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Traditional Telugu Brahmin marriage

ceremony
Marriage is considered a highly sacred event in the Indian /
Hindu culture. It is a life long commitment between a man and
a woman and this sacred event is known as Vivah or Vivaham
in Sanskrit language. Vivaham is one of the 16 samskaras
which opens the doors of Grihastasrama or the household life of
a man. Marriage not only unites two souls but also it unites two
families and thus helps in strengthening relations and social
bonds.
Hindu marriage ceremony involves various ceremonial and
procedural events which is almost similar in all regions of the
country. However there are some variations / difference in
procedure from one region to the other. These events take
place in the form of prayers, invocations and vows that are
recited in Sanskrit language. The prayers that are recited
during the ceremonial events are power-packed with in-depth
meaning which describe the strong bondage between husband
and wife who are united in the presence of Panch Bhoota (five
elements) in a ritualistic manner.
According to Hinduism, the Pancha Bhootas / 5 elements
include Prithvi (Earth), Akash (space / ether), Agni (fire),
Jal (water) and Vaayu (air). Marriage ceremony is held in a
wedding pavilion known as Kalyana Mandapam which is
colorfully decorated with fresh flowers and the ceremony is
mostly accompanied with Nadaswaram - the Carnatic /
Hindustani music played with the wind instrument 'Sannai'
or 'Shehnai'.
Marriage is the most enjoyable ceremony not only for the bride
and bridegroom but also to all the guests who dress themselves
in their best attire. Ladies in particular bedeck themselves with
heavy gold jewelry and wear glittering traditional ware like
pattu saris / designer saris.

In the olden days,

marriage ceremony in South India
particularly in the Telugu Brahmin community, was performed
for a continuous period of 5 to 7 days which later on reduced to
a period of 3 days. Presently, the all the ceremonial events of
wedding are performed within few hours in a single day due to
time constraint in the ever-busy lifestyle. The traditional
marriage ceremony of the Telugu Brahmin community typically
starts with 'Engagement' or 'Nischaya Tambulaalu'.
In all the wedding events in almost all the regions irrespective
of the caste, mostly the bride and the groom dress up in a
traditional way. The groom wears either dhoti and upper wear
while the bride dresses in pattu / silk sari and blouse with
mehendi applied to her hands and bedecked in gold jewelry.

Pelli Choopulu / Match-making

Prior to this event, in a traditional family, usually it is the
parents / grandparents of the bride keep searching for a
suitable alliance for their daughter from their own community.
On finding a prospective groom, the bride's parents invite the
groom and his parents for an initial 'dekho' or for a personal
look known as 'Pelli Choopulu' in Telugu. When everything is
fine like horoscope matching of the bride and the groom and
mutual liking of the bride and the groom and other consents,
both the parties decide mutually and fix a date for
'Nischitardham' or 'Nischaya Tambulaalu'. Even to-date,
horoscope matching is given much importance in the traditional
marriages in India.

Nischaya Tambulaalu or Engagement

Nischitardham is the important event that takes place prior to
marriage. In this event parents and close relatives of the bride
and bridegroom meet usually in the bride's house. In the
presence of the august gathering, the 'purohitulu' / priest writes

the 'lagna patrika' and reads it out. Mainly the 'lagna patrika'
contains the parent's names of the bride and the groom and
the 'sumuhurtam' (the auspicious time) of marriage. 'Lagna
patrika' is a pre-requisite for printing the 'pelli subhalekhalu' or
the wedding invitation cards by either parties.
The event is followed by the mutual exchange of new clothes
by the parents of the bride and the groom and usually
depending on the affordability, the groom's parents offer
jewelry to the bride who is the prospective daughter-in-law.

Wedding costumes
Purchasing wedding saris and gold jewelry for the bride is
another important thing which is a time consuming one. A
number of silk saris / 'pattu cheeralu' and gold jewelry are
purchased for various occasions in the ceremony the cost of
which depends on the affordability. In addition to the bridal
costume, it is customary to offer 'kotta battalu' or new clothes
to the close relatives who come for the wedding ceremony. And
also new clothes and gold / silver items are purchased to offer
these to the groom and his family members particularly parents
during various occasions in the wedding ceremonial events.

