Indian Wedding Rituals Explained

Vrutham

Here the bride and the groom invoke the blessing of their family deity and also the forefathers of seven generation. The girl's side does the ritual separately and the boy's side does it separately. This is to denote their entry into the stage of Grihastha-the married family man. Their hands are purified with the tying of a twine that is smeared with turmeric. This usually takes place early in the morning.

Mapillai Azapu

The ‘mapillai Azapu’ or ‘ Janvasam” is a ritual followed by the bride's family to welcome the groom from his home to the marriage hall.

Kasi Yatra

Kasi yatra refers to an age-old Brahmin ritual where the groom "decides" to take up 'sanyaasa' (i.e. asceticism, monkhood) for spiritual pursuit. He would ultimately be 'convinced' by the bride's father to return and take up "Grihastha"-the married family man life and that the bride will assist in his subsequent spiritual pursuit. For the Kaasi Yatra, the bride's father would have to buy an Umbrella, Hand fan, Bhagwad Gita book, footwear. 

Kasi Yatra came into practice when it was believed that there are four stages in the life of man namely Brahmacharya-the celibate student, Grihastha-the married family man, Vanaprastha-the hermit in retreat, Sannyasa-the wandering recluse.

Maalai Maatral

The groom will then agree and garlands will be exchanged by the bride and groom (maalai maatral). The process of maalai maatral is extremely entertaining whereby the groom's side carries the groom and the bride’s side carries the bride and each side making it difficult for the other side to correctly place the garland.

Oonjal

They would then head to a swing (oonjal) in the mandapam. Respected womenfolk of the household will then perform short rituals with classical singing to ward off "evil eyes" as the bride and groom are seated on the oonjal (swing).

Kanyadhaan

They the bride and the groom proceed to the podium in the mandapam where rites of the marriage - muhurtham - are performed. The most beautiful aspect of the wedding is when the bride is seated on her dad's lap as her dad does-Kanyadhaanam and offers his daughter to be taken care of by the groom.

Thaali

As the priest then chants mantras, the groom ties a "thaali" or "thirumaangalyam" as a necklace around the bride's neck. The groom puts one knot and the other two knots by the groom’s sister or cousin sister as all the guests shower their blessings (symbolized by rice grains that are distributed to all guests to shower onto the bride and groom).

Sapthapathi & Panigrahanam

This symbolizes the actual wedding and the newly-weds take their marriage vows in seven steps (sapthapathi) as they walk three rounds hand-in-hand around the holy fire (agni).