Mantapa Pravesha

At an auspicious time on the day determined earlier, the bridegroom with all his relatives and friends goes to bride's house and enters the duly decorated marriage platform. He gets all due honors and great privelges that are normally due for a honorable guest coming to any house. This is called "madhu parka" in the scriptures and is colloquially called as Vara Pooja. Bridegroom is made to sit in bhadrasana. his feet are washed. He is offered ghee, curds and honey duly mixed and held in a bronze vessel. Bridegroom drinks it three times with appreciation. Bridegroom is garlanded and given dual auspicious fruits and cloth. The rule is to give a cow as per vedic principle. But now the practice is to give a coconut. He is supposed to symbolically represent the Lord uma Maheswara, Lord Lakshmi Narayana and shachi- Indra.

Kalasha Aradhana (installing the deity through placing coconut on the vessel containing sacred waters), Ganapthi pooja, swasti vachana, Nandi Samaradhana, Ankurarpana, Mantapa Devata sthapana, Raksha bandhana, gowri pooja and sabha pooka are other aspects.

Expectations

Remembering the celestial couples Lakshmi- Narayan and Uma- Maheswara and pouring the " Jeera & Jaggery" on each other's head at an auspicious time , the bride and bridegroom gaze at each other with an intense feeling of love. The sentiment conveyed in the chanting of manta at that time is as follows :

"Oh Varuna...Oh Brihaspathi...Oh Indra....Oh Surya...shower Grace on her. Let her looks be ever auspicious. By her looks, let no harm happen to me, who is going to be her husband and to my brothers (and the progeny we 're going to have.)"

"Oh woman...Let your looks be free of fear and worry, but serene (peaceful). Let you have the grace and a good mind. Let no hurt be caused to your husband by your sight. May you progress well. May you obtain the children who will survive. May you be acceptable to Gods. May you be auspicious and graceful to us. May you be pleasant to us, May all good come from you to other people and animals (that live in our house).

Nishchitartha - Engagement

Marriage is the choice of bride and bridegroom. Colour, caste, sect, ancestry (gothra), fmaily, lineage, existing relationship, age factors, occupation, health, educational background, economic conditions, home and living situations and several other such aspects are considered.

Relatives of the bridegroom go to the house of the bride and place in her hands fruits and flowers stating that they desire to choose her as the wife of the bridegroom. Father of the bride discusses the offer with his daughter, wife and his family members, elders and the wise.After getting their concurrence, he conveys the acceptance. Symbolically, the coconuts and fruits are tied up within a piece of cloth and worshiped. The knot of this bundle is removed only after the completion of the marriage. Relations of the bridegroom honor the bride with cloth, jewelery, flowers and fruits, coconuts, beetle nuts and leaves, sacred red and turmeric powders called as kumkum and arisina. As a part part of her prayer for the longevity of her future spouse, the bride worships goddesses Gowri, Lakshmi and shashi and gives the Bagina (consisting many sacred items in the sacred box) to Sumanglis (women with eternal wife- hood).

Aspiration

Vedic vision of mankind is splendid. Man is essentially the spiritual being characterized by immortality and freedom. From the this luminous source one has to understand the goal and meaning of life. Unfortunately, due to ignorance, the person sinks deep into the fleeting desire of indulgence and the gross material enjoyment. Under any circumstance, man cannot escape the fruits of his actions. As a result, he has to encounter the effects of such actions done through " thoughts- words- deeds" during this life or next life.

To derive success and happiness in married life, experiential vedic knowledge proves essential. Vedic thoughts provide considerably useful information and tips regarding marriage.

Concept of family being the emergent institution of the contemporary human civilization, the vedas provide adequate solutions to the resultant problems that may arise in marriage., Even after knowing a lot one cant declare that i know everything. Given below are some salient information and ideals. The practice of these ideals will be of great help in the success of married life.

• Both husband and wife with mutual understanding and trust in each other should be able to offer love and affection to each other, the family, the society and to the providence.
• Not only the husband and wife, but even the other members of the family should be able to grasp the goals of marriage as well as life. With the light of knowledge and wisdom, the journey should be onward and forward in the path of fulfillment.
• If the husband and wife tread the life together with harmony and unity of "thoughts- words-deeds", marriage becomes the root of happiness, the source of power and the individual's progress too. The couple should constantly think good of each other. They should develop their minds to adequately respond to the subtle feelings and the needs of each other. This drives out ego barriers and the vanity in them. Envy, selfishness and self - centredness and the destructive and negative elements get weakened.