Pre-wedding events

/
/making of bride and the
groom

Usually the wedding preparations including purchases in both

the households are started after installing pandiri / godhuma

rayi in front of the house. The installation of godhuma rayi is

done in a auspicious time / muhurtam whence all the
preparations for the wedding ceremony start.
Preparing the bride and the groom for marriage is a traditional
ceremonial event which is known as 'Pellikuturu' / 'Pellikoduku'
in Telugu language. Usually, the ceremony takes place a day
before the marriage or at times on the wedding day itself, when
the bride and the groom are prepared for the marriage in their
respective homes. In the morning hours, the bride / groom is
smeared turmeric paste on the face and applied oil on the hair
and then she / he will have the holy shower after which the
bride / groom is dressed in first set of wedding dress with the
special / traditional 'Kalyana Tilakam' on the forehead.
After bedecking, the bride / groom is seated in a place when all
the elderly people of the family bless the bride / groom with
'akshantalu' or yellow rice grains. And finally, the bride / groom
is escorted with the family members to the marriage venue /
kalyana mandapam, where the next important event named
'Edurukolu' / 'Eduru Sannaham' takes place with much
excitement.

or the grand reception of the

groom and his party

'Eduru Sannaham' is one of the important event on the day of

marriage. The bride and her party arrive the venue / Kalyana
Mandapam before the arrival of the groom and his party and
make all the necessary arrangements for grandly receiving /
welcoming the groom and his party.
At important point to mention, in the Indian culture, it is bride's
parents who bear all the wedding expenditure and look after all
the necessary arrangements for the wedding.

This event is of social importance in which the bride's parents /

family receive the groom and his party on their arrival at the
venue. In the olden days, it was customary to perform the
marriage at the bride's residence or in the nearby temple
premises. But later on, out of necessity special marriage
venues or 'Kalyana Mandapams' had been constructed to cater
the needs of the marriage ceremony.
When the groom and his party arrive the venue in the cars,
they are grandly welcomed by the bride's party amidst
traditional music of 'Nadaswaram' / 'Sannai Melam'. The groom
and his parents are specially welcomed by the bride's parents
when the bride's mother applies 'kumkum' on the groom's and
his mother's forehead followed by 'Harati' (waving the plate
with burning camphor) to the groom which is restricted to
certain sub-communities of Telugu Brahmins.
On receiving the groom and his party, they are taken to their
respective allotted rooms in the 'Kalyana Mandapam' where all
the necessary items including bath soaps / soap-nuts
(kunkudukai / rita), talcum powder, body and hair oil, comb
and other such stuff are placed ready in the trays for the
groom. While the groom and his party rest for a while, they are
offered with fresh fruit juices or soft drinks and then are invited
for breakfast (in case they happen to arrive the venue in the
morning).
Usually both the parties arrive the venue in the morning itself
as mostly the 'sumuthurum' is in the night time and
occasionally in the morning. When the 'sumurtham' is in the
morning, both the parties reach the venue, the previous day.
However, it depends on the affordability and availability of the
Kalyana Mandapam.

Once the groom's party relax and refresh themselves, then

starts the next event which is known as 'Totalo Digadam' where
there is mutual introduction and interaction of both the parties.

Totalo Digadam
This is one of the most exciting events of the wedding
ceremony where the bride and the groom meet face to face
prior to the wedding. In this event all the relatives of both the
parties gather and the 'lagna patrika' / invitation card is read
out in Telugu by the priest. There is a mutual exchange of new
clothes between the bride / groom and their parents. In this
event, 'panakam' (flavored jaggery syrup) which is brought in
two new silver / steel 'panakam bindelu' or pots is distributed to
all the guests by the bride's party. Thereby these new 'panakam
bindelu' are offered to the groom's sisters (mother if no sisters).
In this event, even the 'sumuhurtam' for the auspicious event
of 'sobhanam' (nuptial) is announced. There is lot of enjoyment
and laughter that spreads the environment in this event as the
bride and the groom sit side by side and pose for pictures and
get closer to each other.

Snatakam / Kasi Yatra

This is basically an event of the groom's party only which
includes some fun activity with the groom. After the basic ritual
of 'snatakam' or putting the sacred silver thread round the
groom's shoulder by his parents as is done in the thread
ceremony, the groom adorns the clothes of 'sanyasarama
dharma'. He holds an umbrella, wears 'pankollu' or wooden
sandals' and declares that he is no longer interested in the
materialistic world and hence goes on 'Kasi Yatra' for accepting
'sanyasam' or sainthood.

