WEDDING PICTURES
(The Wedding Ceremony)
                    "PAANI GRAHANAM" - This means holding hands. The groom holds the
                    bride's hand. The mantras say: "The Devas have offered you to me
                    so that I may live life as a Grihasta. We shall not part even when
                    we grow old."

                    "SAPTHA PADHI" - Holding her hand, the bridegroom walks seven steps
                    around the holy fire. This is the most important part of the marriage
                    ceremony. Only when they walk these steps together
                    (i.e. perform the saptha padhi) is the marriage complete. With each step
                    they take a vow. The belief is that when one walks seven steps with
                    another, one becomes the other's friend.
                    The mantras said at this time mean:
                    "Ye who walk with me, become my companion and friend. We shall remain
                    inseparable. Let us avow together to love, share the same food, share
                    our strengths, the same tastes. We shall be of one mind. I shall be
                    the Sama and you the Rig . I shall be the upper world and you the
                    earth. I shall be the sukhilam and you the holder. Together we
                    shall live, beget children and other riches. Come thou,
                    o sweet worded girl."

                    "PRADHANA HOMAM" - A crucial part of the wedding is the homage paid by
                    the couple to Agni, the God of Fire. They couple circle the fire, and
                    feed it ghee and twigs of nine types of holy trees as sacrificial
                    fuel. The fumes arising possess medicinal, curative and cleansing
                    effects. Agni, the mightiest power in the cosmos, the sacred
                    purifier, is deemed as a witness to the marriage. Hence the
                    term 'Agni Saakshi' or witness by fire.

 "AMMI MIDHITHAL" -
Holding the bride's
left toe the bridegroom
helps her to tread on a
grindstone kept on the
right side of a fire.
The mantras chanted say:
"Mount on this stone, and
let thy mind be rock firm,
unperturbed by the trials
and tribulations of life."
This ritual is symbolic of
the rock solid foundation
for the union.
                    "ARUNDHATI & DHRUVA STAR" - The groom shows the bride the star
                    Arundhati (from the 'Saptha Rishi ' or Great Bear constellation)
                    as also Dhruva or the pole star. Arundhati, the wife of the
                    Vashishta Maharishi exemplifies the ideal wife - the
                    embodiment of charity. Dhruva attained immortality through
                    single-minded devotion and perseverance. This symbolizes the
                    virtues to be emulated throughout marital life.

                    "LAAJA HOMAM" -This
                    comprises the bride's
                    offering into the
                    sacrificial fire. As an
                    expression of sibling
                    support to her marriage,
                    her brother gives her a
                    handful of puffed rice
                    grains thrice, which
                    she hands to the

                    bridegroom, who on her behalf, feeds it to the fire. Through this
                    offering, the bride seeks her husband's long life and propagation
                    of her family. The brother's participation indicates the
                    continuance of links between the families after marriage.
                    The couple circles the fire three times.

 "MANGALA ARATHI" -
A solution of lime
and turmeric powder,
is prepared on a plate,
then circled around,
and thrown away to ward
off evil eye. This is
done a number of times
during the entire wedding
ceremony, and at the end.
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