A Hindu wedding is thought to be the bringing of two people who are said to be compatible. Hindu wedding
ceremonies are traditionally conducted at least partially in
Sanskrit, the language of most holy
Hindu ceremonies. The local language of the people involved is also used. They have many rituals that have evolved since traditional times and differ in many ways from the modern western
wedding ceremony and also among the different regions, families, and
castes such as
Rajput weddings and
Iyer weddings. The Hindus attach a lot of importance to
marriages, and the ceremonies are very colorful and extend for several days.
In India, According to the
Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, passed by the
Parliament of India, for all legal purposes, all Hindus of any caste, creed or sect, Sikh, Buddhists and Jains are deemed Hindus and can intermarry. By the
Special Marriage Act, 1954, a Hindu can marry a person who is not Hindu, employing any ceremony provided specified legal conditions are fulfilled.
The pre-wedding ceremonies include
engagement (involving
vagdana or oral agreement and
lagna-patra written declaration), and arrival of the groom's party at the bride's residence, often in the form of a formal procession. The post-wedding ceremonies involve welcoming the bride to her new home.
Despite modern Hinduism being largely based on the
puja form of the worship of
devas as enshrined in the
Puranas, a Hindu wedding ceremony at its core is essentially a
Vedic yajna (a fire-sacrifice), in which the Aryan deities are invoked in the Indo-Aryan style. It has a deep origin in the ancient ceremony of cementing the bonds of friendship/alliance (even among people of the same sex or people of different species in mythological contexts), although today, it only survives in the context of weddings. The primary witness of a Hindu marriage is the fire-deity (or the Sacred Fire)
Agni, and by law and tradition, no Hindu marriage is deemed complete unless in the presence of the Sacred Fire, seven encirclements have been made around it by the bride and the groom together.
The ancient system of Hindu/Vedic marriages did not differentiate between male and female, as is done in modern times.
The sangeet sandhya is an evening of musical entertainment. This event takes place two or three days before a wedding in a banquet hall or at home. The bride's family puts on a show for the groom and bride.
Hindu Weddings: A modern look at an ancient tradition.