At this juncture, when the groom is about to begin his journey,

the bride's brother (if no brother, father) blocks his way to the
'sanyasam' and requests him to leave the thought of taking up
'sanyasam' and enter into the 'grihastasrama' (marital life) as
his (bride's brother) beautiful sister is eagerly waiting to get
united with the groom. Thus the bride's brother convinces the
groom that as per 'dharma' one has to go through the
'grihastasrama' before accepting 'sanyasam' and thus get back
the groom to the 'mandapam'.
The event signifies that as per Hinduism 'sanyasam' is that
stage of life where there is spiritual elevation of the mind of an
individual which is achieved through thorough reading of the
Holy scriptures through education and the same is taken up in
'Kasi' (presently known as Varanasi) which is the seat of Vedic
culture. 'Sanyasam' symbolizes the spiritual elevation of man
and his disinterest in the materialistic world which lays
foundation for 'moksha' or salvation.
The event is one of the most enjoyable one by both the parties
with much of fun and laughter.

Ankurarpanam-

This is basically an event in which the bride and her parent's

are involved and this usually takes place simultaneously with
'snatakam' / 'kasi yatra'. In this event, while the priest chants
mantras, the bride and the other women of the family sprinkle
grains of 9 different kinds (known as 'navadhanyalu' in Telugu)
in the earthen plates (known as 'palikalu') filled with soil collect
from ant-hill. As this soil is highly fertile, the grains sprout
within a short period and these sprouts are taken out and the
'palikalu' are cleaned on the 16th day after marriage which is
known as 'padaharu rojula (16th day) panduga' in the bride's
house.

This special event symbolizes the germination / reproduction

process of human life to ensure the continuity of filial /
procreation. The event is followed by the most important event
of the ceremony which is known as the 'Gowri Pooja' performed
by the bride.

-Gowri Pooja

Gowri Devi is widely worshiped by the Hindu married women

for a happy, successful and blissful married life. As per
Hinduism, performing Gowri Devi Pooja is considered highly
important for married women as the goddess blesses the
woman with long married life.
In this ritual, the bride sits in a huge basket (known as Gowri
Gampa in Telugu) that is hand woven with eco-friendly material
of bamboo. The basket is smeared with turmeric paste,
decorated with kumkum bottu (spots) and 'dhanyam' or
unprocessed rice grains are placed in the basket up to a height
of 2 inches. The bride, then, performs Gowri pooja with
kumkum for at least 2-3 hours prior to the 'sumuhurtam' of
marriage to seek the divine blessings. 'Dhanyam' symbolizes
prosperity and is considered as Goddess Lakshmi Devi.
Meanwhile the groom gets ready in his traditional attire for the
ceremonial event in the perform and sits on a wooden plank
(known as peeta in Telugu). On completion of Gowri Pooja, the
bride who is seated in the 'Gowri gampa' / hand woven basket
with a tender coconut in her hands, is carried by her maternal
uncles to the 'mandapam'.
When she is seated in the
'mandapam' facing the groom with a specially designed curtain
between the two to block them from viewing face to face.
Wedding events

/
Panigrahanam

_Kanyadanam

While the bride performs Gowri Pooja, the groom who is

dressed in traditional attire, sits in the decorated 'mandapam'
and the priest starts the ceremonial ritual of the main event of
wedding by invoking Lord Ganesha. By the time the worship is
completed, the bride is carried to the 'mandapam' by her
maternal uncles and is seated in front of the groom with a
curtain between the two. The bride's parents who sit beside
her, place the groom's feet in a big brass plate from under the
curtain and wash his feet (their son-in-law). Then, while the
priest chants mantras, the bride's parents offer 16 varieties of
fruits to the groom from under the curtain. And finally, amidst
the chanting of mantras (sacred hymns) and 'sannai melam',
they place their daughter's (bride) hands along with the tender
coconut in her hands in the groom's hands and give away their
daughter in 'danam' (donation) to the groom. In return, they
seek promise from the groom that he will take care of their
daughter for life long. This event is known as 'Kanyadanam' or
giving away of the young lady (the bride) to the groom in
donation. As per Hinduism, 'Kanyadanam' is considered as a
highly noble act which has great returns.

-Jeelakarra
Sumuhurtham

Bellam

or

All these events take place one after the other very fast amidst
the traditional music of 'Sannai Melam' and by the time
'kanyadanam' is completed, the bride and the groom still
separated with a curtain, hold 'jeela-karra bellam' (a thick paste
made of crushed cumin seeds or jeera and jaggery) placed in
betel leaves. 'Sumuhurtham' is the most important and awaited
event of the wedding ceremony. By this time, the marriage
venue is heavy crowded with relatives and guests who gather
to witness the sacred event and bless the newly wedded
couple.

