Traditional Outlook of a Hindu Matrimonial

If you are belong to the Hindu religion and want to celebrate your wedding according to the defined Hindu rituals, you can have the chance to get married surrounded by colors and symbols. The rituals and wedding rites are very sacred in every religion, and similar is the case with the Hindu religion.

One of the most interesting rituals in the Hindu matrimonial is the Mehendi ceremony, where intricate patterns of henna are designed on the hands and feet of the bride in order to decorate her body. This is believed to bring good luck and remove the bad omen. The mehendi ceremony is generally celebrated at bride’s home and is accompanies by sangeet, where women of the family sing wedding sons to bless the newlyweds. The family and friends of the bride accompany her during these interesting rituals. Most of the families call professionals who excel in the art of applying mehendi.

The costumes are an important part in the Hindu matrimonial, the bride generally wears a red sari or lehenga, which is embroidered with threads of gold and the bride, is then beautifully decorated. Some ofther colours which are also popular among Hindu bride are pink, yellow, orange, green, blue, Fuchsia, etc. The bride is made to wear lots of jewellery and is beautifully decorated. The groom also wears a heavily embroidered kurta, which is known as Sherwani. During the wedding, the guests also get dressed in bright colours to show their happiness to the couple.

The marriages are accomplished in exotic settings in the Hindu matrimony, known as Mandaps. The bride, groom, and their family and friends unite to bless the newlyweds. The bride and groom are presented with the wedding gifts, which are generally stuff that can be helpful for their future.

Hindu Marriage for Vaidiki Brahmins

Marriages in India differ in rituals and customs for the various religions. India is multi-diverse country, with all the major religions of the world co-existing in harmony. Religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Islam have a good population. Hinduism has its roots in India and majority of the population India are followers of this religion. The religion is one of the oldest religions known to humankind and has written rules and regulations on life, birth, marriage and death. Hindu Marriage rules and regulations are prescribed in the ancient texts and manuscripts.

The Hindu Matrimonial alliances are fixed after consultation of horoscopes. Caste and community background are other important factors while fixing a Hindu Marriage. There are four major groups in Hinduism and Brahmin occupy the highest caste order. Under the Brahmin, there are many sub-groups like the Smartha or Advaitic Brahmins, Ambalavasi Brahmins, Vaidiki Brahmins, Sarola Brahmins, Koti Brahmin, Shivalli Smartha Brahmins, Maharashtrian Devrukhe Brahmins, Sthanika Brahmins and Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins.

Some Brahmin communities in India are region based and one such community is that of Vaidiki Brahmins. The Vaidiki Brahmins are originally from Andhra Pradesh. The community members speak Telugu. Some members have also migrated to the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu. It is said that the members have mastered the Hindu texts, Vedas. The Vaidiki Brahmin community members are further divided into sub sects such as Adisaivulu, Dravidulu, Edavalu, Kasalnatlu, Murikinatlu, Karanakammalu, Mulakanatlu, Saivulu, Telaganyulu, Vaishnavulu, Veginatlu and Velanatlu.

Some more well-known regional Brahmin communities in India are Iyengar Brahmins, Dvaitic Brahmins Madhwa Kannada Brahmin, Shivalli Brahmins, Kanyakubja Brahmin, Bengali Vaid Brahmin, Maithil Brahmin and Telugu Madhwa Brahmin. These communities follow the Hindu Marriage rules and regulations. The matrimonial rituals differ from state to state though the wedding mantras are recited in Sanskrit.

Author: Shipra Sinha

Pre-Wedding Rituals in Agarwal Matrimony

Baniya community is the business class according to the Indian caste system, and is mainly involve in trading and businesses. Agarwal is the main sub-section of the Baniya community who deeply believe in arranged marriages. Inter caste marriages in Agarwal matrimony are very rare as Agarwals do not promote this. The pre-wedding rituals involved in Agarwal Matrimonial are similar to those followed in other Hindu communities.

Sagai:

It is the formal wedding announcement ceremony, where the bride and groom exchange ring with each other. It is a kind of engagement, which is attended by the families only. Both families exchange gifts, such as clothing, jewellery, sweets and other auspicious things.

Haldi:

During Haldi ceremony, the families of both bride and groom apply a paste of turmeric on their body to make the skin glow. In the Agarwal matrimony, the rituals depend on the region from where the bride and groom belong.

Mehendi ceremony:

Mehendi is the most awaited ceremony during a wedding, where the young girls of the family get chance to apply beautiful patterns of henna on their hands and feet, along with bride. The groom’s family sends the henna to the bride. Mehendi walas are called to design beautiful patterns of henna on the girl’s hands and feet. In the Agarwal families, beautiful henna designs are also applied on the hands of the groom, just as a part of shagun.

After the accomplishment of interesting pre-wedding rituals in Agarwal matrimony, follow the main wedding rituals.

The festive rituals and wedding celebrations in the Agarwal community are almost similar to other Hindu communities of India. However, some of the basic differences can be observed in some of the rituals and marriage practices in Agarwal matrimony. The basic difference lies in the “Mama phere”, when the bride sits in the lap of her mother’s brother, and takes seven rounds of the groom and sacred fire. This custom is different from other Hindu Matrimony, and is typically followed in Agarwal wedding.

Author: Rashmi Karan