of marriage conducted in front of Agni, the Fire God are:

Vagdana: declaration by parents of intent to marry off their son or daughter

Pradana: ornaments gifted to future bride

Mandapa-vedi-pratishtha: setting up of the marriage venue or mandap and the vedi

Torana-pratishtha: sanctification of the marriage site and installing the ornament

Vara-ghoda: the groom rides the horse

Torana-vidhi: rites of welcoming the groom at the gate

Gotrocchara: reciting the gotras/genealogies of the couple and stressing the richness of the union

Paraspara-mukha-avalokana: looking at each other's face. In ancient times this was the first opportunity the bride and groom had to look at each other.

Vara-mala: Exchange of garlands. In earlier days this was done only be the bride .

Vara-pratijna: Acceptance vows by the groom.

Agni-pradakshina: Circling of the sacred the fire by the bride and groom four times for the four basic human goals of dharma/ religion, artha/ money, kama/ passion and moksha/ spiritual enlightenment.

Kanyadaan: Giving away of the bride by the father. In earlier times during the kanyadaan ceremony the bride's father used to also gift a cow. In Hindu scriptures the cow has always been revered as a holy animal and the symbol of wealth. This ritual cannot be observed in present times and an idol or figurine of a cow is given away during the kanyadaan ceremony.

Deva-shastra-guru-puja: worship of God, Gurus and the Scriptures.

Vasaskhepa: Putting fragrant material in the fire.

Granthi-bandhana: tying the nuptial knot with the shoulder garments of the groom and bride.

Pani-grahana: the bridegroom holds bride's hand inviting her into their new home

Saptapadi: seven steps (often same as agni-pradakshina) asking God for the seven provisions of food, strength, wealth, happiness, children, cattle, and devotion.

Blessings by the congregation

Sva-graha-agamana: Entering of the couple into the bridegroom's house

· Jina-grahe-dhanarpana: donating to the temple/ religious institutions. One ceremony universal to marriage celebrations of all communities and peoples the world over is that of vidai or bidding farewell by the bride to her family. This ceremony brings an end to the marriage festivities.

!! JAI JINENDRA !!

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Destination - Jain Marriages

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