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At the auspicious time or 'sumuhurtham', to the excitement of

the august gathering and amidst the fast beat of 'Sannai
Melam', the bride and the groom place 'Jeelakara Bellam' on
each other's head from underneath the curtain. At this moment,
the curtain is removed when the bride and the groom remain
seated facing each other. All the elderly guests bless the newly
wedded couple with 'akshantalu' or rice grains mixed with
turmeric powder while the younger ones wish them.
After this event, the bride and the groom get into their
respective 'vididi' or rooms to change to traditional costume of
'Madhuparkalu'. These 'madhuparkalu' are basically white color
attire with red, yellow or green border and is the sacred attire
that is worn in the special way. In the rest of the events, the
bride and the groom remain in this sacred attire only.
On wearing 'Madhuparkalu', the groom is seated in the
'mandapam' while the bride carries a plate with specified
number of oil lit lamps and she is escorted to the 'mandapam'
by married women from both the parties carrying plates with
oil-lit lamps.

_Mangalya Dharana

'Mangalyam Tantunanena Mama Jeevana Hetuna' is the most

important and sacred chanting which is recited at the time of
'Mangalya Dharana' - the most important event of the
ceremony - in which the bride and the groom are religiously
united and become the husband and wife as per the Hindu law.
In this event, the groom ties 'Mangala Sutram' (the sacred
yellow thread smeared with turmeric paste, to which two
specially designed pendants called 'sutralu' are tied for the
purpose) round the bride's neck and ties three knots (which
stand for 'manasa' / mind, 'vacha' / speech and 'karmana' /

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deed) amidst the fast beat of 'sannai melam' and blessings by

the elders with 'akshantalu'.
Before 'Mangalya Dharana' and after 'Jeelakara Bellam', the
groom stands in front of the bride who sits with her head down.
The priests hold a thick wooden rod known as 'kade' in Telugu
above the bride's head. The two 'Mangala Sutralu' each tied to
a yellow thread are tied from a hole in the 'kade' and are held
above the bride's head. Now the priest chant religious 'mantras'
when the groom pours holy water drop by drop over the
'Mangala Sutralu' which percolates and drops on the bride's
head.
For this sacred event, the bride and the groom change their
costumes and wear 'Madhu Parkalu' which is white costume
with red / green / yellow border. In the olden days this special
wear (cotton hand woven sari for the bride and pancha a
traditional men's wear for the groom) was smeared with yellow
turmeric powder (pasupu) but these days the bride's prefer
wearing white silk sari with border.
For 'Mangalya Dharana, the bride changes her costumes, wears
Madhu Parkalu and walks tenderly to the Mandapam followed
by elderly married ladies (muthaiduvulu) from either side (bride
as well as groom) who carry lighted lamps or 'viripindi jyotulu'
(16+16 or 9+9) in two wide brass plates. Next to them, the
other 'muthaiduvulu' (married women) from both the sides
carry 'talabrala biyyam' or the yellow rice meant for
'talambralu' in two wide brass plates each on which half piece
of dry coconut is kept along with the 'Mangala Sutram' tied to
the yellow thread.
The bride who walks shyly with her head down sits beside the
groom in the Mandapam and the two plates of Varipindi Jyotulu
and two plates containing Talabrala Biyyam are placed in front
of the priests in the Mandapam.

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Thus, the bride gets ready for Mangalya Dharana when the
groom ties the two Mangala Sutralu amidst the sacred chanting
of Mangalyam Tantunanena Mama Jeevana Hetuna' when the
sannai melam is played in fast rhythmic beat. With this sacred
event of Mangalya Dharana, the bride and the groom officially
become husband and wife as per the Hindu Marriage Act.
Finally, the groom ties a thick rope called 'yotram' made of
palm leaves round the bride's waist. This has a special
significance.
On the 16th day (16 rojula panduga), at an auspicious time, the
yellow thread from the 'sutralu' / sacred gold pendents is
removed and replaced with a gold chain.

_Talambralu

This is an event which is enjoyed the most not only by the

newly wedded couple but by the guests as well who keep
encouraging the newly wedded couple with a highly
competitive spirit. 'Talambralu' are the rice grains mixed with
turmeric powder and saffron along with other things like flower
petals, pearls and colorful beads depending on the affordability
and interest of the party.
In this event, the newly wedded couple are made to sit facing
each other and initially they are made to pour 'tambralu' on
each other's head like a shower in turns. As it progresses, the
newly wedded couple are encouraged by the friends and
relatives to compete with the pouring of 'talambralu' on each
other's head. There is much of laughter and enjoyment all
around and the event signifies the happiness and contentment
of married life.

