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Marriage Rituals and Customs

India is a land of diverse culture and religion. Every region of the country has its own unique way of celebrating their marriage. Be it east, west, north or south the regions have its own wedding customs and rituals. Marriages in India are not just coming together of two individuals and exchange of vows and rings, but it also marks the bonding of two families, their culture and their communities.  

The pre wedding rituals vary according to the region.  The ceremony of mehendi is celebrated mostly at bride's place where female friends and relatives of the bride gather to put henna on bride's feet and hand.  Among the other rituals garland ceremony is the most popular ritual, which is celebrated more or less in every part of the country.   On this occasion the bride and the groom garland each other as a sign of mutual acceptance.  Putting sindoor or vermilion powder in the parting of the bride's hair by the groom is another ritual in the country.  Other rituals are kanyadaan, tying of mangal sutra around the bride's neck, saptapadi in which the couple moves seven times together around the fire exchanging the wedding vows.

India wedding jewelry consists of sets of in gold, diamonds, pearls and other precious metals and stones. These jewelry sets consists of earrings, chokers and bangles.  It is customary for the bride's family to gift these jewelry sets to their soon to be married daughter. In India, you could say, marriage and jewelry go side by side. Among India wedding jewelry, rings are a traditional symbol of matrimony and are worn by both men and women.  A married woman in India wear the mangal sutra or a thaali around her neck.  

Matrimonial Websites 

Shaadi.com

BharatMatrimony.com

Types of Hindu Marriages

According to Manusmriti or laws of Manu there are eight different types of Hindu marriages. They were as follows:

In Brahma marriage once the boy completes his Brahmacharya (studenthood), he is eligible to get married. His parents then approaches the parents of a girl . The father of the girl carefully chooses the bridegroom who is well versed in Vedas and of a noble character. Among the eight types this is regarded as the highest type of marriage.

In case of Daiva marriage the girl is married to a priest (rtvik) during a sacrifice. In this type of marriage the girl's family wait for a reasonable period for a suitable man for their daughter but when nobody turns up the girl is groomed with ornaments and married to a priest. 

The third type is Arsha marriage that suggests marriages with the sages or rishis. References from dharmasastras tells us that in arsa the bride is given in exchange for two cows received from the groom. According to sastras noble marriages had no monetary or business transactions so this kind of marriage was not considered noble.

Monetary transactions and Kanyadaan is not a part of Prajapatya marriage.  Here the bride's father goes in search for a groom for his daughter. 

Next is Gandharva marriage, which is more like love marriage. Here the bride and the bridegroom get married secretly without the knowledge of their parents. This kind of marriage is similar to the love marriages of today's generation. 

In the Asura type of marriage the groom is not at all suitable for the bride. In no way he is a match for the girl but the bridegroom willingly gives as much wealth as he can afford to the bride's parents and relatives. 

Rakshasa marriage is a type, in which the groom fights battles with the bride's family, overcomes them and carries her away and then persuades her to marry. 

Paishacha marriage is the eighth and last type of marriage. It is considered as the most inferior type of marriage. In this type the girl's wish is not considered whether she wants to marry or not.   

Among the eight types all didn't have religious sanction. The last four were not religiously defined it were condemned.  

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