Indian Wedding

Maharashtra/Marathi Konganastha Brahmins are a Brahmin community of Kongan region, the coastal belt of western Maharashtra state in India. They are also known as Chitpavan Brahmin and sometimes affectionately referred to as Kobra, a short version for KO-nkanastha BRA-min. This community is now distributed far and wide even up to Australia, UK, USA and other Asian, African and European countries. Their weddings, as in any other Indian or Brahmin community, are conducted in a spectacular manner.

With the matching of the horoscopes of the boy and the girl and mutual consent from the two families, the “pujari”/priest fixes an auspicious date for the formal engagement to be held in the bride’s house. The groom’s parents bring a sari, jewelry and flowers for the bride and she leaves to wear those articles. The bride’s parents, on their part, give the groom dresses, a watch and other gifts. The bride now appears in all her finery and the couple exchanges rings.

“Vyahi Bhojan” is a ritual, conducted on an auspicious day before the wedding, in which the groom’s parents host a feast for the bride’s parents and other family members. A “puja”/prayer, known as “Grahamak” or “Nav Graha Shanti Puja” is held separately in both houses to invoke harmony among the nine planets.

“Bangdi Bharan”/the bangle ceremony is performed two days before the wedding in the bride’s house. The “Bangadiwalla or the bangle seller first slips green glass bangles on the bride’s wrist. He also slips gold bangles presented by the groom’s parents on to her wrists. The bride’s mother honors him by giving edible leaves, a coconut and a coin. He adorns the wrists of other ladies present at this occasion with green glass bangles.

Though mehendi/henna ceremony is not a traditional ritual it is followed by many families in Maharashtra with fun and gaiety. A professional mehendiwali/henna artist applies henna paste on the palms and feet of the bride giving beautiful intricate patterns on them.

“Kelvan” is a ritual wherein the bride is seated at a table decorated with “rangoli” patterns made using colored powder lentils. A silver “thaali or platter is placed in the midst of the table and she is fed with her favorite dishes specially prepared by her mother. It is supposed to be her last meal as a maiden in her parental house. “Seemanth Pujan” and “Vaang Nischayam” are held the day prior to the marriage to honor the groom by washing his feet in a silver platter. His mother’s feet are also washed and they are given gifts while the fathers of the bride and groom formally accept the wedding of their children.

In the ceremony “Ghana bharan” performed on the wedding day morning, the bride and her parents sit on a wooden plank while ‘sumangalis” (not widows) pound wheat with a wooden rod called “musal” followed by prayers to the deities to ensure a smooth going of the wedding rituals. To beautify the bride and groom, a mixture of haldi/turmeric and oil is applied on their hands, feet and faces separately in their houses, using mango leaves dipped in the paste. Then they bathe and dress up for the “Dev Devak Puja”/prayer to seek blessings from their family deities. Next the bride, at the venue of the wedding, performs a “puja”/prayer to Goddess Gauri/”Parvati”, the wife of Lord “Shiva” to bless her with a long-lasting prosperous married life.

The groom, now, prepares for the “Varaat”/wedding procession, wearing a silk dhoti, a long shirt/”kurta” and an “angavastram’/stole wrapped across his shoulders along with a Maharastrian cap/turban on his head. At the wedding venue, he and his relatives are given a traditional “Aarti” welcome. After that “rukavat”- Maharashtrian breakfast- is served to the groom and his close friends “lagna mahurat” (wedding ceremony) begins. The bride’s mother places some ghee in the palms of the groom to eat, after which he is given a decorated coconut and escorted to the wedding altar. Then the bride’s parents and other family members wash the feet of the groom, his parents and very close relatives. At this time, the bride makes a spectacular appearance and she and the groom are separated by a silk curtain while her mother remains in the shrine continuing the worship of the Goddess Gauri/Parvati. She is banned to see the “Varmala”, the couple exchanging garlands. The bride stands on a wooden plank, facing east while the priests chant “Mangal ashtaka, eight wedding verses. At the end of the Vedic chants, the priest pulls away the silk cloth separating the couple towards the north and the bride and the groom garlands each other. The friends and relatives drop rice mixed with “kumkum”/vermilion on them.

In the “kanyadaan” ritual, the bride’s father places the groom’s hand over his daughter’s right hand while the priest sprinkles water on the joined hands, symbolic of the changing over the responsibility of the bride. At the exact auspicious moment, the groom ties the “mangalsutra”, the gold necklace with black beads strung on it, around the bride’s neck.

Though Paithani type of sari in green color is the traditional wear of Marathi brides deep colors like red, decorated with zari works and embroidery, are very much preferred by them. She wears a matching blouse clinging to the body making her look ravishing. /She wears green glass bangles along with other sparkling gold ones, ‘Patlya’ (broad bangles), ‘Bangdya’ (simple bangles), and ‘Tode’ (finely carved thick bangles). Her toe-rings are made of silver while her earrings are seven-pearl studs known as ‘jhumka’. The gold ‘nath’/nose ring, worn on the left nostrils, is inlaid with pearls and beads. The chokers and short and long necklaces are a combination of pearls and red and white stones. Armlet is also a favorite piece.

