A look at Rituals of a Rajput Wedding

A Rajputi wedding is always magnificent, glorious and beautiful for one to attend. A traditional wedding invitation card is used for inviting the guests. Most frequently, the days on which Janam Asthami, Dev Uthani, Dhulandi, and Basant Panchami falls is selected as a Mahurat. It is believed, that one these days, the nine planets spread in the solar system get aligned with each other.

Pre-rituals of the wedding include an engagement ceremony, Sagai that is held in the groom’s house. On this day, a sword, sweets along with garments are gifted to the groom. The rituals then move on to the ‘Pithi Dastoor’ where the Tumeric and sandalwood paste is applied to the girl to make her skin glow with the aromatic fragrances. The holy thread ceremony known as the ‘Janeu’ soon follows a day prior to the main day of the wedding.

If you would like to have a deep dive into the main wedding rituals, then here’s with the top 6 that truly make it special.

As soon as the ‘Barat’ from the groom’s side arrives, the bride’s mother gives him a warm welcome that proceeds with goodwill in life through an ‘aarti’. ‘Var Mala’ which involves uniting the bride and groom with the help of the knot between the girl’s Chunni and the bride’s waist cloth takes place. Either the priest or the bride’s sister lends out a hand in this particular ritual.

Next, the groom places the right hand of the girl to whom he is going to marry. This act signifies a long term responsibility of the boy to take care of the girl in every way after the marriage. The groom then moves round the Havan (the place where Holy Fire is ignited) seven times.

The set of rituals then proceed towards the Ashwahrohan. During this ritual, the bride needs to step on a grindstone. This symbolizes her confidence when she would have to traverse many hurdles and challenges while pacing forward in her married life.

Yet another sign of acceptance is shown by the groom in Vamang sthapan. This is custom where the groom asks the bride with sheer love to sit next to him. After the groom has embellished his wife with Sindoor, it becomes clear that he has now accepted the girl as his wife deep from his heart

Finally, the customs turn out to be fascinating when the groom is accompanied by the girl’s relatives and he has to express his affection that he really feels through poetry. Thereafter, the girl leaves her own house by seeking the blessings of her parents and breaking a baked earthen lamp.

Post marriage, Grihapravesh and Pagelagni takes place. After the Pooja during Grihapravesh when it the first time where the girl would cross the threshold of her husband’s house, many games are played to bring in joy and vivacity in the house. Pagelagni is marked by the formal introduction of the bride to groom’s relatives.