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& _Nagavalli & Saptapadi

Iaja Homam followed by Nagavalli and Saptapadi are the

important events celebrated by the groom's party. Fire or 'Agni'
is considered on of the 'Pancha Bhootas' and hence, the
ancestors and 'Agni Deva' are the witness of the auspicious
events.
The Holy Fire or Homam which is lit, symbolizes purity and 'Agni
Deva' remains a 'Sakshi' or witness for the vows made by the
newly wedded couple which are read in Sanskrit by the main
priest. The newly wedded couple offer prayers to 'Agni Deva'
which has a special significance. They offer rice grains to 'Agni
Deva' / Homam which symbolizes fertility and it is believed that
Fire God removes ignorance and darkness if any from the
marital life of the newly wedded couple and lead them into a
more knowledgeable life.
Iaja Homam is followed by Nagavalli and Saptapadi which is the
most important post marriage event. In this event the newly
wedded couple hold each other's hand and take Saptapadi or 7
steps that are symbolic of 7 vows of the married life. They
pledge and declare in the presence of the august gathering that
they have accepted one another willingly. The newly wedded
couple hold hand in hand and are made to take 7 rounds round
the Homam / Agni and they take pledge at each round which
includes:
Maintaining a pure household.Development of physical, mental
and spiritual strengths.Enhancing our wealth by righteous
means.Acquiring knowledge, happiness and harmony by mutual
love and trust.Pray for virtuous, intelligent and courageous
offspring.Long and happy married life.Remaining true
companions and life-long partners.
With the Saptapadi, the marriage is complete as per the Vedic
scriptures.

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During the event of Nagavalli, a traditional cradle made of silk

sari in which a ripe mango, a turmeric and a piece of
sandalwood is placed which symbolizes offspring as healthy as
a ripe mango and this event has a lesser significance these
days due to time constraint. This is more a fun event than of a
religious significance as there are no religious chanting. This
event is followed by another fun-filled event in which usually a
gold finger ring is placed in a narrow mouthed vessel into which
the newly married couple put their hands and search for the
ring. This event has no significance and just for a fun.
This is followed by the next important event in which a short
chain of black beads (nalla pusalu) is worn by bride and a flat
grindstone called Sanikalu in Telugu decorated with turmeric
paste and kumkum is placed beside the Homam. The groom
then helps the bride to tread her left foot toe on the grindstone
when sacred mantras are read out by the priest and finally the
groom adorns the bride's toes with silver toe rings.
By this all the customary rituals come to an end and finally the
newly wedded couple are taken out to the open air whence the
priest shows them the 'Arundhati Nakshtram (star) and seek
her (Arundhati's) blessings as she is exemplified as the ideal
wife and the embodiment of chastity.
Iaja Homam is yet another post-wedding event in which a
Homam is made by the priest and the newly wedded couple
offer oblations of puffed rice and popped grains to 'Agni Deva'
In this event, the bride's brother is involved who gives a
handful of parched rice grains to his sister (the bride) which she
hands over in turn to her husband (the groom) who offers the
grains in the Homam on the behalf of the bride. This is
repeated thrice by taking three rounds round the Homam by
the newly wedded couple.
Post wedding events

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_Appagintalu / Handing over of the

bride
Then the final event is known as 'Appagintalu' or the official
ceremonial handover of the bride to the groom and his family
members and this event marks the change of the family of the
bride who thus gets the family name of her husband and
becomes a new member of the family. In this event the father
and mother of the bride hand over their daughter first to their
son-in-law (the groom) and then to his parents, his brothers and
sisters if any. Mostly in this a painful event when tears flow
down the eyes of the bride's parents and other family
members.

_Gruhapravesam

This event involves the usually farewell of the bride by her

family members and the newly wedded bride enters her new
marital home where she is received by her in-laws family with a
warm welcome. There is a final / mutual exchange of gifts and
household items that are given to the newly wedded bride by
her parents to start a new household / family life. They also
offer 3-4 varieties of sweets which mostly and must include
'Ariselu' (a sweet made of rice flour and jaggery), 'Mysore
Pakam', 'Laddu' (the most important sweet made of Gram flour
and sugar syrup), 'Kajalu' (a sweet made of maida and sugar
syrup) and most important 'Chalimidi' (a sweet recipe made of
rice flour and sugar syrup with shredded coconut) to the
groom's family / parents.

_Satyanarayana Vratam

And finally, the traditional wedding ceremonial events ends

with Satyanarayana Vratam by the groom's family in the
groom's house. The pooja is performed by newly wedded
couple to seek the blessing of the Lord for a happy and
prosperous married life. In this event, all the family members of
both the families, friends and relatives are invited for the
vratam which is followed by a feast.

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In most of the Hindu families, the newly wedded couple go to

the honeymoon destinations in India where they are given an
opportunity to understand each other and thus get closer.