The Dhaarmik Traditions - Indic Studies Foundation

Ashwin
Kartik
Margshirsh
Paush
Magha
Falgoon (Fagan)
• Pendlikoothuru: This ceremony involves anointing the bride and
the groom with oil and turmeric before bath. Following the bath, the
couple dons new clothes. The bride-to-be wears flowers in her hair. She
also adorns her forehead with a bindi or vermilion dot and wears bangles
on her wrists.
• Snathakam: Snathakam ceremony is performed at the bridegroom's
house before the muhurtam. It is a sort of thread ceremony that involves
making the groom wear a silver thread on his body.
• Kashi Yatra: This is an extremely joyful ceremony. Following the
tradition, after the recitation of Vedic verses, the groom pretends to leave
for Kashi, a pilgrimage center to become an ascetic. He carries a walking
stick and other essentials to show that he is not interested in becoming a
householder anymore. He relents and agrees to the marriage only after
he is stopped and persuaded by the bride's brother to fulfill his
responsibilities as a householder.
• Mangala Snaanam: Following the custom, the bride and groom
must take a Mangala Snaanam or an auspicious bath on the day of the
wedding. The bath is believed to cleanse and purify them and make them
ready for the sacred rites that are to follow.
• Aarti: After the ceremonial bath, the bride and groom are anointed with
oil at their respective homes. Their families perform aarti. The ceremony
is significant as it carries with it the family's prayer that the mind of the
bride/groom be illuminated by wisdom.
• Ganesh and Gauri Pooja: The bridegroom performs Ganesh
pooja in the mandapam or wedding hall just before the marriage
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