Maratha Matrimony Traditions That You Need To Know India is a land filled with different cultures and traditions for weddings. The traditions and cultures vary based on the community, religion and even location. Even though it varies based on many factors, they are still unique in their own way. Maratha matrimony contains unique traditions and cultures among many other communities in India. Most Indian weddings are extravagant and will happen for a few days. Maratha matrimony is no exception to that fact. People from the Maratha community will come from different places to attend a wedding. Except for the week-long celebration, Maratha matrimony is minimal and energetic. Starting from the pre-wedding to post-wedding ceremonies, everything is unique but some are common to other matrimony traditions as well. Even though they are the same, their name will differ from the usual ones. Let’s look at some of the Maratha matrimony traditions that you should know. Lagnaach Bedior The Maratha matrimony begins with the horoscope matching of the potential bride and groom. This is done to check the compatibility of the potential couples before their wedding. If their horoscopes match, then the astrologer will also decide on an auspicious date for the wedding. Sakhar Puda After the horoscope matching, the next Maratha matrimony tradition will be engagement. The engagement ceremony is known as the Sakhar Puda in their tradition. Usually, this tradition happens a few days before the wedding. This happens as an official ceremony before the wedding. During this ceremony, the bride and groom get their wedding dress and jewels. After this, in front of their family and close friends, they exchange rings. Kelvan During this ceremony, the bride and groom’s family will gather to offer prayers to their deities. This prayer will happen at an auspicious time. Usually, this ritual will happen a few days before the Maratha matrimony ceremony. They are performing prayers to get blessings from their deities. After this ceremony, they will be a feast for the guests.
Halad Chadavane
Halad Chadavane is nothing but the Maratha version of the Haldi ceremony. Just like we mentioned before there are some common ceremonies with different names in the Maratha matrimony. This is one of the ceremonies with a different name but is common among other community weddings. During this ceremony, the bride and groom will be smeared in the haldi paste. The paste is made of turmeric with rose water mostly. And getting smeared, the bride and groom will take a holy bath. Punyavchan With this ceremony, the Maratha matrimony begins. And this ceremony is nothing but the Ganesha puja ritual in other community matrimonies. The bride will perform a puja for the Lord Ganesha to get the blessings. After the puja, the family elders will also bless her for a long and happy wedding life. Seemant Puja This ceremony mentions the arrival of the groom and his procession to the mandap. Seemant Puja is similar to the baraat in other community matrimony traditions. The bride’s mother will wash the groom’s feet with holy once he reaches the mandap. After this, they will give the groom some valuable gifts. Gaurihar Puja The bride will perform a puja for the Goddess Parvati for a happy and long wedding life. She and her parents will chant mantras during this ritual. The bride will do the puja in a yellow saree and a Mundavalya on her forehead. Mundavalya is nothing but a string which is considered auspicious in Indian weddings. Antarpat During this ceremony, the groom waits for the bride at the mandap. But a silk shawl is hung before him to block him from seeing the bride. The shawl will be removed once the priest finishes chanting the mantras. This ceremony is called Antarpat. Sankalp The Sankalp ritual in the Maratha matrimony is similar to the Jaimala ceremony of other community matrimonies. During this ceremony, the bride and groom will exchange garlands. They can choose the flowers as per their choice. After they exchange the garlands, everyone present will throw flowers and rice over them. This represents the acceptance of the couple as husband and wife.
Lajahoma During this Maratha matrimony ritual, the groom will chant three mantras. Following that, the bride and her father will chant the fourth mantra silently. The bride’s parents will tie a holy thread on the groom’s forehead. After this, the groom will tie the Mangalsutra to the bride’s neck. Saptapadi This is the final Maratha matrimony tradition and post-wedding ceremonies will start after this. During this ceremony, the bride and groom will walk around the holy fire seven times. This will happen after the groom tied the Mangalsutra around bride’s neck. There will also some betel nuts there and the bride has to touch them while walking. Kanyaadan This is one of the most heart-touching ceremonies in not just Maratha matrimony but also Indian weddings. Because during this ceremony, the bride’s father has to give away his daughter to the groom. He will also make sure that the groom will take good care of his daughter. Grihapravesh With this ceremony, the Maratha matrimony comes to end. This ceremony happens at the groom’s house once the couple reach. The groom’s mother will welcome the couple with aarti. After this, the bride has to kick a bowl filled with rice.