The Vedic/Hindu Marriage Ceremony
The grhya sutras are the Vedic manuals which deal with the performance of the domestic ritual. Each of the four Vedas developed several schools and each of these schools produced its own manual based on the original Vedic texts. In each part of India different schools prevailed, and thus gave rise to the regional variations which are found today.
In the Puranic age the relatively simple ceremony was greatly elaborated upon, and the nuptial ceremony became transformed into the complicated five day celebration which has retained its usage from the middle ages up to the modern times.
The original Vedic ceremony was meant only for the members of the three initiated castes, and commendable tolerance was shown towards family and social customs being associated with the marriage ceremony. Each caste and sect developed peculiarities of their own which were always tolerated and it is stated that the women of the family should be consulted in matters of marriage rituals and customs apart from the orthodox Vedic ceremony.
Whatever the differences may be, there are five essential features of the Vedic Marriage that are the irreducible minimum, and must be included if the ceremony is to be considered bona-fide and valid. Whatever customs and rituals the people wish to adhere to must be done in addition to the five essentials. According to the Shastras folk customs regarding marriage must always be respected by learned brahmins.
The five essential features of a Vedic Marriage are;
vagdanam ca pradanam ca varanam pani-pidanam |
sapta-padi iti pancango vivaha prakirtih ||
- The engagement ceremony.
- Formal bestowal of the bride on the groom.
- Ceremonial honouring of the groom by the bestower.
- Taking of the bride's hand by the groom.
- The rite of the seven steps.