In “Paani grahan” the groom places his palm on hers and vows to take care of her till the end. “Lajja Hom” is a ritual in which the bride’s brother gives two fistful of “lahaya”/puffed rice which she offers to the sacred fire with the help of her husband, signifying the groom telling his wife to merge completely with his family. The couple, then, steps around the holy fire seven times. Seven handfuls of rice are kept in the northern periphery of the altar and while the groom leads the bride to each pile, she touches it with her right toe.

While the priests chant the Vedic hymns, repeated by the groom, the couple is showered with colored rice. The couple touches the feet of all the elders who give them “ashirvad” or blessings for a long and happy married life.

The grand Maharashtrian wedding feast is served on banana leaves with delicious mouth-watering dishes. The newly weds go around, greet all the invitees, serve them sweets and finally take part in the feast.

Now arrives the time for the bride to leave her parental house. The groom, taking the deity of the Goddess Gauri worshipped by his wife from the shrine, escorts her to his house in a decorated car, accompanied by a few members from his family. The bridal couple is received at the doorstep by the groom’s mother and sister. The elder sister conducts a brief “Aarti” with a lighted oil lamp. The bride kicks a grain measure, filled with rice, symbolizing that she will bring prosperity to her new house and lastly she is fed with a bit of sugar as a good omen.

The culture of Maharashtra, a Western Indian state, is a blend of the northern Aryan and the southern Dravidian. Traditional Marathi wedding is conducted usually in the morning hours though it can take place in the afternoon also if there is the auspicious time known as muhurta, but never in night.

Like most other states Marathis also observe a number of rituals before, during and after wedding. An interesting ritual Kelvan entails both the bride’s and the groom’s families to host a feast at their respective houses for all the guests gathered there. The formal engagement is conducted after Kuldevta Pujan, offering prayers to the respective patron deities of the two families. These two rituals together constitute the ceremony known as Wang Nishchay, followed by a lavish feast.
The day before the marriage both the bride and groom are smeared with a paste of sandal and turmeric individually at their houses. After a few minutes they take bath. Turmeric is considered as a powerful cleansing and purifying agent while sandal is famous for its pleasing aroma. In the ritual called Seeman Pooja, a very interesting and traditional practice, the bride’s parents welcome the groom and his people by washing the feet of the boy, his parents and the women of his family. Now the groom is gifted with ring, watch, gold chain and silverwares like plates, glasses, bowls etc. On the wedding morning a sumptuous breakfast called Rukhvat is served to the groom, his siblings, friends etc while the bride performs a Pooja/prayer, Gouri-Har Pooja, where she worships the goddess Gouri.
At the end of the Gouri-Har Pooja the bride is escorted by her maternal uncle (Mama) to the Antarpaat (Curtain) ceremony. She is beautifully attired in her traditional bridal costume, a nine- yard green sari draped in the typical Marathi style. The most popular wedding sari is the Paithani variety, an expensive one made more attractive by embellishments. Matching to the sari she wears tinkling green glass bangles on her hands. The bride wears the Tanmani, a typical Marathi necklace, having three or four strings of pearls with a central pendant, or seven or eight strings of pearls attached to a central green bead. She might wear silver toe rings and typical Maharashtrian earrings known as Jhumka with seven pearl studs on each ear. The nose ring, nath, studded with pearl and bead is seen on the left nostril. She decorates her forehead with a bindi, but sindoor is not a must. To add more charm, she wears a crown-like embellishment, sehra having flower strings falling loosely on the forehead not covering the face fully. The groom wears traditional kurta-dhoti along with uparna, a piece of cloth draped over his shoulders.
Among the marriage rituals Antarpaat is an important ceremony wherein the groom is brought to the centerstage and there an antarpaat or shawl of silk is put up between the boy and the girl to separate them until the actual time of marriage. The boy and the girl hold a garland throughout the ceremony. The antarpaat consists of eight sets of mantras and stutis with invocations to various gods. When the eighth utterance is chanted the screen is removed and the boy and the girl see each other and exchange garlands.
Havan, another integral part of Marathi marriage, has the bride and the groom and their parents sit around the holy fire. A traditional Marathi wedding involves some important steps, the most important being the Mangalasutrabandhana, the tying of the mangalasutra, the sacred necklace around the bride’s neck by the groom. The wedding rituals end up with the Karmasamapti, the concluding ceremony.
The post wedding ritual, Mangala Akshata Muhurat, involves singing of marriage hymns and chanting of mantras by the priests. Akshata, rice grains mixed with a little kumkum is sprinkled on the newly weds along with some specific mantras and they garland each other. The groom’s sisters and the bride stand behind them and water is sprinkled over them using mango leaves. And with the performance of an arti of the couple the wedding ceremony comes to an end.