Hindu Wedding Traditions
Hindu weddings are like weddings everywhere they are occasions of substantial joy and happiness for all demonstrate and are considered to be very distinguished by all Hindus.
Having said that Hindu weddings can be conducted in anyone of a number of ways according to the Hindu sect of the bride and bridegroom, Hindu wedding traditions are very dilapidated and to the westerner may seem a exiguous unfamiliar, but they are always engrossing.
Almost without exception a Hindu wedding is conducted in the Sanskrit language, but because most people these days don't understand Sanskrit the language of the bride and groom are dilapidated as well.
Because weddings and the traditions associated with them are so indispensable Hindu weddings are often rather long affairs and can last for a number of days. They are also very colourful and absorb many cherished and sacred artefacts and practices.
A customary Hindu wedding actually starts before the main ceremony with a pre-wedding ceremony or indeed ceremonies. One such ceremony will be the engagement at which the Vagdana will be noted.
Depending upon the dwelling where you gain married and the particular share of the Hindu religion you savor there are up to 20 main rites that need to be performed in order for you to be proclaimed married these are:
1. Vagdana
2. Vinayakvidhana
3. Kankanabandhana
4. Grhasamskara
5. Toranavidhi
6. Vivahavidhi
7. Parasparamukhavalokana
8. Varamala
9. Varapratijna
10. Kanyadana
11. Devasastragurupuja
12. Homahuti
13. Granthibandhana
14. Panigrahana
15. Saptapadi
16. Punyahavachana
17. Santimantra
18. Asirvada
19. Svagrhagamana
20. Jinagrhe Dhanarpana
These rites are Svetambaras or "White Clad" sect rites if you follow Digambaras the naked ones and their rites then there are only 16.
Although with both sects of the Hindu religion there are a lot of rites or traditions to be followed by the bride and bridegroom both sects of the Hindu religion tend to agree that the following rites or traditions are the most vital. Vagdana, Pradana,Varana, Panipidana and Saptamadi and they are explained blow
The word Vagdana is a Sanskrit word which literally means "Word Giving" and in the Hindu tradition when a bride and groom gain whine to marry they do an oral agreement to be married. The Vagdana ceremony usually takes spot about a month before the true marriage ceremony.
The Vagdana is one of the most solemn parts of the wedding tradition. It is only after the Vagdana ceremony that the couple can be married.
In some sects of the Hindu religion about 15 days before the wedding a exiguous share of bread is tied to the bridegroom's hand and to his parents. This all happens in the Barni Bandhwana ceremony and is a symbolic arrangement of removing any obstacles to the marriage and the forthcoming ceremonies.
After the Vagdana comes the Pradana a tradition where the bridegroom's father gives the bride 'ornaments' as they relate them in Hindu, these are presents for her married life.
Next is Varana the giving of the bride by her father, during the Varana the bride's father makes an offer to the bridegroom's father in front of everyone who is at the ceremony and the bridegroom's father accepts the offer which is witnessed by all point to who will also consent to the offer.
This tradition is followed by the Panipidana and during this tradition the bride and bridegroom possess hands, the bride's father offers the upright and of the bride to the bridegroom who has to remove her hand in his correct hand and then as he does that the bridegroom's father asks that the bridegroom will promise to protect the bride and that promise is sworn to several Hindu gods including Dharma.
The final tradition is the most necessary and most serious the Saptapadi it is a ritual that involves the bride and groom walking around a sacred flame or fire seven times.
This Saptapadi ritual is so well-known that if it is not performed the bride is not considered to be married until she has complete the seven circuits. It is also said that until the Saptapadi is enacted the marriage is not completed.
As the bride and bridegroom trip around the fire they ask that they may arrive one of seven states in life.
These states are;
1. The residence of Sajjatitva which is the location of obedient society
2. The area of Sadgrahasthatva which is the station of great household state
3. The position of Sadhutva which is the area of ascetic state
4. The position of Indratva which is the dwelling of Indra State
5. The location of Cakravartitva which is the situation of emperor state
6. The spot of Jinavaratva, the set of Lord Jina which is the region of one who has conquered all enemies
7. The spot of Nirvana which is the location of complete salvation
Once this has been done and before the marriage ceremony finishes it is a tradition that the husband has to execute a promise that he won't inspect for or prefer in any "fun or frolic" with any other woman, that he won't gamble, that he won't frequent houses of base women, that he will allow his wife to visit places that he considers 'proper' such as temples or go on pilgrimages, that he will gain no secrets from her or allege her secrets to anyone and that he will protect his modern wife by being an fair husband and earning a living honourably.
In return the newly married bride is required by tradition to do seven promises these are that she respects her husband, abet his parents, never disobey her husband or sulk, she must not visit other men's houses at night or mix with a crowd of men and that she must not visit the hoses of drunks or tainted people.
Often these promises are made after the six circuit of the afraid fire in the Saptapadi.
One of the major differences to other cultures and of course western ones is that traditionally in some Hindu wedding ceremonies such as the Vedic sect of the Hindu religion there is no differentiation between men and women and that the reason that the couple are getting married is simple it is to have a fulfilling and gay life.
